Dielsdorf, Steinmaur, Regensberg
After the cold and rain we had just about everywhere else we had been in Europe, the sunny skies and warm temperatures in Switzerland were a welcome change. This was especially true because we spent most of the daylight hours on small roads marked with these signs.
I know it means, "Walking path," but I like how it looked to me like "Wander Way," especially since for us there was quite a bit of wandering.
More after the jump
We actually stayed in the village of Dielsdorf which is in the canton of Zürich. Especially with the blue sky backdrop, it looked so beautiful and so, so Swiss.
Towering over the town is this charming white Reformed Church, with bells that rang out every fifteen minutes and longer on the hour.
While Randy was in meetings, Myles, Brigid and I followed a few Wanderweg through the farmland from Dielsdorf to Steinmaur.
Steinmaur also has a pretty white Reformed Church.
Later when Randy was done for the day, we all walked together up the hill above Dielsdorf to another village called Regensberg, a castle town. We were told it was only a thirty minute walk from our hotel. After about forty-five minutes we weren't sure of that, and after an hour uphill we were totally unconvinced. It turned out we had missed an obscured sign lower on the hill that would have gotten us there in the foretold half-hour.
In the meantime, as we Waderweg'ed around the hill, we admired the Swiss farmland, also known as stopping to take a break.
When we did at last see Regensberg, it was an imposing (and welcome) sight. It motivated Myles up the hill finally to arrive.
Regensberg was founded in the mid-thirteenth century and the first castle was built around that time. The tower dates to the 16th or 17th century. The city was independent until 1302 when the barons of Regensberg, having already lost a war with the Habsburgs sold the castle to Habsburgs. It remained under Habsburg control until Duke Frederick IV pawned it to Zürich, which took control in 1417.
Most important for our band of curious tourists was that the castle town of Regensberg had a real tower. Even though Myles was impressed with the size of Prague Castle, these smaller castles in Ústí and Regensberg were much more accessible and looked more like castles to both my kids. Even Brigid recognized them, not Prague, as a castle.
And as with several other places we had been on this trip, a tower meant stairs, up to the top.
And from our minor-royalty perch at the top, we admired more Swiss towns and farmland, the Zürich airport and much of the city as well. We even watched a few planes land.
Regensberg's Reformed Church was built in the 1500s. Some of the houses, too, were from that era.
And that, says Brigid, is Regensberg
Our walk back to our hotel in Dielsdorf, more plainly marked and direct, did take just under 30 minutes. It really should have been a short walk up the hill.
I know it means, "Walking path," but I like how it looked to me like "Wander Way," especially since for us there was quite a bit of wandering.
More after the jump
We actually stayed in the village of Dielsdorf which is in the canton of Zürich. Especially with the blue sky backdrop, it looked so beautiful and so, so Swiss.
Towering over the town is this charming white Reformed Church, with bells that rang out every fifteen minutes and longer on the hour.
While Randy was in meetings, Myles, Brigid and I followed a few Wanderweg through the farmland from Dielsdorf to Steinmaur.
Steinmaur also has a pretty white Reformed Church.
Later when Randy was done for the day, we all walked together up the hill above Dielsdorf to another village called Regensberg, a castle town. We were told it was only a thirty minute walk from our hotel. After about forty-five minutes we weren't sure of that, and after an hour uphill we were totally unconvinced. It turned out we had missed an obscured sign lower on the hill that would have gotten us there in the foretold half-hour.
In the meantime, as we Waderweg'ed around the hill, we admired the Swiss farmland, also known as stopping to take a break.
When we did at last see Regensberg, it was an imposing (and welcome) sight. It motivated Myles up the hill finally to arrive.
Regensberg was founded in the mid-thirteenth century and the first castle was built around that time. The tower dates to the 16th or 17th century. The city was independent until 1302 when the barons of Regensberg, having already lost a war with the Habsburgs sold the castle to Habsburgs. It remained under Habsburg control until Duke Frederick IV pawned it to Zürich, which took control in 1417.
Most important for our band of curious tourists was that the castle town of Regensberg had a real tower. Even though Myles was impressed with the size of Prague Castle, these smaller castles in Ústí and Regensberg were much more accessible and looked more like castles to both my kids. Even Brigid recognized them, not Prague, as a castle.
And as with several other places we had been on this trip, a tower meant stairs, up to the top.
And from our minor-royalty perch at the top, we admired more Swiss towns and farmland, the Zürich airport and much of the city as well. We even watched a few planes land.
Regensberg's Reformed Church was built in the 1500s. Some of the houses, too, were from that era.
And that, says Brigid, is Regensberg
Our walk back to our hotel in Dielsdorf, more plainly marked and direct, did take just under 30 minutes. It really should have been a short walk up the hill.
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