Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Zurich

I meant to write this while still in Zurich, but it didn't get done.  I left Austin on 4/4 (Sunday), and went Austin -> Dulles -> Frankfurt -> Zurich, arriving mid-afternoon on Monday (Zurich time, 7 hours ahead of Austin).  I was able to roam around a bit some on Monday afternoon, as my coworkers (inbound from Munich) weren't arriving until Tuesday.  The hotel seemed to be pretty well located, right next to the opera house, and just a block or two from the lake.


While roaming that afternoon, I took a few pictures.  This was my first out of town trip with my new Canon 7D.  I had hoped to bring along the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lens that I bought along with the camera, thinking that the wide angle would be useful the many architectural and landscape shots I would take.  The lens that came with my original order had some sort of contamination on the lens (like a translucent, sticky drop of something), so I had to return it.  Given that Adorama was closed from 3/29 - 4/4 for Passover, there was no shot of getting the replacement in time.  I made do with the 28-135 mm f/3.5-5.5 kit lens.  I would have brought it anyway, as the nicer lens wouldn't have the range to zoom in on some building details.  Here are a few pictures taken that first afternoon:

The lovely balcony from the room
View down the street, from the balcony...
The promenade along the lakeside, about 2 blocks from the hotel
I just thought the sailboat looked cool

The promenade from afar, Alps in the background
The Grossmünster, a 12th century church nearby
There are a ton more such pictures at my Zurich Gallery.  Some of the night ones are a bit iffy, but there are a few worthwhile nighttime photos.  All of the pictures taken on my last evening in town are in the linked gallery.