At the beginning of December, my friend T. sent out an email outlining all upcoming child-friendly, Christmas events in and around Zürich. She wanted to know which ones we would like to join her on. This is how 3 of my children ended up being able to ride the Märlitram.
Now, as the name implies, this is no ordinary city tram. This is the Märli tram. Driven by Samichlaus, and where two Christmas angels tell a Christmas story as you ride through downtown Zürich. It even looks magical, all lit up with white lights and painted such a cheery red color. The catch? Only children ages 4-10 are allowed to ride. No parents, no babies. When Nicholas was younger, we were given a ticket for him to ride on it, but he freaked out when told he would be on it by himself. I tried to explain to him that I would be right there as he got on and off, but he wasn’t having any of it.
So I just scratched it off my list of cool things my kids would do. But a group ride, with three siblings, and tons of friends from church? Well, that was a different story entirely. The girls, especially, were very excited to go. We drove downtown a bit early, as I didn’t want to be late, or have trouble finding a parking spot. We got one right near where the tram stopped, and then walked along the river enjoying the beautiful Christmas lights. We wished we had brought food for all the ducks still swimming in the cold water.
As we crossed the bridge we heard music coming from somewhere up ahead. It sounded like a huge choir singing. Finally we got close enough to see a small crowd standing, listening to something. We went through the archway of the building, and there they were! Not a huge choir, just three men standing in a very acoustical spot. They were singing without instruments, harmonizing beautifully, and we stopped and listened for a while. When Sarah went to put money in their box, they all three bowed down and tipped their hats to her. 🙂
After that we walked through the little alleyways, admiring the shop windows and the Christmas decorations, until we got to Pastorini. That is the toy store we visited with Jamis and Marcie in October. But now they had all new wooden toys on display; lots and lots of nativity scenes. Unfortunately, the walk over had taken longer than I thought, and we only had 7 minutes in the store, before we had to hurry back in order to meet everyone for the tram ride.
Which we didn’t do. Well, we met them as they were leaving the meeting spot and walking to the tram stop, but not at the time we had originally planned. And yes, punctuality is one of my New Year’s Resolutions! Anyway, the kids got on the tram, and Alexandra and I, along with two friends, crossed the street to the warm store and public restroom facilities, to wait for their return in 20 minutes.
The kids were all smiles when they got off the tram. As they exited, one of the angels wiped some of her “angel dust” on to their noses, so they all had glittery gold noses for the ride home. They were also given a cookie to munch on while they listened to the story. It was so good, they immediately asked if they could do it again next year. To which I replied, Of course! And Alexandra will be thrilled to accompany them.