A Visit to Rapperswil

Yesterday GLH called to tell me that his business trip to Munich was postponed until next month. As we were supposed to fly to Munich that evening, his Friday schedule was completely clear.

Hurrah for surprise holidays!

Our original plan to hike on Uetliberg and take some photographs was scrapped after the haze failed to lift. We knew the photographs would not be as striking and decided to go on a clearer day.

Instead, we drove to Rapperswil for the afternoon.

Rapperswil is on a penisula at the southern end of Lake Zürich. A popular summer destination, we were happy to find the streets sparsely populated. The only downside is that the museums were all closed so I have limited information about the history of the town.



Most of the people we did see gathered around the shores of the lake.

After a walk along the lake, we started the climb up the Lindenhof to Schloss Rapperswil.

The castle was built in the 13th century as the keep for the Counts of Rapperswil.

The parish church was added in the 15th century. It's small, but beautiful. Indeed, it is one of the most ornate churches I have seen in Switzerland to date.

After our walk through the castle grounds, we wandered about the Altstadt.

Although I have to admit the most thrilling part of the day is that I found cranberry juice at the Reformhaus (Health Food Store). I have sorely missed my cranberry juice and have had a difficult time finding the 100% pure juice in Switzerland. Our upstairs neighbor knew of my desire and surprised me by bringing it back from her trip to the UK. (Along with oatmeal AND vanilla essense. Thanks, K!) But I am happy to have found a source here in Switzerland. Now I just need to look in the Reformhauses a bit closer to us.