Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
...switch trains in Milano and it is a nightmare. The previous train was delayed and then cancelled so our train is packed with every seat accounted for and people sitting on the floor in all of the common areas. Train finally gets to Lugano Switz and is not going to go any further. So now we have to catch a connecting train which left 1min before we pulled in and now we wait an hour. Finally get into Zurich a couple hours late and we meet up with Andre and Beatrice. We get to there apartment and realize that they have moved out for the week to gives us the place to ourselves. We feel guilty but it was so nice of them and was very nice for us to have a home after a few weeks of living in hotels. First day in Switz is very chill just running erands having a look aroung Ruti - the suburb of Zurich we are staying in. Next day off to Rapperswill which is a historic swiss town with a nice castle and bridge. I have my first swiss meal which as far as I can tell was shreded potato fried in a pund of butter with spices and a side salad (but really good with a cold beer)
. After lunch we hit up Zurich. Seems to be a pretty cool city although we get in late and it is mostly a shopping day. Next day will be action packed. We hike a train to Lucern which is a cool swiss city that has a interesting historic center. From Lucern we take a cruise across lake Lucern for 2 hours with some breathtaking views. This takes us to base of Mount Pilatus where we share a hairaising train ride up the side of the mountain with a bunch of school kids. This takes us close to the top where we grab some lunch (fish and chips and penne with cheese and applesauce - seriously!). Now there are 4 hikes to decide from but the one to the highest point is about 3 hrs round trip. We have exactly 3 hrs before the last gondola down the mountain so we go for it. The view is almost as breathtaking as the thin air. We make it to the top and snap some picks as I carve Matt + Jennie in the bench at the summit (corny but had to be done). Now we scramble back down amongst the cow bells of the hundreds of cows a thousand feet below and make our way to the gondola. Hit up Lucern for a few and then train it back. The swiss train system is amazing - the trains are always on time to the minute - and very expensive. Next day is a quiet one reserved for some laundry and email/budget checking. We meet Andre and Beatrice for a great meal at HILTE a cool vegatarian place in Zurich. Spend all of the next day walking around the historic sections of Zurich and doing some shopping - well looking any way. Zurich really is a nice city with a huge lake and some very cool looking buildings. It is also very expensive and high end. We head to an old town called Appenzeller the next day and eat at an old hotel check out the local shops and live music. Buy an umbrella we will carry around and never use and head home. Now we are off to Geneva to pick up our car and we are excited to head back into italy and drive wherever we want to go.
