Discovering Zurich

Zurich is a low rise, cosmopolitan city that’s as pretty as it is charming. I don’t really know what I was expecting to discover, but, it wasn’t what we found…

The first real glimpse we got was probably the same as most people, the large open space of Zurich HB train station.  We’d arrived from the airport but always busy – Hauptbahnhof train station serves up trains to all over Switzerland and internationally to Germany, Austria and France. It’s vast glass and iron ceilings take a moment to get to grips with and it’s one of those buildings that makes you realise just how small people really are.

I cant recommend enough the walk between the Hauptbahnhof station and Bellvue – in the heart of the old town. We just missed some bad weather but even under a heavy grey sky the walk along the river Limmat towards the Lake was refreshing (Georgie however felt a bit different… Thanks to a short skirt and a stiff breeze). The wide streets and low buildings made Zurich feel spacious where perhaps it wasn’t and as we came to Bellevue on the edge of Lake Zurich it was hard not to feel a little envious of the people that lived here and their way of life.
We met up with our chum Philipp who’d be putting us up for a few days and showing us around the place he calls home. He took us for an alfresco sausage lunch at  “Sternen Grill” or “Gucci Sausage” as it’s locally known. Squeezed at the opening of a narrow alley is a busy stall (Look out for the yellow umbrellas) grilling and selling the sausages by the thousands to hungry passers by. The queue is always long but it moves fast, you get a choice of light or dark sausage (I recommend the light), a crusty bread roll and a little pot of mustard – This is powerful stuff! if it was in the UK it would carry a health and safety warning something along the lines of  “Beware this mustard will literally burn the inside of your face!”

We took a seat amongst the hustle and bustle and did what friends that have been apart a while always do – catch up on the gossip.

I don’t think any post about Zurich would be complete without a nod in the direction of the Tram Network… It couldn’t be easier, cleaner or to be honest cheaper to get about, at every tram station is a pretty easy to read timetable, electronic signs and a ticket machine – with English instructions. Not that you need them because there are two large buttons one Yellow and one Green – Yellow for an hour travel card and Green for a full day – 4 and 8 Swiss francs. The travel cards work for the buses as well and for their price they’re a great way to get about… Both Georgie and I love a good tram!   Ding Ding!

After we got settled at Philipp’s flat we took a tram back into the centre and strolled about the old town district of Altstadt. Wide main streets feed off into a hundred narrow cobbled alleys, they in turn sweep up and down hills and in and around beautiful old buildings such as
The Grossmünster – A Roman style church with twin towers, one of Zurich’s main churches and a dominant mark on the cityscape.
The Fraumünster Abbey – Another church and another key player in the Zurich skyline.
St. Peter – …Yet another church this lovely boasts the biggest clock face in all of Europe.
There’s a photo opportunity around every corner!

We met Mr Cheeky (Philipp) again after he’d finished work and he took us for “apro” – an after work drink to me or you, at an intimate little hotel bar called “Widder-Bar.” It’s small, dark and crowded… As are most of the good bars at that time, but it had everything we needed, boasting an impressive single malt whiskey collection and a fresh bowl of olives with every round of drinks. It’s still possible to smoke in bars in Zurich and I must say I enjoyed it, there’s definitely something to be said for little gems like that – a busy, chatty atmosphere, a light haze of cigarette smoke and the smell of wood and whiskey…
We got caught up in catching up and wandered out of the bar and back to Philipp’s a little on the wobbly side and feeling very charmed… Charmed by the city, charmed by the people and charmed by the lifestyle… But mostly charmed by the continental strength beer!

Recommendations:

• Wander the old town district of Altstadt without a map or any plans – get lost and be thoroughly charmed.
• Have an alfresco sausage lunch at  “Sternen Grill” near the Bellevue tram station.
• Find a shady alley with busy little bar and go for “apro” around 5 pm.

Aaron Bradford has written 385 articles. +Aaron Bradford is the leader, mentor and chief geek of HappyTimeblog. He put together the crack team of writers known by codename “The Firm“. He's a permanent traveller and a lifestyle hacker. Wanna know more? Check out my Bucket List or my About page... I'm here to show you how to live a Life Less Ordinary