not neutral
I’ll admit that Switzerland was not on my travel bucket list. With limited time and funds for travel, there were other places in the world that called out to me more.
But sometimes it’s good to veer off the list. It turned out my friend, Nick, was going to visit his family in Switzerland around the same time I was planning a trip to Northern Italy last spring. At the last minute, I decided to tack Switzerland on to the itinerary. I thought it would be fun to spend a few days hanging out with him before heading down to Milan. Also, I figured there would be nothing better than having a native show me around.
The verdict? Switzerland is stunning.
Day 1 was spent simply walking and snacking around Zurich. Michael and I arrived in the early morning and spent time at Sprungli Chocolate and the Migros grocery store at the airport (I just love checking out grocery stores in other countries) before meeting up with Nick at the Zurich Hauptbahnhof. We walked around Old Town, fortified ourselves with hot chocolate and sausages and stopped for coffee at the Viadukt, a cool collection of shops and eateries built underneath some old train tracks. By early afternoon, I was deliriously jet-lagged and could barely sit upright. I took a nap at the hotel while Michael and Nick took care of the luggage we had stored at the train station. In the evening, Nick’s friends had us over for a lovely home cooked dinner on their newly completed rooftop deck.
Our Alpine adventure comprised the majority of day 2. I wish the photos could adequately illustrate what a visual candyland the scenery was. I am after all a suburbanite, unaccustomed to seeing snowy mountains rising above glassy lakes and green meadows sprinkled with yellow wildflowers. We took a vertiginous aerial cable car ride up to Schilthorn and the revolving restaurant, Piz Gloria, which was featured in the Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. For dinner, Nick took us to a farmhouse restaurant in the Emmental region. We ate outdoors on wooden benches with chickens underfoot. I know I had some tasty pork dish for my entree, but what I really remember was the salad. It was the same simply dressed butter lettuce salad Nick’s friends served the night before and it just tasted so good to me.
Lest you think that my idea of travel is just about gorgeous scenery and amazing food, I confess that what truly resonates with me are all the random, non-glamorous things. Like getting lost on the way to Schilthorn and driving around in Nick’s mom’s old Toyota. I love that life still follows you around, even when you’re thousands of miles away from home.
the optimal bite 