Yarn hunting in Europe part II- Switzerland

Blogger finally allowed me to post without "eating up " my photos. Today must be my lucky day!
Continuing my yarn hunting - part II in Switzerland.

First day in Zurich we visited a couple museums, explored the old town that consisted of many narrow and winding streets, full of antique shops, small boutiques, cafes, etc. Some of the old houses were dated back to 14th century. We strolled down the famous 'Bahnhofstrasse', known as one of the most beautiful shopping streets in Europe. Very nostalgic and romantic area.

We stopped at the tourism office to get directions and attractions information as we would be soon heading to Lucerne. I had an inquiry as well and you know what it's! Forgetting about my shyness, because when I think about yarn I completely seem to forget about it. :) I approached the old lady from the information desk regarding yarn shops. She took a glance at me over her glasses and said " Yarn shop? This craft ( knitting) is almost extinct these days. She took another good look at me. I felt that I was from the dinousar era . Then, she slipped off a little map out and circled an area around the famous street of Zurich that we had just strolled by momentarily ago. I heard the name of a department store Manor and DH soon remembered about seen it before ( great husband with great memories?) ;) I was a little embarrassed to leave the counter because once I turned my back , I saw this huge queue behind me. Perhaps we spent a little longer in our turn. And asking about yarn shops didn't sound too important, at least to these other people.
And this was my next stop,

Manor department store , 4th floor

This was a great shop, with a good selection of yarns. They carried Anny Blatt, Lang and their own Home brand. The Spring yarns were out and I could even take advantage of the cotton yarn on sale. The colors were not so distinctive to me, specially that I have a good stash at home in many colors. So I ended up choosing this light orange color ( All the tones are lighter than in the photo) . But the rest were regular price. The white ones are 50% cotton- 50% silk, the Home Brand and my favorite buy was Anny Blatt 100% cotton in this grey blue color. The colorful crochet threads are for my sister.

Later, on the same street I found this window display in a pharmacy?? I wonder what was the purpose of the knitting display? "Knitting is good for health" or "Healing with knitting"? Interesting, right?

On our way to Lucerne we stopped in a small city, Zug. In their small downtown, you could see a stunning view. With the morning fog it was just gorgeous! Indeed, this was my favorite spot.

Did you see me in that photo (left bottom) ? I felt like in heaven. It was sure true because it was so peaceful and enchanting to walk in that area. It felt even more like it was a dream when DH surprised me with this finding!

There was just one negative aspect about this store. It was closed for lunch!! Being already satisfied with my yarn hunting from the previous day in Zurich, I supposedly could not expect for more. There were still another 50 minutes before they would reopen for business. So trying not to show my disappointment, I told the guys that it was all right ( we had to head to Lucerne) and that a few photos for my blog would be sufficient!

Ooooh, the yarns looked like candy, don't you think so? This shop was filled with better quality stock than the other stores I had visited. I spotted lots of Lang brand and magazines inside!

So, I tried to console myself for the bad luck and tell myself that I had being fortunate enough to have found the other stores. Then someone ( my younger son) loudly announced that he was hungry!! The next thing I heard was DH laughing. He told to the boys that this plan would fit mom perfectly! I can only say that my guys are the greatest! And you know what was next after lunch...

A better look at the rainbow candies! So yummy, I wanted them all! Such an interesting display. You could see all the selection and pat a ball without fears that the yarns would fall all over.

In the photo below, there are rows of zippers but i didn't buy any. There was no time to think about future cardigans that would need zippers at times like these.

Could not walk out empty hands, right? I chose Fuchsia merino yarn from Lang, some sock yarn and a few balls of silk mohair. Found couple knitted lacy doily and tablecloth magazines. Too intricate for me to knit but it's so nice to just look at the pictures. This is the type of magazine you leave by your bedside so that you can have sweet knitting dreams! ;)

The lady from this shop was extremely nice and well mannered. It was a pleasure to visit her shop. Just wished that I had more time to chat with her and talk about her knittings. All the samples in the display were her work.
Once she learned that we were on our way to Lucerne, she gave me the address of another branch that carried sale stock.
This shop was located in the old downtown of Lucerne at a walking distance from our hotel.

Unfortunately the sale selection weren't the yarns that I liked. I had the feelings that this one was going to be my last shop. It was my last chance to get some blue cotton yarn-Lang Golf ( forget to take a photo).

My younger son soon came to look for me with a business card in his hands. He was holding a yarn shop address that he had found nearby. Oh he joked in selling it to me, knowing that mom wouldn't be able to resist it! At time like this, you think they are your little angels!

It wasn't just an ordinary yarn shop as they carried souvenirs as well. There were a good stock of Italian yarns and magazines. I didn't buy anything because I was starting to be realistic about the little space left in my luggage. After all you need to show some resistance to your kids, right?
And with that I finished my yarn hunting in Switzerland. We still had a weekend to enjoy and sightseeing around the city. We visited mount Pilatus with an extraordinary view. Can you spy a knitting lady?

And last but not least, we visited the "The Dying Lion of Lucerne". It was carved in memory to the Swiss that had died in the French Revolution. In fact, Mark Twain called it "the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world."

On our way back to Zurich, we had lunch in a French border city but it was Sunday , so no yarn hunting! Will be on my future list of places to visit.
In case, you're wondering about my real knitting activities. I have been knitting , though not a lot these days. Just have been busy and not being able to concentrate. Besides my Flower Basket shawl, I am working on two more projects that I will show next time.