European Holiday: Zurich

View of Zurich from our hike

I went to Zurich last week to visit Megan and Trevor. I’d been to Geneva once before, but never to Zurich. I loved it, and it’s easy to see why people say Zurich has the best quality of life in Europe. I arrived Thursday afternoon, and Megan and I began the day with a picnic on the lake before heading to a wine tasting. The tasting was on the lake and spread across 11 boats. There were also 4,000 different types of wine - yes, dangerous.

We arrived at 3pm and began with the “American Wines” section, trying different Petite Syrah’s from California and Washington, then tried a few Cabs, and a few table wines. After that we made a rule to only sample 2 wines from each table, because the pourers were incredibly generous and sample sizes ended up filling half the glass - and clearly it would be rude to only take a sip, or to spit it out like we saw some people doing.

A few of the wine boats

Unfortunately, this “rule” was a short lived idea that didn’t even make it to the next table - the Prosecco Table. We tried about six different types, then headed to the French section to sample a few Sancerre’s. Then we were back to the Italian section for Chianti, and then back to the American section because Trevor had just arrived, and he had to taste our favorite Petite Syrah.

View from the top of Zurich

We ended up staying until around 9:00, then grabbed dinner at a lovely vegetarian restaurant (that turns into a night club). Needless to say, we were all feeling a bit ill the next morning.

On Friday, I toured Zurich a bit in the morning while Trevor worked and Megan was in her German class (most likely showing off her new vocabulary lesson from the wine tasting - chocolate, cherry, oak, raspberry). Megan and I met up around lunch and went outside the city a bit for a hike. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and unseasonably warm for Zurich, and we ended up hiking for about three hours.

Megs gets credit - "Wouldn't that be a cool pic?"

It was beautiful. We enjoyed a traditional Swiss meal that night, and the following day went to Lucerne.

Lucerne

Lucerne was just as beautiful as Zurich. We took a boat over to one of the other sections of town, and the views from the boat were just stunning: sailboats set against snow covered mountains, vineyards, and gorgeous old buildings.

View from the boat

When we reached our destination, we walked for a minute, and then found a lift to take us up Mt. Rigi. We went halfway up the mountain, as we were told the views there would be just as good as the one from the top. We weren't disappointed. It was a clear day, and we could see for miles.

View from top of Mt. Rigi

We started walking towards the top, but a fog came in, so we decided to relax for a bit and drink a beer. What’s wonderful about Switzerland is they provide massive wool blankets to those wishing to sit outside! So we sat outside, huddled under blankets, and drank our beers while looking at the snow covered Alps. Not bad at all.

When we got back to Zurich, I was in for another Swiss treat - fondue. We went to Restaurant Suiss Chuchi in Old Town for dinner and devoured two pots of melted cheese and washed it down with a bottle of wine (we were told it’s unhealthy to eat fondu with anything other than beer or wine). For after dinner drinks, we headed to Jules Verne, a panoramic bar offering incredible view of the city.

It rained the next day, so we toured a few churches, drank “The Best Hot Chocolate in the World” from Springli, and then ate bratwurst for lunch, Zurich style. And then it was back to Paris for me. I had an absolutely wonderful time in Zurich, and can't thank Megs and Trev enough for being such great hosts!