Uetliberg

Today the kids and I had an "impromptu explore day."  Today the three of us took the train to an area called "Uetliberg."  Uetliberg (pronounced Ute-lee-bear-g) is an area at the top of a large hill overlooking downtown Zurich and the lake.  There are hiking trails, observation decks, and a few restaurants.  We picked the right day to go.  The weather was great, and we had great views of the city to the east, the Alps in the south, and the Swiss countrysides to the west.  Another interesting attraction is the "Planet Trail."  There are replicas of all the planets in the solar system, and they're all laid out along a trail set to scale in distance and size.  So you start off at the sun, hike to Mercury, hike further on to Venus, and so on.  Anyway, the entire Uetliberg area is very popular with tourists, since it is a short 20 minute train ride from the Zurich Main Station.  After today I can see why.  It is the highest point in the Zurich city area, and the views are beautiful.