Something to Declare

Post No. 10: Zug

September 12, 2023

I wanted to see the town of Zug in part because Zug has a Kunstmuseum with a collection of some of my favorite artists, Shiele, Klee, Klimt, Kokoschka.

We should have known something might be awry when we looked up Zug in Rick Steves’ guide, and found that it didn’t mention Zug at all.

But the internet and Lonely Planet had some nice things to say about it, e.g., the Kunstmuseum. And son-in-law Neil lived there for two years some decades ago. We were also informed that the town has a picturesque lakefront, the Landsgemeindeplatz, and was famous for fishing (the name Zug comes from the word for “pulling up,” i.e., fishing nets). And that there were two local fish (Balchen and Roheli) that we thought might be good to try for dinner.

Okay, then. We drive to Zug (scenic drive, by the way) and scope out some fish markets. Only to find that nobody is selling Balchen or Roheli (almost all the fish is imported from New Zealand). We also had some difficulty finding a particular restaurant, Pier 41, which did not seem to be anywhere near the waterfront. So we parked in a hotel garage and set out on foot. Still can’t find Pier 41 so, as in Luzern, we find a branch of Sushi Negishi

(what creatures of habit we are). Then on to find the Kunstmuseum. Only to discover it closed for installation of new exhibits. And that we couldn’t have seen the Schieles, Klees, etc., because those works were never part of the museum’s permanent collection at all. Thanks, Lonely Planet!

(This is the second time I’ve been cheated out of an exhibit of works by Egon Schiele. Years ago, Susan and I visited Česky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. One of the motivating factors was the Egon Schiele Zentrum located there. We got there only to find that the entire museum had been given over to a temporary exhibition of Dalí!)

There was still the Old Town of Zug, and there were some worthwhile sights.

And the Landsgemeindeplatz and the lakefront were beautiful.

There was also an aviary of exotic birds.

So, overall, not a bad day. And we were happy to get home to prepare dinner (imported Dorade) and welcome our friend Lisa, who’s in town for a couple of days. Tomorrow we show her Zürich.