Sorry it’s taken me so long to keep going with my holiday diary. Not having a laptop at your finger tips makes it rather tricky! Today we visit Zurich. Waking up at the Holiday Inn Express at Luton meant we were fresh and ready to hit Europe. We took our first flight to Zurich, Switzerland: my Gran’s favourite country. She passed many years ago so this journey was one of discovery on a deeper level: why had she liked it so much? What were for favourite spots? What secrets did she know that I didn’t? I hoped to find out.
What I did know was that Switzerland was meant to be very green, clean and efficient. The airport definitely illustrated this. They have a European minimalism. When I arrived at the airport there were big concrete walls and I said, “Oh they’re still building.” Mr Love said, “No…that’s the style here. Look, there’s a painted wall. This is complete.” Oh! He was right…sorry that I didn’t know bare concrete was a look!
Our friend met us at the airport and it was SO much fun seeing her! Loads of us Capetonians make foreign friends but then never end up visiting them in their countries. It was really great to turn the home tables a bit. We took the train and travelled into Zurich, the Swiss capital.
After dropping our bags, our friend took us on a tram to the top of a hill in Zurich so we could get 360 degree views of the city. It was wonderful to see the city below and get an idea of Swiss cities. Plus, we like hill tops coming from Cape Town 😉 I also liked seeing all the Christmas trees! You see them in movies and on TV but never really think about the actual tree. There were lots of them in Switzerland! On the tram there was an old Swiss grandpa who was chatting away in Swiss German. I had no idea what he was saying but everyone was laughing. Once they translated, he had said, “I used to talking to pretty girls because I go to the dentist.” LOL!
Our tram stopped and we took a little walk up the Swiss hill.
Views from the top of the hill (restaurant to the right but, as with most touristy things, it’s very over priced and the quality isn’t great).
Evening setting in on the tram station.
Once we were back down the hill we went to a bar in Zurich. It was an awesome design and actually very Cape Town. They had boxes of herbs, flowers and vegetables growing among the tables. Faerie lights hanging above and a lot of street art. Drinks are very expensive in Switzerland as everyone earns a good salary. So when there is staff the prices are high, therefore, we only stayed for two drinks.
After drinks we popped around the corner for a burger at a cool burger bar. It was tucked down an alley and had a sky full of umbrellas that changed colour! It was super cool 🙂 The restaurant has a few tables but no formal seating area and food is ordered at a kiosk.
When it came to the burgers, I asked my Zim friend (who is also living in Zurich) was on it and he said he had no idea. That sounded kinda odd but once I tasted it, I knew what he meant! I have no idea what was on it! I think some dried onion chips, coleslaw, rocket, mayonnaise, beef patty…it was weird but tasty. They also had squid ink burger buns for their salmon burger!
We walked around the back of the alley where the restaurant was situated and found a bar with live bands playing. The train was rolling over the top as young people drank and danced to the music. I was hoping to take in some Swiss pop culture to see what the people liked there so this was a good indication of what they get up to on a week night!
