Zürich

Note: We arrived in San Francisco yesterday, but a lack of sufficient Internet speeds has left me to finish my blog at home, so keep checking back for tales of the remainder of our trip!


We ventured our way in to our final country, Switzerland, with Zürich being our first stop of three. The most striking things about Switzerland, and the first things you notice, have to do with the landscape. First, the water is impeccably clean and clear, giving it an almost tropical feel because you can see the different color blues as it goes from teal to sapphire. It makes you just want to jump in with all the ducks, swans, and coots. I was happy to be going to Europe but Hawaii has definitely been on my mind, so our time in Switzerland, especially Lausanne, will fill that void for me. Needless to say I'm down for this Thanksgiving or Christmas in Hawaii everyone has been talking about!!! The second thing you notice is the endless mountain ranges that seem to go on for miles, all the way to the snow-covered alps. Like the water, the air is also impeccably clean and clear so besides some clouds, the mountains are always visible. Whether you look up or down there is something beautiful to look at.

When we first got in to Zürich it was already 9pm (remember our extra time in Münich) so after checking in we went out to try to get a small bite to eat since I hadn't eaten anything on the train. Beware any and all fondue places! I've heard from friends before that they are expensive (typically $30-$100 a person!) but we sat down to eat there and wanted to order just one fondue pot, but we had to get a larger size if we both wanted to eat it. We regret not walking away at that point, but we sure learned our lesson, especially since Zürich is full of so many hip, cool restaurants, cafés, and bars.

We woke up early the next morning since we had a limited time in Zürich, only one full day really, and headed to the downtown area where there is a really nice shopping street that has things all the way from H&M to Chanel. While I meandered in and out of shops Mark walked down to the lake and enjoyed a nice walk around the city. After we met back up, we got a quick take-away lunch of a pork schnitzel sandwich and some bratwurst and enjoyed it in the shade by the water watching idiots feed the birds. Their swan, duck, and coot population is huuuuge here, probably because of this feeding habit that people think is good for the animals.












After lunch we went back to the room to rest for a little because I wasn't feeling too well, but we then went back out to get some ice cream. I felt horrible the whole time with a pounding headache and nausea and ended up throwing up in the bathroom at the café (twice) before heading back to the room and enjoyed hugging the toilet there for a bit too (I hate dry heaves). I doubt there was actually anything really wrong, probably just a bit of exhaustion mixed with an exaggerated headache and stomachache, but I gathered myself together for dinner and was able to keep it down. I had something light (a simple salad and mint tea) while Mark had what he claimed to be his best meal on the trip. I was jealous because his red chicken curry with rice did look rather delicious, but at that point the thought of food made my stomach churn. After dinner we went to the train station to get tickets for a direct train to Luzern (for some reason our tickets had a transfer) so we could have a little extra time in Zürich since our time was so short. Afterwards we sat down for some beers to watch the nightlife around us and then had a lovely walk before bed.

Our last morning we took a cable car up to their university area that Mark had explored the day before while I was sick. It had a nice view of the city and it was cool to see a school with such epicly awesome buildings which make our universities look dull. We then grabbed a quick lunch of Mexican food before getting on the train. For the train from Zürich to Luzern you can hop on any of the trains that run every half hour so it was very convenient for us.



Zürich is a small city compared to some of the other cities we have been to but there was some great life to the city. There was the busy (and long) shopping street on one side of the river and the old town with many, many restaurants and cafés on the other side of the river. We really enjoyed our time in Zürich.