Zürich: Up Close

I went on my first real excursion through Europe! This weekend we did Zurich (on a budget). We managed to travel to Zurich, stay overnight, and eat, all for less than Euro 150. Thank you, Nutella sandwiches, for keeping food prices down. We got in on Friday night, and we were able to spend all day on Saturday exploring the city. We saw big things in Zurich -- grandiose churches, prominent buildings, the University, the river, and the lake. We also found not-so-obvious treasures -- small alleyways with antique book stores and bike shops, grocery stores with gunstig (German adjective implying low price and high quality) Swiss chocolate and cheese, Dominoes pizza near the University, shockingly high prices at Starbucks (which we did not purchase), and, of course, our fabulously comfortable hotel turned galaxy far far away as we finished the Star Wars trilogy. The weather on Saturday was perfect and sunny, and we were able to end the day walking along the river as the sun set, and walking back along Bahnhoffstrasse and window shopping the entire way. (The conversation was something like, "When I'm rich and come back to Zurich, I'm going to buy..." while simultaneously trying to convince our Australian friend that in America, the Lion King is actually called the Lion Tycoon, because we don't have kings in America.) We paid for our great weather on Saturday with rain on Sunday, and after attempting to sightsee anyway, we realized nothing is open on Sunday, our bags were heavier than we remembered, and rain and cold weather are not the best cure for already runny noses. So we headed back to the train station and were able to trade our tickets in for a slightly earlier departure. (Travel Chris for the win with this great idea). Overall, the trip was fabulous, and I'm very blessed, not only to be here, but also to have great people with whom I can travel.

Love,

Emma

P.S. I think Nutella sandwiches are cheaper than pasta.