The day started well until the three of us stopped at a flea market in downtown Zurich. The plan was to do a bit of shopping and then head up to the tram to go to the garden. While walking around I spotted a vendor selling a set of zen meditation balls with a dragon and a Phoenix on it. Now this is where you need a bit of history on myself. About eight years ago while visiting an Amish flea market, I came across a set of zen meditation balls that were a beautiful, rich blue color with yin-yang signs on them. I fell in love with these items, but decided to come back later to buy them. By the end of that day they had already been sold to another buyer however, and it has been a deep regret for me since then.
Well seeing this new set before me, I couldn't possibly pass them up. But the problem was, I had run out of cash the day before and was relying on my Visa card to pay, and they did not accept plastic at the flea market. So I figured I could withdraw money from an ATM (I was informed I could withdraw up to $200 with my card) and gave it a try. Well long story short, the ATM took my card and I was without anyway to make purchases. I didn't panic at least, I was more in shock than anything else. Thankfully my friends were able to spot me and I promised to pay them back later.
A couple hours later we took off for the sculpture park. It was a beautiful day to be going out, the weather was cool from the rain the night before but warmed by the sunshine. The location of the sculpture park was outside the the main city, under the rolling hills/mountains where many resident houses and community gardens were located. The hike up the hill was tiring, but the walk was so worth it. The park was huge with hundreds of statues. Some of them you could even climb. It really looked like Tim Burton and Dr. Seuss had paired up to make this fantasy world. Even the surrounding forest with trails to walk felt like something out of a fairytale. The trees were damp and deep brown in color, some with white spots and many mushrooms growing everywhere. Emma got a kick out of how many times I'd stop to take pictures of snails and slugs on the sculptures and trees. They had so many different colored shells!! Vanessa even found one the size of a baseball!!!
We spent several hours at the park, climbing the two winged dogs statue (which I think look more like dragons), saw two peacocks, climbed a cat statue, and really had a good time. I'm so glad that Emma found this place during her group research and that we were able to go.
On the way down the hill, Vanessa met a cat that let her pet it.
I happened to look into the underbrush and found a fat looking worm creature. I became super excited because I knew that it wasn't a worm or a snake, but a European Glass Lizard! I've only seen them in books so this was the prime opportunity to interact with a live one.
Vanessa asked if it was poisonous and I responded, "I don't believe so. But, we're about to find out!"
Call me crazy, but I picked up the little critter and I think it was in shock it didn't know what to do! It flicked its little black tongue out but never made any distressed signals or aggression. After holding it and taking photos, I released back where I found it and we went on our way. I was giddy the rest of the day, even now.
We then descended towards the main part of the town to catch a bus home and check out the bakeries. Emma and Vanessa got delicious vanilla pastries and shared with me. As we explored the area as we ate, we came across cows, a church camp, and a horse show.
In honest truth, I think I'd love to live here someday, or somewhere in the states similar to this.
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