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Published: December 7th 2009
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Zurich, Switzerland: I have to admit, Switzerland, much less this place called Zurich, was not on my top “too see” list when traveling to Europe. I can’t really provide a valid reason for this, but needless to say I was shocked at myself for deciding to travel to Switzerland for the weekend. My afterthoughts on Zurich? WOW! It is truly the prettiest city I’ve ever visited and might just have to steal the number 1 spot for my travels so far. The best way I can think to describe it is like New York (only way cleaner, much smaller and without any homeless people) mixed with a quiet little Swiss town (think cobblestone streets and tiny shops) mixed with Christmas (twinkle lights, Christmas trees everywhere, garlands, aromas of cinnamon and cider). So to recap: New York + quaint Swiss town + Christmas. What’s not amazing about that?
We arrived via nighttrain on Friday morning, only to find ourselves in the most confusing train station of our lives. Elyse and I were so lost, and so tired, and just could not figure out for the life of us 1) How to get to the main part of the train station 2)
How to even get out of the train station and 3) How to ask for help from these people speaking a crazy mix of German, Italian and French (turns out pretty much everyone speaks fluent English in Zurich, but we didn’t know that!) So Elyse and I finally figure out how to get out of the station (after about an hour!) and then search for the tram to take us to our hostel for about another 30 minutes. We finally get on the tram and make our way to our hostel, one of the only hostels in Zurich (there are two total, mostly because the city is so ritzy and expensive that everyone just stays in hotels). We get off at the stop for our hostel and look at the directions the hostel provided: Get on tram #7 (Check!), Get off at Morgental (Check!), Walk 5 minutes…wait, what!??? So we are at this intersection, not sure which of the numerous directions we are supposed to be walking in and without any signs to help us out. So we choose one way- wrong! So we turn around and finally we stumble upon our hostel! After getting setltled in, we head out
to grab some lunch and explore Zurich. After some delicious Thai curry at a street vendor (15 Franks for a street vendor…steep!), we naturally decide to go shopping. We explored the main shopping district and then met up with Sam who had just arrived from Milan. We had discovered that there was currently a Christmas Market in Zurich, so we had to check it out! It was amazing! There was huge Christmas tree in the center and tons of vendors selling everything from fried apples (delicious!) and cider to homemade ornaments and jewelry. We decided to visit a favorite fondue spot of the Zurich locals for dinner, where we had a delicious (and pricey!) meal of fondue and meringue (favorite dishes among Zurich locals). We ended our evening with a few drinks at our hostel (Swizzly Cider!), although it was pretty dead...it's been too long since we met fun people at a hostel!
The next day we decided to do a walking tour of the city, and we spent the afternoon wandering around the cobblestone streets of the Old Town, shopping at the little shops decorated with twinkle lights and Christmas garlands. We also found a church with beautiful
stained glass, but unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos. We also found, completely on accident, a movie theater playing New Moon in English!!!! Elyse and I almost had a heart attack we were so excited! So we completely splurged on tickets to see New Moon, and it was completely worth it! The theater itself was super nice and was like a theater you would see a play in, with balconies and all. You paid different amounts depending on the seat you wanted…pretty intense! There was evening a curtain covering the screen until the movie started! The movie was amazing (so much better than Twilight!) and the seats were plush and way comfy. They even had an intermission….Elyse and I seriously thought something was wrong with the film because it all of the sudden just stopped playing! So we had a great evening watching New Moon and eating Thai food our last evening in Zurich (yes again….we miss Thai Smile 2 so much!)
So that pretty much sums up our trip to Zurich! Highlights: New Moon, Christmas Market, Fondue 😊 No Good, Bad and the Ugly on this one….Zurich was just amazing!
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Mom
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What a magical city!
Hi Steph, I had left a comment earlier, but my computer froze and apparently it didn't post. Wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this blog. It looks like you chose the perfect time to visit Zurich! Love, Mom