Cuckoos and Cathedrals

 So day three began the same way- the 7 am call for the lobby. The breakfast. The uber. All good. But this day would end differently, because we would be done at NOON!

We cruised through the 4 hours in the morning and ended with a retrospective. I love those. I operate from a non-defensive position and choose to be curious and embrace the feedback. It’s always a hilarious blend of I liked the amount of time but also want more breaks and long sessions. Well, ok. Let’s just bend time! But also, when you work with a really great team, where everyone is earnest and kind and actually just trying to do the right thing, it hits differently. We’re in this together. Can we do it better next time? Rock on! Let’s do it!

And then, just like that - I was free!!!!!! FREEDOM!

I didn’t want to eat lunch but my fellow uber riders did so I waited for them. We ubered back to the hotel and I found Jason and Ashley and experience a brand new lease on life. 

They’d been exploring but this was really my first chance. So, we went to grab lunch and drinks. Ended up in a super cute, very German little place, in which Jason sweated so profusely it was ridiculous. The server attempted to turn on a fan but a bunch of confetti started blowing out -LOL- so she turned it off again. The food was yummy but it really was stifling in there with no air movement so once done, we headed out.

Up next on the agenda - buying a cuckoo clock! If you know me, you know I ALWAYS eat the local cuisine (even when it is haggis) and I ALWAYS want to buy whatever the local thing is. Our buddies Pete and Mandy, of last year’s French Riviera yacht wedding fame, where once here and bought multiple cuckoo clocks so they sent us the name of the shop and off we went! We ended up visiting three shops, launching of our butts off, and making friends. Who here is shocked? Not us!

And finally, I decided on the clock for me. The hardest part was whether we wanted it to also play music or ‘just’ cuckoo. I mean, who knew this was such a hard decision. Dang. This was also a $1,000 price difference so worthy of consideration. We went to lunch to ponder it and I finally decided, you know, I don’t care if it plays music. I’m here for the cuckoo! also, I want it to have a dog and I don’t want to wind it every day. With the criteria in place,game on! 

On the way back to the clock shop, we wanted to stop by this gorgeous cathedral in the city center. It did NOT disappoint! We walked in and enjoyed a very slow walk around. Looking at all the stained windows and stunning craftsmanship. Also, there was an organist playing and I must say in all my world travels - I have NEVER encountered an organist who could hold a single note as long as this person. Was this good? Nein. Was it bad? Nein. It just….was. It painfully was. At one point, I was sure the organ pedal broke and we would just be hearing that one note for the rest of our lives. Sweet Lord. 

After the cathedral walk and finding the right clock, we decided to celebrate by getting ice cream. Ash told us the ice cream was delicious but also less sweet (a plus in our book) so I was up for it. Jason opted out. I decided I would order in German because, frankly, those 5 college semesters of German should actually count somewhere in this lifetime, you know? I did pretty well until it was time to say goodbye. At that point, 18 thousand languages came to mind but no German. So, after staring at the man for way too long I finally said, “well, goodbye.” I think it was a nice moment that we all enjoyed. About 5 hours later, my brain turned on and the only thing I could think for about 24 hours was AUF WIEDERSEHEN.  I MEAN, HELLO. DUH. Even without studying this language, you watched The Sound of Music and would know this. Geez. 

ANYWAY, as we ate the ice cream, Ash and I decided it was time to dip our toes into the super cute little canals running all throughout the town. Kids, dogs, adults - everyone had been walking in, dipping in, dragging boats through…and we wanted to do it, too. And OH the bliss on the hot day. The water was crystal clear snow runoff. So cold and pure. Absolute joy. Poor Jason is still struggling to put his shoes and socks on post surgery so even with our offer to help, he didn’t want to partake. 

Afterward, we realized this was really our last night in Germany and we hadn’t yet had Germany Riesling! Gesundheit! (Not the right word there but also, what do you know?) We happened by the amazing restaurant my team had eaten at so we stopped in there, grabbed a table on the back patio, and grabbed a local bottle of Riesling. It was terrific!! 

After all that, we were pretty pooped so we walked back the hotel and parted ways with Ashley. Her hotel was another 10-15 minute walk past ours. We were excited for the next day when we would take the train back to Zurich, Switzerland and get a week of vacation and freedom to explore the gorgeous country!