Day 2: Candlelight Concert Queen vs. ABBA (2/7/2026)

I don't exactly know how, but these Candlelight Concerts by FEVER had been on my radar or in my algorithm for a while, but we're not really in a reasonable distance to go to one close to home, so this was the PERFECT opportunity and I love Queen and Collin really enjoys ABBA (and Queen), so this just seemed to make too much sense. I'm so glad it was the first thing I booked for this trip, it was gorgeous. My eyes were leaking it was so beautiful. 

Both Abba and Queen's music is so intricate that hearing it from a stringed quartet was very impressive. I still haven't figured out if this concert series is a bunch of different musicians across the globe or the same ones that travel near and far... everything was in German, so I'm guessing it's a bunch of different musicians. I think one of my favorite parts was the reminder of how music brings people together - we (I - Collin understands a bit of German) didn't understand a word that was being said... okay, that's not exactly true either - I understood when they announced the title of the song and to applause, but people singing together and clapping and stomping and just really soaking up the moment was something special.

This dress was my first maternity purchase, and let me tell you... when I pulled it out of the packaging material and it was MAYBE 6" wide, I just didn't know what I'd gotten myself into. Kind of fun to get dressed up and head out to a show though!

I can't help but wonder who lives in these beautiful houses...

Who doesn't love an evening by beautiful candlelight?!

I thought I was about to get busted for taking a photo of the art, but my friend Amanda and I went to the Chagall museum in Nice many moons ago and this painting made me smile bringing that memory to mind.

I thought I'd be disappointed by the 'fake' candles, but the abundance of them seemed to make it work - it was absolutely lovely.

This view reminded me of a scene in Emily in Paris...

Total steps for the day: 12, 928

Day 2: Exploring Zurich (2/7/2026)

Our hotel doesn't have a fridge or a kettle like I had hoped, so I started the day with some goodies because I can't really start my day on an empty stomach!

"Moo, who?! Hello YOU!"

Just SUCH a beautiful day!!

I don't know who this is supposed to be, but as soon as I took a photo of him, Collin pointed out that he's watching over a Tesla dealership.

Many shops/cafes with outdoor seating had these sheepskin covers on them!

The clearest waters!

We were heading into town to visit Zara and H&M to see if they had any cute baby clothes (not knowing what we're having made it hard to find anything that was irresistible!) We also managed to make our way in to LUSH so I could get some bath bombs for our upcoming stays with tubs. :) 

My cutie on the cobblestone.

I couldn't get over the beauty in every single inch. I never got over it when I lived here for over a year nearly two decades ago either! It is SUCH a treat to these eyes!!

Someone was serenading us with live strings and vocals in this stairwell too.

Mannekin Pis' cousin? Se possible!

Our toasty view from lunch. Coming from the polar vortex we've been living in, I was pretty sure I'd walk away with a sunburn... it was LOVELY.

So sunny. So toasty.

Collin ordered what translated to meatloaf and I ordered an 18 CHF (so a 23 USD) salad... his 'meatloaf' tasted like breakfast sausage (or maybe fried spam?) his fries were out of this world though! My salad was a letdown for what it cost... I tried to finish it to not waste, but it was literally a mountain of butter lettuce and radicchio with vinaigrette and like 5 pickled tomatoes on it... not bad, just not exactly a meal. 

Blue skies and clear waters!

I don't know what my deal has been with mallards lately... I keep telling myself they remind me of my grandparents because of the artwork they always had on their walls and mugs. I don't know exactly what it is, but they're making me smile!

Just a lot of beauty amongst the hustle. It didn't feel overstimulating like some cities can though.

Day 1: Lindt Chocolate Factory (2/6/2026)

As soon as we stepped off the train, we could smell the chocolate!!! It was magical!

We had tickets for the Lindt Chocolate Factory the day we landed, because I wasn't sure how we'd feel with jetlag and took to long to commit... and then I found out they were completely booked for Saturday (2/7). So, a few hours after we landed it was! (And it was fiiiiiiiine!)

We knew we were close as soon as we stepped off the train/tram (I don't remember which one it was) because it smelled so magical!! It smelled like chocolate everywhere - we were like a half a mile away!

We were about a block away and saw a sign pointing us in the right direction. We then saw windows displaying copper bowls and cocoa beans and all sorts of items leading us to the chocolate factory. Once we arrived, it was really stunning. I'm not sure if it was the massive front or what exactly, but it was a fun moment!

We walked in and were greeted by a 9 meter (30 feet) tall fountain of chocolate!!! It was so pretty and surprising (even though I'd already read it would be there!)

 Everything appeared to be made of marble. It was very pretty. The tour was fascinating, but we were so spent from not sleeping much or well on the train and it was SO people-y in there! It was packed! So we started skimming through. It was still very fun.

We came full circle from our trip a year ago where we visited the Mayan ruins and got chocolate tequila. 

Previous wrapper designs.

They had tasting fountains of white, milk, and dark chocolate. It was almost too much. Yes, I went there.

Collin proceeded to listen to the next portion was a multi sensory experience (when he described it, I couldn’t help but think of when Remy takes a bite of the berry woth the bite of cheese in Ratatouille and fireworks explode in the background!) they had maybe 10 different chocolate bars to taste and they all had different flavors incorporated in them. Collin loved the caramel/toffee and orange tastes the best.

That giant truffle that’s bigger than my husband? It’s a video photo booth. It was very cute and very clever, but our turned out so awkward because I didn’t realize it was a video in time and there were so many people waiting in line.

The nearly last part of the tour was a room with maybe their most popular flavors? I’d say we left with 8 different flavors (because I couldn’t handle one more bite!) which would have cost about half of our entrance fee! So, that felt like a deal in this spendy, beautiful, and delicious land!

Allllllll my samples to take home and enjoy after our thousands of steps everyday!

The store had even more flavors….!!! 

It was a beautiful evening and a beautiful walk back to the strain station.

We’ve got this!! Public transportation in another language! Yeah!

Burgermeister! I think I had like ten meals the day we landed. My body couldn’t figure out what time it was and all the walking we were doing mad ene hangry! So, I wasn’t exactly famished when we finished the chocolate tour, but I had a very hard time turning down truffle fries and I just really love coleslaw (and was trying to keep things balanced, you know?!) Collin got a smash burger, everything was really good, (he didn’t care for his beer though,) but it cost $60 USD for a fast food meal. Granted it was fresher than McDonald’s, but shoot! I didn’t even order a full meal!

The Old Inn, a few blocks away from our hotel - we just love the architecture and beautiful bricks/tiles every time we walk by it. 

Total steps for the day: 12,129