Heavenly Chocolates, Bowls of Melted Cheese, and an $80 Umbrella?: My Trip to Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich, Switzerland

I was bitten by the travel bug at a very young age. I still remember being about ten years old and writing down a list of places that I wanted to visit. I jotted down the typical “touristy” locales into my notebook (hey remember I was only ten!). Destinations like San Francisco, Chicago, Dublin, and Rome all made the cut. As the years went on my taste in travel changed dramatically.

So my little travel check list saw many changes over time. I would add new places I found to be interesting and deleted places that I no longer cared about visiting. A few moved up the ladder of importance, while many were moved down the list due to being less important or just too expensive to visit. But there was always one place that remained in the top three throughout it all. Switzerland was that constant.

I was lucky enough to check out one of my travel “must see” destinations when I embarked on a three week European vacation. The three week trek was originally suppose to just be an Italian getaway to the cities of Rome, Milan, Bologna, and Florence. But after getting all worked up over the idea of being so close to Switzerland, I just added a three day trip to Zurich, with a quick day trip to nearby Lucerne. I convinced myself that it just made sense. I mean why not just fly into Zurich, hang out for a long weekend and then take Rail Europe down through Italy.

Squeaky clean Zurich Airport.

So after booking all my flights, hotels, and attractions, I counted down the days until I would be leaving for Europe…and Switzerland in particular. I boarded an American Airlines flight on a Thursday night, and arrived in the land of cheese and chocolate on a rainy and chilly February 29 morning. Upon exiting the plane, I stepped into Zurich Airport and was in awe. This had to be one of the cleanest and most high tech looking airports I have ever seen on my travels.

The Limmat on a cloudy day in Zurich.

Zurich is the the largest city in Switzerland, with an estimated 376,000 people calling this quaint city home. It is situated alongside the Limmat, giving it that charmingly European look. Unfortunately I was visiting in late winter, and all the boats were out of commission until April. So I was unable to ride down the river for that unique view of the city. But since the city is split by a small body of water, I was able to simply cross one of its many little bridges and snap a great pic of some Zurich’s beautiful skyline.

Do you like your cheese in a big and extremely hot pot? Then head to Swiss Chuchi for amazing fondue.

On night one, I decided to check out fondue, yes it is cliche, but I am in Switzerland dammit! So I check out the highly touted Swiss Chuchi fondue restaurant located in the lobby of the Hotel Adler. You can not miss it, since they have a blue cow hanging from the second floor of the establishment. Upon walking into this great looking and equally great smelling restaurant, you feel as if you are walking into a friend’s home. The room was so cozy, warm, and welcoming. You felt a real sense of happiness and excitement as people enjoyed or awaited their delicious meals.

I ordered two fondue pots, one with just cheese and the other with ham and cheese. Both had white wine in them and looked insanely delicious when they arrived at my table. The fondue came with a big bowl of cubed bread pieces. Never been to a fondue restaurant? It is pretty simple – poke at bread, dip in cheese, repeat this process over and over until your belly is full. My kind of meal! I ordered some amazing locally made Swiss wine to assist me with washing down all that fondue goodness. Very tasty way to start off my weekend in Zurich. It was a long day of travel, so I hit the pillow before midnight.

Day two I awoke to find that I only had one English speaking channel available on the television in my the hotel room. Luckily for this news hound it was BBC World News. So after quickly freshening up and listening to the top stories of the day, I ventured out to see what this city had in store for me today.

"Mmmmmmmmmm chocolate." - Homer Simpson

More chocolate in Switzerland (it's everywhere!)

It was another rainy and windy day In Zurich, but that did not damper my spirits whatsoever. I was in Zurich and nothing was going to ruin my weekend here. For breakfast I went to one of Zurich’s most popular locations, Confiserie Sprungli AG or as locals simply call it Sprungli. To many Americans unfamiliar with that name, Sprungli is owned and operated by the Lindt chocolate company that we enjoy in the states.

The two-story shop has one floor dedicated to everything chocolate, but go upstairs and you have a great dining experience awaiting you. I ordered an omelet, a yogurt, a croissant and of course a hot chocolate. Sprungli is known for their ultra chocolaty hot chocolate, just the way I like it. Minutes later the waitress brings out this perfect looking egg and cheese combo with a sliced cherry tomato on top. It was so fluffy and tasted great – I wish I had ordered two!

Second floor restaurant located in the Sprungli chocolate shop.

