The entire weekend was one adventure after another. After finding out that our bus was scheduled to leave at 5 am, my host father was kind enough to help me call and schedule a taxi. The trams don’t start running until 5:30 am, and since the bus station was kind of remote, and I am prone to getting lost, this seemed like a reasonable option. My friend Megan, also directionally challenged, slept over (or napped over) so that we could wake up and make our way together. The 3:45 hour came quite quietly, and I sleepily got up, dressed and poured two bowls of cereal. The Mercedes taxi came at 4:20, so we could get to the bus stop at 4:30.
However, this early departure did not deem necessary. Somewhere along the route, the bus driver fell an hour behind. It was quite a chilly morning, and a bit disheartening to see one euro lines bus after another arrive and depart for various locations. We thought briefly about boarding one of these other busses-until we saw the magical vehicle that would take us to Switzerland. The driver however, wasn’t very magically humored, and didn’t appreciate the load, obnoxious cheers of a few of my friends who had been standing in the cold for over 2 hours. After deeming that a couple of our backpacks were “too beeeg” to take onto the bus, I pretended to load it underneath and snuck it on anyway-under no circumstances was I going to be parted from my tangerine and Gluten free peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches. I found a seat and promptly went into dreamland.
We arrived in Zurich, and stepped off the bus like baby giraffes taking their first wobbly steps. As we looked across the street a Starbucks immerged out of the mirage of our fatigue. Although it is not exactly unique to Zurich, our craving for caffeine needed to be satisfied. After sipping our hot beverages, we were able to think more clearly and made a game plan for the day.
Our next stop was the main train station, destination ATM machine. The stubborn, neutral Swiss have refused to switch their currency to the euro. Although their banking system is one of the most stable worldwide, it was annoying to have to convert everything through USD, euros, then Swiss Francs. Oh well. C’est la vie.
After being armed with stable currency, we made our way to a famous museum (I can't remember what it's called so that will be the name for now.) They had a special exhibition on Roman gold found throughout Switzerland, along with some photography and general Swiss history. It was incredible to see some of the intricate jewelry dated from about AD 300, and how these people had the foresight to burry their valuables when invaders were near.
Oui! Wooly Mammoths habitent a Switzerland...
Jolin smiling on the bridge from one side of the museum to the other.
The "famous" Zurich MuseumAfter the museum, deciding we were hungry, we walked downtown to find food. We ended up eating at a grocery store/cafeteria, since it was less expensive and fit everyone’s needs. I was able to get soy yogurt, lunchmeat and fruit. It was glorious. When we were sufficiently filled and warmed, we headed back out into the cold blustery day to do some more exploration. The financial district of Europe is located in Zurich, which looks much like the financial district of any city, but a bit “Swissitized.” The buildings weren’t skyscrapers, but instead sleek, clean and less overwhelming. What is interesting about many European cities, including Zurich, is that there are modern buildings dispersed within older looking buildings. The Swiss buildings were unique in the fact that they were very clean looking. For example, instead of some of the more ornate French iron railings, the Swiss ones were straight and simple. Right along the “walk of gold” we came across the other thing famous to Switzerland-chocolate. The shop was ornate, beautiful and smelled heavenly. It was populated with locals and tourists alike, and each truffle looked almost too pretty to be edible. Some of the group indulged in some Swiss decadence, before heading back out into the city.
One of my favorite parts of Zurich was the park at the top of a hill. The park contained everything in which a park normally has, including swings, a pathway and a small open field. However this park, like much of Switzerland was picturesque and beautiful. There were a couple of large chessboards, complete with a group of contemplative men in sitting around it, concentrating on the next move. A little stonewall surrounded the park, and behind it was a view of the entire city. We took some pictures, then descended back down into the center of town.
The Giant Chess Board-not quite Harry Potter size....
Descending back down into town...
Jolin, the amateur photographer.
Our group, Voila Zurich!
A view from the top.
Immages of Roaming Around Zurich.
Megan posing at the Steinway shop.
The Steinway shop!
Some Swiss decadence
Our hostel was a little out of the way, as many are. On one of the busses, we met a guy about our age that walked us to our hostel. Kristin asked him of a recommendation close by to eat, and he gave us seemingly straightforward directions, and then added, “It’s a bit alternative”.
We checked into our hostel, four of us were in one room and two in another. Jolin and I headed up to our room, and discovered that one of the “free” beds was actually occupied, or at the sheets seemed in use. Jolin went to the front desk to inquire about new sheets, and they just gave her a new room. Not wanting to be alone, I decided to stay in a free bed in her new room, which was right next door to the other 4 girls. Oh silly hostels.
After some wine and snacks, we decided to check out this “alternative” restaurant. It was a bit more ambiguous to find than it originally seemed. We eventually found this building with a red florescent florecent sign. The lacey white curtains were closed and behind them the windows were lit up with a bright pink light. After further investigation, and spotting a sign that read something like “Hot! Sexy! German word. German word.” We decided that this type of “alternative” wasn’t really our style, and headed back towards another restaurant.
A European Car?
The next day after breakfast at the hostel, we headed to the train station to take a train up into the Alps. We road up the mountain in a beautiful old train car, we saw little taverns along the way, and one with horses tied to them. We got off at the top and hiked up a snowy path complete with random statues of reindeer.
The view at the top was spectacular. You could see mountains in all directions, and the cold air was crisp and clean. We climbed up onto the lookout tower and the combination of the wind, the snow covered mountains and the pure height, made you feel like you were a bird about to soar over this breathtaking landscape. We asked someone to take a picture of our group, and immediately he struck up a conversation with us. It turns out he climbs up the mountain and this tower every Sunday, and travels the world to scuba dive.
On the train descent down the mountain, we decided to get off and look around the tavern with the horses. As we approached we noticed that a group of people were sitting outside next to the horses, in the snow, and being served alcohol. This site was just too funny to let pass, so I tried to subtly take a picture. This gesture did not go unnoticed and they immediately laughed and said something to us in German. Kristin answered back, “We don’t speak German”. They then said “Oh you speak uh English?! Ha ha ha.” These people were obviously enjoying their drinks. We asked them about their horses, then one guy took the reigns of one and handed them to Kristin saying, “You’ve won Lotto Six” and laughing. Kristin, who luckily rides and shows horses regularly started asking him questions and making small talk about the horses. As we were talking, another guy with a riding helmet on walked out of the bar and to our table, giving us a puzzled expression. The table erupted with laughter and the guy who handed Kristin the reigns said something in German. It was apparently his horse. He helped us all take turns and mount the horse, who was very sweet and calm. We thanked them, and laughing, boarded our train down the mountain.
The rest of the day was calm. Not much is open on a Sunday, so we decided to utilize the remainder of our tram passes and ride around town. After a little more walking, riding and exploring, we went back to the main train station, loaded up on food for the bus ride, then went to the stop. We saw the same bus driver, who was a lot more cheerful this time, and warmly welcomed us back onto his bus not noticing the size of our bags. We slept most of the way again, and arrived back in Strasbourg around 11 pm, and made our way sleepily, but happily back to our host families.
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