Arrival in Zurich
07 September 2017
It was a fairly easy flight to London, and unlike the last time when we were on this flight for the Belgium trip, I did not have any freight from work sitting down in the cargo belly. We were really surprised by how empty the flight was. Lots of open seats, but I don't think anyone was really complaining about that. Between the short travel time, the space to stretch out, and our lovely flight attendant, the Philly to London leg of the journey went very smooth.
After a seamless trip through security at Heathrow, we walked through the airport and were feeling pretty hungry. How could we not be hungry though, it's like walking a marathon to get across that airport. Our flight was on the board, but a gate wasn't yet assigned. We had a bit of time to kill. Right past the scanners was a place by Gordon Ramsay where we went to get some f**king breakfast! It's funny how Americans know him as the screaming f-bombing chef, but if you've ever seen his regular cooking show, he’s so calm it's unnerving. You just sit and wait for the blow up that never comes. Anyway, we got a couple cappuccinos which were very much needed after the redeye flight. Beth had the smoked salmon Benedict, while I got the English breakfast. When in Rome, no? Everything really was fantastic... guess he's worth the hype, huh? The mushrooms on the English were probably the best mushrooms I've had, really. And those eggs! That deep, orange yolk is the way an egg should be. This is actually only the second celebrity chef place I've been to (I was at Emeril's in Florida a number of years ago). After paying and getting absolutely killed on the USD/GBP exchange rate, we wandered a bit before our gate was finally announced.
Less than two short hours and it was Guten Tag, Zurich!
First impressions are lasting, and the airport left one for sure. It was super clean, the announcements over the PA came with a level of calm I'd never associate with an airport, the bathrooms were spotless, and there was a caviar kiosk set up in the middle of the terminal. It was basically a preview of everything we've heard about the Swiss. A quick rest in arrivals to charge the phone and we were on our way!
We took a train from the airport that made a stop only a few blocks from our hotel. Trains in Europe are a completely different animal than what we are used to in the US. Not the “so loud we can't even talk” clacking of our regional trains, these are smooth and whisper quiet. It's like we were floating by on the air. This train was a double-deck, and we sat on the top with comfy seats, a small table, and a trash-free floor that wasn't sticky underfoot. So very different than back home! It's an easy ride after the hectic pace of airports, a half hour to just sit in the calm quiet and watch the city go by through the window...
The Swiss Star Apartments in the Wiedikon section of Zurich would be our home for the next couple nights. While it was booked on a hotel website, it was more like a studio apartment that is rented out as a room. We were happy to see that it had a kitchen, so we could hopefully cook some of our meals and save a bit on eating out. I love dropping into grocery stores on travels, but typically we just look at all the amazing stuff and have to pass it by. Now I can actually get some ingredients and cook up something good instead of just browsing! The room also had these grates that pulled down over the windows. Even in mid-afternoon we could make our whole apartment pitch black! We took a little break with some R&R time in the room, then headed out to see what Zurich was all about…
Walking along the canal towards the city center we noticed something going on in the water below us, and we had to stop to investigate. A group of kayakers were playing what I guess was a type of polo. They had kayaks, volleyballs, numbers on their lifevests, and nets suspended well above the canal. They paddled toward the net and tried to throw in the ball to score, as others swung up their paddles to block. It was like a soccer and basketball combo played on the water in kayaks. It was actually getting pretty physical as ramming is apparently allowed! We watched for a bit as they finished up, but I didn't want to watch. I wanted to play!
We headed up to what is called one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world. We could probably afford one single sock at the high-end clothing retailers down there, but at the chocolate places we could get a few small things without breaking the bank. We dropped in to Confiserie Teuscher, which is well known for their champagne truffles. They were exquisite! We got a small box that wasn't so bad on the wallet, and I think we’re hanging on to these to bring home. They are also known for their really intricate boxes, all shaped like animals with hand tied silk bows. They were pretty and would be a nice gift, but we just got the chocolates in the plain box. If you really wanted to, you could drop some bucks in that place for sure.
Down flag-lined cobblestone streets and narrow alleys that split off in all directions, we slowly made our way past St. Peter church, with its gigantic clock face that is said to be the largest church clock in all of Europe. So many of the streets we wandered through were walking only, making for a perfect casual stroll past shops and restaurants, the white crosses on the red banners of the Swiss flag blowing in the breeze overhead. We passed through a narrow alley under the shadow of the St. Peter church steeple to the banks of the river just beyond. We crossed the water at the Rathausbrücke, where we hung out over the river for a bit facing down towards the old town and the lake beyond, just admiring the view and taking in the scenery. Zurich is definitely a beautiful city.
Once on the eastern side of the river, we wandered up to the hopefully less expensive Niederhofstraße. The small alleys with their steep hills made for a hearty walk, but it was so worth it to explore these off-the-main little pathways. This area was crammed with restaurants, but after a few trips to other parts of Europe we were blown away at the Swiss prices. I may be going on about that a bit, but we have had a heavy dose of sticker shock since we’ve arrived. We try to make these trips as budget friendly as we can, but this time would be a bit of a challenge. Zurich does have a reputation as an expensive city, and it has surely lived up to that. After a lot of back and forth over where to eat, we settled on grabbing something small at the Raclette Stube.
Ok, so here’s the deal. The Swiss take a plate of veggies and mashed potatoes (and sometimes cured meats) and dump a giant pile of freshly melted cheese over top. You'd think it was called “heaven” as it well should be, but the Swiss actually call it Raclette. Apparently Raclette is the name of the dish as well as the type of cheese usually used for it, but if you go out to a Raclette place this is what they give you. There are special pans they use to melt the cheese under a grill, then they scrape it over all the other stuff on your plate. Some places have a grill stand that holds an entire wheel of Raclette cheese, just waiting to be scraped down on to your plate. Think of it as fondue if you dumped the pot of molten cheese over everything else instead of dipping. Yeah. Heaven.
We shared a plate of Raclette and each tried a Swiss hard cider. The Raclette was gooey and the potatoes were simply amazing, and the ciders were as good as any we've had before. I've heard stories about cold drinks and Raclette and the battle they wage against each other in the stomach. We were fine with the cider, but apparently the Swiss insist that one should never drink beer when eating Raclette!
We had 24 hours on the transit ticket we used to get down from the airport, so we hopped a streetcar to the Theatreplatz to get to the only grocery open this late. We got stuff for breakfast tomorrow and a few other things to bring for the upcoming car ride. We were getting drowsy from all the travel and the long day, so after a bit of grocery shopping we headed back to the room. There was a little pizza shop under our apartment that was still open, and we grabbed a small pie for a late-night snack that we carried up with us. The night wasn't spectacular or exciting, but honestly the first day of traveling and getting situated rarely is.
Not sure what goes on late night in Zurich, but it was early to bed for us.
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