Then I tried some of their extra creamy yogurt covered in honey and devoured one of their warm crusty croissants. Nom nom nom! With some room left in my belly, I made sure to partake in a swill of Swiss hot chocolate! Oh yeah, it was greatness in a mug! Definitely stop into Sprungli for a memorable Swiss culinary experience.

One issue I have with a city like Zurich is that it is expensive…very expensive. Here is an example of Zurich’s pricey side. I stayed at the Zurich Marriott after bidding $89/night for a 4-star room on Priceline. Now while that rate is downright great for a city like Zurich, it was the extras that the hotel wanted to charge that shocked me. One day the rain was so heavy that I needed an umbrella. It was an early Sunday morning and no stores were open yet. I asked the concierge if the hotel had any umbrellas available for guests. She smiled and said that they did, but I needed to fill out a form in case I lost it. No problem, as I thought I heard her say it would cost me eight dollars if I damaged or lost the umbrella.

It turned out that she did not say eight, but instead eighty. Yes the Marriott wanted to charge me $80 U.S. if I did not return their precious umbrella. I begrudgingly signed the form, as I did not feel like getting soaked or staying inside until the storm ended. I guarded that damn umbrella as if it was a newborn baby. In addition to the most expensive umbrella known to man, the Zurich Marriott also wanted $32 U.S. dollars per 24 hours to use their “high speed” internet in the room. What the hell!? I obviously passed on that offer and luckily came across a Starbucks down the road that had complimentary Wi-Fi for customers. While I am not a fan of their coffee, it sure did taste great while I browsed through my emails free of charge.

This brings up an important travel tip…never pay for hotel internet! Why on earth should any customer staying at a hotel in this day and age have to spend extra to get internet access in their room. Most of the time it is slow anyway. When traveling, if you get stuck with a hotel that is trying to squeeze some more moolah from your pocket with an internet surcharge, simply ask if they provide it in the lobby area. Many hotels have free internet in certain parts of the building.

If not, then go investigate nearby coffee shops to see if they provide it. If you can find ways to save a little cash on your travels, do so! Be a travel investigator before venturing to your location, especially if it is a foreign country. I ordered myself a medium coffee in the Starbucks and grabbed a nice corner seat and used their Wi-Fi free of charge for 2 hours! I could have stayed all day if you wanted to, but I had more places to check out around Zurich.

St. Peter's Church

But as expensive as this European locale may be, it also has a ton of great attractions to check out on the cheap, and in most cases, absolutely free of charge. Just walking through the side streets of Zurich was a treat for yours truly. I stopped into a few churches and museums in order to check out some amazing Swiss art and history. St. Peter’s church is one location that you need to especially check out, as it boast the largest church clock face in the world.

Some of my fondest memories of Zurich, were simply walking by the river and checking out the architecture. Some other attractions you need to visit when in Zurich include the old Gothic church Fraumunster, the Romanesque church Grossmunster Cathedral (aka “Gross Monster”), Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Kunsthaus art museum. Plus for all you shopaholics looking for a place to max out your credit cards, Bahnhofstrasse will be happy to accommodate you.

Zurich is a bike friendly city that provides free bikes, skates and other fun means of transportation to locals and visitors throughout the town at several checkpoints. If you are looking to get outside of the city limits and explore, hop a train to the nearby story book city of Lucerne for a day trip. If you do so, be sure to dine at Rossini’s, which offers amazing homemade pizza and pastas in a delightful setting.

Not sure why I took a pic next to this trolley. But I liked it.

A lot of times when I visit certain cities, I will call them a “one and done” destination. I plan a trip, visit, and then check it off my list and move on. But not Zurich, I can see myself going back to this lovely Swiss capitol again and again. Zurich often gets a bad reputation as being a place known for its abundance of banks and old money. It sometimes gets overlooked by the more romantic and popular European cities like Paris and Rome. But it is so much more than that. The beauty, culture and food alone make it a great place to visit. It may have taken 19-years, but I can now cross Switzerland off my list of “must see” destinations.

Some random Zurich facts:

• Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland.
• In 2006 and 2009,  Zurich was named the city with the best quality of life in the world.
• This city also has been named the wealthiest city in all of Europe.
• The official language is German, but many locals also speak English, Italian and various other South Slavic languages fluently.
• Unemployment is not a major issue in Zurich, as it stands at around 2.6%.
• Due to the cultural diversity of Zurich, major companies like IBM, Google, eBay, Microsoft, Toyota Europe, and General Motors Europe have opened offices within the city.
• Some famous residents that have called Zurich their second home included Albert Einstein, James Joyce (who is also buried in Zurich), and Tina Turner.