Chocolate, chocolate, rain

August 19, 2019 to August 20, 2019

Two tourist days in Zurich off the bike

I boarded the train in Konstanz and headed to Zurich. The plan was to spend two days as a tourist in this large city. My companions Mike and Sue joined me for these days of touring Switzerland's largest city. I am fortunate to have a friend Hanne who lives in Zurich. Hanne and her husband Peer met us at the train station and took us on a walking tour of Zurich.

Spectacular view of the city From the top of a cog railway.

I learned to use the transit system which is quite comprehensive and efficient. The Swiss are very organized, ordered, and efficient. There is a a slang term "Swiss it" which means to make something overly ordered and efficient. It was nice to get a local's view of the city that included some not so touristy areas.

I awoke to rain this morning. It had been raining all night. The forecast was 90% plus chance for rain the whole day. After stopping at Migros for breakfast, I headed out for a free walking tour. I have found on my European travels that these free walking tours offered in most major cities are wonderful things. The tour guides are generally college students who are working for tips. The 1 1/2 to 2 hour tours give you a nice overview of the city. You can go back and explore what you want on your own. Our tour guide was good. It was enjoyable despite the light rain.

I enjoyed a pretty reasonable lunch at Lidl. Lidl is a German grocery store similar to Aldi. As with Migros, another Swiss grocery, it is a nice option for inexpensive food. Both of these grocery chains offer selections of sandwiches, wraps, salads, and a limited amount of hot items. Today I had two hamburgers for 2 francs each and a bottle of water for .25 Franks. It's pretty difficult to find a lunch in Zurich for under $10. My $5 lunch was a bargain.

Chocolate, expensive Swiss chocolate, is a major attraction in Zurich. I visited many of the premium Swiss chocolatiers. The stores are beautiful and the chocolates are works of art. The prices are shocking for an American. Premium Swiss chocolate is about $50 to $60 a pound. Switzerland is expensive, but their chocolate is very very expensive.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Airbnb planning my solo bicycle tour tomorrow. I'll leave the Airbnb and head through Zurich on Swiss bicycle route 32 to bicycle route 5, the Mittelland route. My destination for the day is Aarau.

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