First, the basics: you think of Zurich, you likely think of banks and financial institutions. And mountains, watches, and chocolates. You'd be correct on all counts. Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland (about half a million people). It's not the capital of the country (Bern is that), but it is a sort of cultural capital. It has good museums, including one dedicated to "nothing" (read about it here.) I was surprised to read that Zurich ranks high on the "happy cities" list. Switzerland is also "happy," though only in the 13th world spot. Before you poo-poo Swiss happiness, do remember that we, in the U.S., do not even make it into the top twenty. Richest country, but pretty miserable. As the elections have shown us. Maybe it's all that Muesli that gets the Swiss off to a good start each day. Zurich is synonymous with Muesli (you can actually ask for a bowl of Zurich in the morning and they'll know what you want -- oats, grated apple, nuts, seeds and milk.
Zurich is attractive. And because it is a visually interesting city, I booked a room at a hotel that capitalizes on its location by the Limmat -- a waterway that starts out at the tip of the Zurichsee. (Not a sea, people! Switzerland is land-locked! It's a lake.)
My hotel is called Storchen, which translates as "storks." The imagery for me is delightful.
But I am ahead of myself. First, the flights -- all three on time, all without issue. I'm still in my post-illness phase where I'm pretty tired, so I actually (hold on to your horses! this is a rare one!) slept on the overseas leg. For about an hour.
(waking up to sunrise over Paris environs as we land: lovely colors, mists...)
At the Paris airport I had just enough time to bite into my first French croissant of the trip.
And then I board the very quick flight to Zurich. This Swiss city is about 400 miles from Paris so you would only fly if you're connecting from another flight. Otherwise you'd take the train -- it's only three hours from Paris center to Zurich center. Having recently read a lengthy article about how and why the project of building a high speed rail between LA and SF ran into trouble, I'm less inclined to point fingers at political failures. We've boxed ourselves in in the U.S., so that it's unlikely that we'll be able to build tracks for these trains in my lifetime. The opportunity has long passed. I'm afraid it's one of those things like universal health care and paid family leave -- we as a nation are not united on the need for any of these and so we stumble along with half measures. And remain unhappy.
(Landing in Zurich: a very different landscape)
Zurich airport is close to town. I could take a train, but it really is a relatively un-pricey taxi ride (nothing is cheap here -- it's all "relative") and I have a medium suitcase that is more awkward, and I am old, so there you have it: I cab to my hotel. Well, almost to my hotel. The road chosen by the cabbie is under construction toward the end and so he shrugged and let me out a few blocks away. My new medium suitcase had her first experience with European cobble stones.
It's early. The room is ready only because we are in the low low season. (It doesn't get any lower: many Swiss hotels close at the end of March through all of April. This alone should have prompted me to think twice about booking a stay here now. I mean, why is it that no one wants to travel to the mountains at the end of March?), but as I've said I am only a little troubled by poor weather.
I always want to set out right away once I arrive in a new place, but today I go easy: I want to rest just a little. I imagined myself in this room, looking out at this view many times in the course of the winter and it feels good to be finally doing it.
(with a stork motif)
(looking to the right...)
(to the left...)
I have to be pleased with the weather: there was rain earlier, but now you can actually see an occasional blue wisp of sky. And it feels warm -- in the mid 50sF (so low teens C). Shortly after noon, I pick a walk and set out. [Picking a walk these days is so easy as compared to the "olden days." No need to visit a tourist office, no need to follow everyone's tracks. A few minutes on the internet will give you a lot of information. One site (this one) was especially helpful: six walks, many of them weaving through parks or green spaces. I pick the first one on the list -- "Zurich Lake Walk West." And I'm determined to stop at a cafe early on.]
I wrote out names of possible coffee houses, ones that had "good coffee," months ago. Honestly, on this one I would have been better off eyeballing a few along my route, preferably those attached to bakeries. But I didn't do that. European cafes can have shockingly bad coffee (I'm lookin' at you, Paris!), and while I'm not terribly fussy, still, I thought I'd get a better sense of Swiss cafe life if I picked a place with a good reputation.
So first stop? Cafe Odeon, which calls itself a "Viennese style coffee house."
It's been around for over a hundred years and the list of famous coffee drinkers who came here is long. Einstein. Lenin. James Joyce. Mata Hari. Mussolini. All fussy people!
But it's not a bakery. Indeed, there was only one baked item on the menu -- an apple strudel, which actually was more like an apple cake. No matter, I like apple cakes and strudels. Seems a Swiss kind of a dessert, doesn't it?
You can see the problem: sweetness overload!
I learned something: cream is a popular ingredient here.
The walk along the lake convinced me of something I already suspected -- Zurich is in a different climate zone, one that does not overlap with what we have in south central Wisconsin.
Spring has sprung here. And how!
When you are alone, you listen to the voices all around you and I must say, it's disconcerting to hear German, a language I do not understand. I rarely encounter German in my travels (and I know only about 20 words of it). My delicate avoidance of Germany had been a holdover from having spent my childhood in postwar Poland. May that be a lesson to us! You don't easily grow out of your distrust toward those who harmed you. I've surely spent time in Switzerland in the past, but by chance it would be in their French speaking Cantons. And now here I am, in the Zurich Canton -- all German, traveling soon to the Bernese Oberland -- the Canton of Bern, where they also speak German (with French as a back-up plan!).
(to the south -- the Alps)
In the evening, I booked a table at Kindli Restaurant -- I'm told it's the oldest eatery in Zurich. Now, what would you consider to be Zurich food? What do people eat here? Well, you already know about Muesli, but what else? I think most would agree that the dish closely associated with the city is Zürcher Geschnetzelte -- basically it's a plate of thin strips of veal in a mushroom cream sauce, with a side of Rösti potatoes. I used to cook both the veal in cream and Rösti in my former life, but these days I avoid meats and especially ones that come from a young animal that was never given a chance to grow up, and, too, I avoid recipes with creamy sauces, but I'm not a purist by any means. When in Zurich, I do want to pay attention to what people here regard as their own. Kindli serves this dish, I order it. (And as a special bonus -- I see they have white asparagus in season! It brings back memories of when I was in Germany briefly with Ed -- he had a machining friend there and we paid him a visit. In April of 2006. When we found white asparagus on a lunch menu, we could not get enough of it!)
I have to admit it -- the veal in mushroom sauce is fabulous! It may be the last veal I ever eat. The guilt is strong and I know I can't ever top this dish!
I almost said no to dessert. All the items on the menu seemed rich. But the waiter -- so professional, tolerating my German reading of my food choices -- merely said -- I 'll have them make something special for you. Light. With fruit.
It wasn't exactly light, of course. Bavarian cream, gelato... Still, it was, in fact, perfect.
The walk back to the Storchen is short. The view from my window at night -- beautiful. Now all I need is a good night's sleep!
with love....
