...like your first conversation in a foreign language with a stranger, brief as it may be, that really inspires confidence in yourself. Sure, I studied French for a while. In the classroom, however, there's no real pressure to get it right; if you don't, someone will correct you and you'll move on.
So I went exploring on my own again today. I was looking for the Augustinerkirche; I found it, however it was closed. So I walked around (again, somewhat aimlesslessly) just making sudden turns down interesting-looking alleys. I've determined that because of the number of very distinctive and rather tall building that pepper the city, it's nearly impossible to get lost: find one or two on the skyline and you can easily figure out how to get back to more familiar territory.
I ended up walking up to the Lindenhof without realising it. The Lindenhof is a lookout point used by the Romans, but unfortunately there's nothing really there now that betrays their presence. Except a small chunk of rock with some text on it, including the (abbreviated) words STATIONIS TVRICENSIS - the place name that eventually turned into Zürich. The view is great; here are some shots of the Limmat, the Grossmünster, and the Predigerkirche, which ended up being my next stop (bear with me). Also, on the Lindenhof there is a large chess board, where I stopped to watch some men play, and another fountain. I don't think I've yet mentioned this, but there are fountains everywhere. Literally. Here's a picture of a pidegeon drinking from one.
So, getting back to the original story above, when I got to the Predigerkirche, I didn't notice any signage indicating whether or not photography was allowed (it wasn't, for example, inside the Fraumünster or the Grossmünster), so I walked over to a nice lady looking like she was keeping an eye on the place. Ever the optimist, I asked her, "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" "Nein." Figures. "..français?" "Ja ja!" Of course you do. Pulling out my camera, "Puis-je utiliser ici?" She smiled, "Oui, bien sûr!" Alors... here are some shots of the very pretty organ, a groin vault, and a portion of the nave. Like St Peters Kirche, it had been completely Baroqued over (can I use Baroqued as a verb?), but there were some small medieval remains, including a bit of rock with an inscription and a fragment of a fresco. I wish there was some sort of literature on these things. I feel very stupid, as a medievalist, to not know exactly what these things are. Hopefully I will find out at a later date.
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5 comments:
I love the picture of the vault. It's so delightfully geometric. p.s. greetings back at you! (although not from anywhere overly interesting)
I hereby endorse the use of Baroque as a verb!
Also, Zurich looks way charming, and much more managable than I'd pictured it!
Man, I wish I was meandering down interesting-looking alleys instead of writing about plastering tools! : )
Yay! You made it! :D Looks absolutely lovely, hope you're having a great time! *hugs* :D
"Baroqued" is absolutely useful as a verb, meaning "cocked it up with a lot of frivolous decoration."
As opposed to when everything got "Rococoed" .... which is when Baroque threw up on itself.
I don't know what your travel plans are like, but if you end up in southern Germany near the Bodensee (Lake Constance), there's an island called Reichenau with three old churches on it. I believe one was 8th c., one 9th c., and one 10th c. The last one is the one people stuck with, so it got barquoed and rococoed, but the two older ones were left alone and the art in them is fabulous.
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