For my final stop on this trip, I was based in Zurich, Switzerland. After a quick flight in from Ljubljana (pro tip: their business lounge was really quite nice and has a lovely outdoor viewing area for plane-spotting!), I embraced Zurich’s public transport (trains, trams and buses all go to and from the airport!) and was quickly checked in to my hotel. I think figured I’d do a bit of exploration to see if anything was open on a Sunday afternoon; ironically, more was happening on Sunday than Monday!
My hotel was slightly underwhelming (the Zurich Marriott); I had booked on points since everything in Switzerland is prohibitively expensive, but honestly think my Zurich experience likely would have been better had I stayed elsewhere. It was slightly out of the city center (not terribly so, but required a 15 minute walk or tram ride to get to any areas of interest) and was your classic aging Marriott property: grey, unrenovated, offering “5 star” service (although the first time I interacted with the concierge, she literally handed me a list of restaurants instead of asking me anything to personalize my experience, and the second time, the concierge called the restaurant in front of me to confirm a reservation and still, somehow, the restaurant had no record of my booking). So, I was already underwhelmed. I decided to try my fate with the tram and soon was impressed with the beauty of Zurich’s true downtown area.
After stepping of the tram, I was immediately impressed with the sights and ambiance – there was a live band playing along the riverfront, church bells were chiming, and people were milling around enjoying their weekend. I started with a lunch at Swiss Chuchi, which specializes in Swiss cuisine. Despite the moderate heat (thankfully much cooler than the Balkans), I opted to get the fondue and was talked into getting both a glass of Swiss bitters (I’m 99% sure it was just Campari) and a pear liqueur (good, although a stiff bite). The fondue itself was great, although the bread could have been fresher.
Then, I started my exploration. The city is split by the Limmat River, with the small “old town” and commercial areas clustered together. I decided to walk down to one of the major cathedrals, the Grossmünster. It was relatively austere (likely due to the Swiss being Protestant versus Catholic and therefore less opulent in the décor), but did offer the option to walk up to a viewing platform from its tower. Figuring I was already sweaty, I decided to do the walk. It was quite the trek, requiring you to first climb a very tight (a little wider than average shoulder-width) stone spiral staircase, then climb about 4 sets of modern wooden stairs, then climb about 4 sets of more “medieval” stairs (thankfully they retired the truly medieval ladder, although the incline was steep and these were narrow!) until you finally hit the stairs that will lead you up to the viewing area. Unfortunately, the view is somewhat obscured by the large metal grates preventing you from stepping on to the outdoor platforms, but the view was lovely nonetheless.
Then, I made my walk back downstairs, unfortunately passing through multiple areas where BO was trapped in the stagnant air. Undeterred, I made my way to my next stop, which was the cathedral right across the river, the Fraumünster. Of course, all of the bridges are popular for taking photos (for good reason!), so I stopped as well. Interestingly, this church had some stained glass designed by Marc Chagall. I loved the modern interpretation and coloring.
My second church ticked off, I continued on to the St. Peter’s church which is situated several streets further back in Zurich’s more commercial district. Incredibly, the Zurich Philharmonic were practicing for a concert that evening and allowed bystanders to listen in; between the quality of the music and the acoustics, it was a beautiful performance. I’m so surprised and thrilled I’ve had so many lovely chance encounters on this trip!
Feeling the heat, I decided to wander back across the river to an interesting cocktail lounge / event space / coffee shop called Voltaire’s Cabaret. A British TV show was filming in the ground level of the shop, so I was ushered upstairs to sit among the wooden furniture, the stylish interior completed by the matching piano and a big disco ball.
After my afternoon indulgence, I headed back to the hotel, eventually making my way to dinner at one of Zurich’s best Mexican restaurants, El Alebrije. Set up in a residential neighborhood further north than the hotel, it was a quality experience. I met the owner, Miguel, who was incredibly sweet and excited about my interest in his food. I ordered the flautas de huitlacoche (not super impressive, nor did I see any evidence of huitlacoche as the flautas appeared to contain black beans, but it was fresh); and the pescado (which was legitimately delicious, and the proprietor brought me fresh homemade black corn tortillas to enjoy with it). The jalapeno margarita was probably my favorite component of the whole meal as well!
The following day, I tried to find anything open to do and was shocked that there was legitimately nothing open that wasn’t an outdoor attraction or a church. Zurich appears to be a big city that’s primarily tailored to its residents’ daily needs, rather than tourist infrastructure (which is ok, but was surprising to me!).
Since there weren’t a ton of museums available to begin with and everything was closed, I did the only thing I could do: rode the “cute” public transportation up to the Polytechnical University of Zurich, using the Central Polybahn, aka the funicular that takes you up the hill. The views were nice and the university was fun to walk around briefly.
In the afternoon, I decided to treat myself to a spa day. On the way, I continued satisfying my urge to indulge in Zurich’s international food offerings and tried Yume ramen, where the “extra spicy” was pretty much normal spicy despite the waiter’s best warnings.
The spa itself was called Stadthaus Hammam and Spa. Located underground, this was by far the most lovely and thorough hammam experience I’ve tried. The hammam experience itself consisted of 9 recommended stations, including a shower, relaxation on a central hot stone, full body scrub and ritual wash, a steam room, a massage / treatment, sauna, salt-water mist, footbath, and a mud body mask. The massage I booked was the traditional “tellak” which consisted of a full body scrub and then washing with an incredibly lovely foam soap, followed by a massage. It sounds a little strange (who pays to have someone else basically bathe them?), but it was quite similar to what I’ve experienced in spas around the world when I’ve received body scrubs / peels. Overall, a fantastic and truly worthwhile experience.
For dinner, I continued to try Zurich’s restaurant scene, heading to Zunfthaus zur Waag, located in the lovely Munsterhof square overlooking one of the cathedrals. Unfortunately, my reservation wasn’t in their system, so I enjoyed a glass of champagne while waiting for a table to become available; once seated, I ordered the Caesar salad, the Swiss rosti (served with veal and an incredible mushroom sauce) and finished the meal with grappa and the world’s least creamy crème brulee. The waiters didn’t speak very good English but we had some fun chatting throughout the meal and they brought me a free, extra grappa at the end, which was a lovely treat!
The following day, I headed on a day trip to Liechtenstein (see my separate post!). On my final evening in Zurich, I headed to Sapa Canteen, a lovely Vietnamese restaurant in northern Zurich. It was also a stellar meal – the ginger mojito was delicious and imminently drinkable, the spring rolls fresh, and the pho was truly great (lots of herbs and a very rich, spice-forward broth). I was very pleased with it and wished I’d had an excuse to stay longer.
Overall, a good couple days in Zurich. I wish I’d had time to visit the Landesmuseum (the Swiss National Museum), but otherwise I think I hit the main sights of Zurich. The biggest draw of all: the direct flight back to California.