Surprise we are going to Zurich, Switzerland! - December 2014

Zurich in the evening

In the mornings I always wake up with Ross and make him breakfast before he has to trudge off to work for the day.  I do not tend to sleep well so I am usually quite tired so imagine my surprise when on Thursday morning (two weeks ago now) Ross surprised me with the news we were going to Switzerland for a couple days!  Not only was I caught very off guard but then he said we were leaving on Sunday! He told me he wanted to wait to tell me until the night before but figured I would be mad because I would have no time to prepare (he was right).  Even having three days to make sure everything was in order was tough!  But finding out about a secret trip was very romantic.

The company Ross works for is in collaboration with a company in Zurich so there was to be a business meeting there on the Tuesday.  Ross worked it out so I could go as well and we would just head there a couple days early so we could explore together.  Sneaky bugger had known for almost two months and he never let it slip.  I am impressed with his secret keeping ability. 

It is quite the journey for us to get places from Valladolid.  The flight itself was short but to get to the airport we must take a train to Madrid for 1.5 hours (that is the high speed, we have taken the longer route which is 3.5 hours) once in Madrid we have to take a subway from the train station to the airport and then had to take a bus from terminal 4 to terminal 2!  Then of course reverse all that on the way home!  I do not know prices of airfare or hotels as Ross handled it all but I can say be prepared to spend a pretty penny if you are ever visiting this amazing city.  We flew Swiss Air and the flight there was great.  We had cherry Danishes and as much juice, water, tea, beer etc as we wanted.  The flight was only an hour and forty five minutes so by the time we were in the air we were basically there which is great because I am not a huge fan of flying. 

I do not even know where to begin about Zurich!  It was one of the most gorgeous and interesting cities I have ever had the privilege of exploring.  Many of the buildings are very Gothic and fairy tale like with pointed roofs and interesting colour schemes – lots of pastel pink, blue and yellow and of course a lot of white.  Also the buildings had a lot of old wooden shutters which I am a huge fan of.  The city seemed exceptionally clean and well maintained.  There was little to no graffiti (I personally saw none so I can assume there is very little), no dog poop on the sidewalks (something that I have huge issue with here in Spain), there was the odd empty bottle of Jagermeister laying around but otherwise no real trash laying around and it smelled like Christmas!

There were so many Christmas displays, market booths and lights down most of the streets in the downtown area.  It was beautiful and really the first time I have felt like it was the holiday season this year.  The restaurants were very warm and inviting with wreaths and tiny twinkle lights and just felt like places you would want to spend time dinning with friends and family.  There was a giant Christmas market at the Train station full of sweets, delicious cuisine from Germany, India and France, many little festive trinkets and mulled wine.  We spent a lot of time wandering through the market and enjoying the sights and smells. 

Ermahgerd Deep fried apple ring pastry deliciousness

The official languages in Switzerland are German and French (also Italian but far less so) and there is a Swiss German as well (not that I would no the difference) but basically everyone can also speak English!  It was nice to be able to go into any store or restaurant and be able to talk to people.  Also I must admit I love the way German sounds, so walking down the streets hearing people speaking it just made my day.  At one point Ross said “Don’t you just want them to read you a story?  I don’t even care what they are saying I just like listening to them talk” I agree fully!  It was also really interesting to walk down streets and see the incredibly long German names.  It just puts a smile on my face.  I do not think I could ever learn to speak it but I think I would sound really cool if I could.

Throughout our wanders we were always noticing the beauty of the buildings, the interesting shops, cobblestone streets and how green the city was.  There were so many trees and plants.  Here is this amazing city full of nature and to top it off a huge gorgeous lake.  How could we not fall in love?  Lake Zurich (Zurichsee) is very clean and if it were a warmer time of year I would have jumped in!  The best part is that about 30 km across the water are the Alps.  What a perfect lovely place to be.  Apparently you can take toured boat rides for up to 7 hours across the lake where I imagine you would get a pretty sick view of the Alps. 

We ended up in a park around sunset on our second day there and from this park there was the most wonderful view of the city, the canals, the houses rising up on the hillsides and the old beautiful cathedrals.  For us the best part however, was that you could look to the right and have the most magnificent view of the Alps across the lake. Like I said they are about 30 km away so they appear much smaller than they are but they are perfect!  They were covered in snow and looking all majestic and powerful yet with the sun setting on them they glowed pink and orange and had a softness that took your breath away.  It was a moment I will always treasure.  I hope to be able to return to Switzerland someday and actually drive through the Alps and see them up close. 

No big deal Just the Alps in the background

View from the park

Another thing that really stood out about the city was how high tech and modern it was.  I mean this city has been around for thousands of years and has not only been able to keep its heritage and old world charm but has advanced along as well.  The transportation is all very fast, efficient and clean.  There are electric trams that run throughout the city which are surprisingly quiet.

Both Ross and I agreed that if we could move there we absolutely would the only issue would be money.  I have never been in such an expensive city and I come from Vancouver!  I was astounded by the prices; 5 fr for a Starbucks tea! (don't care getting it anyway!)  Also going out for dinner was quite pricey.  It didn't seem to matter where you went be it burgers and fries or fancy pastas you were looking at spending around 20 fr each for just your meal, no extra salad or even water never mind alcohol.  We were told that people do make a lot more money there then most places and they would have too or they couldn't afford to live there.  Even in the grocery stores we were surprised at the cost.  We found some things were two to three times what we would be used to paying. 

So happy to have Starbucks in my hands

The cost of living and higher salaries showed in the people who lived there as well.  Most people seemed to be dressed very stylish and possibly just having stepped out of a magazine and they drive very nice cars as well.  I suppose it seemed posh but certainly not stuck up.  All the people we encountered were incredibly friendly and outgoing.  People were always smiling and looked to just be enjoying the days.  Everyone we met was very helpful and didn't seem to mind that we spoke English at all.  I only encountered one guy at the train station who didn't speak enough English to answer my question but he quickly showed me someone who could.  Honestly he probably could have answered me if my question wasn't so silly but I was alone and trying to get to the airport to meet Ross and I panic easily.  I am certain he didn't understand me because the question made no sense not because he couldn't speak proper English.

View from the canal

It was a bit of a quick trip with arriving Sunday late in the afternoon and then flying out Tuesday afternoon but it made it more romantic and exciting!  I wish we had more time to spend here but I am so grateful to even have had this experience.  What a wonderful surprise from my wonderful man.  

My love and I