A Fairy Tale Ride

Monday, December 12, the younger kids and I drove into downtown Zurich for a much anticipated ride on the Maerlitram. (Literal translation, fairy tale street car)  My friend, Tanya, was kind enough to go several days in advance and buy all our tickets at once, so all the kids could ride together.  The girl selling the tickets told her she was very lucky to find 17 seats available on one time slot.  Indeed!

I overestimated how long it would take to drive into the city, and we were also able to find a parking spot relatively painlessly, so we had plenty of time before our scheduled ride.  This was good, since everyone decided they all needed to go potty again, even though they went just before we left the house.  Noah didn’t like having to be in with us girls, but it was better than going to the boys’ completely alone.

We walked over to the tram stop and met a few of our friends. 🙂That bundle of cuteness is Hans, a family favorite.  It’s always a good day at church if we have a clear view of Hans and his antics. haha   There were also gorgeous Christmas lights to admire.  These were my favorite. The light would start at the top, and swirl around to the bottom before going dark for a second and then starting over.  So it looked like melting icicles in the tree!

This is the angel who sells you your tickets.Why an angel, you ask?  Well, you see, Santa Claus doesn’t come to Switzerland.  I mean, he comes to some houses, like ours, because we are American.  But the Swiss kids get their presents brought to them by the Christkind.  Translated it means Christ child, but it’s actually an angel, a GIRL angel specifically, who brings the presents on Christmas Eve.

We had arrived really early, so things got a little crazy while we waited.Sarah picked up Noah and swung him around for a while.  Then Sarah and Sophie tried to pick each other up, with varying degrees of success.

Then they started a conga line. Music self-made, naturally.

They even had a few other kids join in, but before things got really crazy, the tram showed up!Isn’t it just magical looking?  It’s not every day that Samichlaus drives a tram around the city.  And I love the old fashioned paintings along the sides. sigh  It’s just perfect.

The kids all stood in line, waiting to hand Samichlaus their tickets.  Alexandra was so excited because she finally got to ride this year.  You have to be 4 to ride, and she was very sad when she had to stay behind with me last year.

During the ride, the angels tell the kids a Christmas story and pass out cookies. The whole ride lasts about 20 minutes, going through the heart of downtown Zurich.  But too soon for some, the whole thing is over, and the tram pulls up to let the kids off. As each child exits, the angels give them a dab of angel dust on their nose and cookie. A very sweet ending to a fun tradition.

Sadly, this was Sarah’s last year, since children over 10 aren’t allowed to ride the tram. 🙁  But I whispered a little secret in her ear as we walked away.  There will still be something special for her to do next year.  A special treat just for the kids who can’t ride the tram.  She was thrilled.)