Saket Vora

We woke up around 6:15 or 6:30am, and quickly got ready and checked out. It was a quick walk over to the Geneva train station. Sapana bought some juice and Babybel cheese from the grocery store while I bought some pastries as Sachi waited by the platform. We went up to the platform as soon the train rolled into the station. It was a double-decker train, so we went up the stairs and Sachi had found this nice three chair booth by the stairs. We sat down (no reservations, but it was fine), had some of the food and got underway. About an hour after we were rolling, we began to see some great country-side. Green fields gave way to white meadows, and in the distance we could see snow covered mountains. The sun was engaged in an on-going battle with the clouds. I fell asleep for a good hour or so, but listened to Sachi’s mp3 player first to some new Nickelcreek songs then to my own. We also read Sapana’s recently bought Herald Tribune newspaper. After about 3.5 hours, we arrived at Zurich HB. We disembarked and headed to the main terminal area. Since our Frommer’s guide to Europe (what a rather UNuseful book that has been) does not even include Zurich, our first priority was getting a map. We waited in line at the tourist bureau, relishing the fact that we could actually make out a bit of what was around us, cause Zurich is in the German speaking part of Switzerland. The tourist bureau was filled with an unusually high number of Indians, who seemed to be intent on booking tours and such cause they were taking so long in line. Sachi worked through several pamphlets and guides about Zurich while Sapana and I waited to get a map. It turned out the map was free anyway, so I don’t know why they don’t leave it out on the counter. We also got directions to our hotel, which we proceeded to immediately afterward. It is colder here in Zurich than any other city we’ve been to so far. We walked along the river front, marveling at a Starbucks Coffee and some other stores along the way. As I was trying to clear a curb, I ended up snapping off one of the legs of my bag. This means that it will no longer stand upright on its own accord. How lovely. We checked in just fine at the hotel (an expensive Indian restaurant is literally right below it) and after consulting the maps a bit headed back out into the city. On the way to the Starbucks I stopped at the Swiss equivalent of Payless Shoes. We saw these neat looking boots for just $22. But they didn’t have my size, oh well. We entered the Starbucks and Sachi and I shared a tall coffee. Our worries about the cost was later assuaged by the fact that all coffee is expensive in Zurich (pretty much like EVERYTHING else in Switzerland). Sachi also had a bagel. It was a good coffee – American style, not the espresso-style that Europe loves. And we later found a Starbucks behind our hotel too. Huzzah. From Starbucks we crossed the bridge to check the timing of the trains to Lucerne, where we tentatively planning a day trip for the next day. Total round-trip tickets cost 90 euros though. Ouch. We saw this fast food place by the coop grocery store with vegetarian options and Sapana got some springrolls for four francs. We then went to the Swiss Landesmuseum. It was an interesting museum, but a little too unfocused for my liking. The different exhibition rooms tended to jump around quite a bit in the topics of the artifacts. Switzerland has definitely had a very different history than other European countrys. After the museum we strolled down Bahnhofstrasse, the principal shopping and activity area of the town. We saw three (3!) H&Ms and did some more window shopping for Swiss watches. One store had a very nice selection of Swiss Army watches, and one or two of the models were outstanding – exactly my type of preferred style except that they cost three or four times my trusty Timex Expedition. Heh. Figures. We also went into a souvenir shop (they aren’t that common in Zurich) only to get sticker-shop at the prices. Souvenirs are EXPENSIVE. They were asking $7 or $8 for a simple patch…$8 for a PIN. It was pretty ridiculous. One of the most popular Swiss exports – the Swiss Army Knife, is also on display in numerous stores, which show impressive cases with all imaginable variations on the very recognizable utility tool. There must be some sort of price control enforced by Wenger or Victorinix, because practically every store has the same price for the knives. I am seriously considering purchasing one, because it’s quite recognizable and I’ve certain found it useful. The one I’m eyeing is not the typical red one though…instead it is imprinted metal, the ‘Soldat’ (German for ‘soldier’) variety for 24 francs. This one is actually the ‘original’ Swiss army knife that was issued to every civilian and soldier in Switzerland (265 day military service is compulsory for every Swiss male). So not only does it look different than the typical Swiss Army Knife, but it also the original and it was bought IN Switzerland. Would be nice I think. I still have tomorrow to think about it. We spotted this church with a large clock tower, but it was funny cause every time we tried getting closer to it we would lose it behind a building and couldn’t find a way to it. Finally we made it and crossed the bridge to the size of the lake where our hotel is. They had another souvenir shop here so Sapana got her shotglass. The good pin I saw was an outrageous $6, so I decided to hold back. Everything else was too expensive. We visited another cathedral nearby (the Fraumunster I believe?) then I was hungry so we went looking for a café. Not finding much luck, Sapana had the good idea of picking up something at the grocery store and going back to the hotel to chill for an hour or so. We did exactly that, and after resting a bit went back outside towards the station and the Bahnhofstrasse. I had read that there was a Christmas market going, and though we saw signs of a small one, it was clear that the bulk of it was over. We saw them disassembling a large pavilion of stalls in the station when we came in. I went back to that other store and grudging bought by pin. Sigh. We did a bit more window shopping and scouted some restaurants on the way back. It’s crazy…any dinner restaurant here, even the ‘take-away’ kind, will leave you 18-22 francs down…that’s more than $14 a person for just the dish, not drinks. A falafel at a fast food stand costs 7 or 8 francs…between $5 and $6. I could buy a nice big falafel in Lund for $2.75! Not feeling terribly hungry after our afternoon snack, we bought some small things at the same place where we got the spring rolls earlier and stepped into the grocery store next door to pick up some juice and such. We walked back to the hotel and had dinner there. I got started on resuming this journal, and at this very moment I’ve been writing for 2.5 or 3 hours. We are going to get to a leisurely start tomorrow (our birthday). The trip to Lucerne was X’ed, being too $$ when really we’d get the most out of it in spring or summer, not winter. I also must say that it has been lightly snowing here in Zurich. It has been nice, and not really too cold. The snow was a nice factor and added to the ‘Swiss’ experience, though I would like to have a clear day to see the mountains surrounding Zurich. Snow is falling now so tomorrow shall be quite white I think. The sisters have been falling asleep two hours ago, and now must I. More tomorrow!