Under The Tuscan Sun

Warning: Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in the world and we were not prepared for it. Switzerland does however give out lots of free samples, none of which we turned down.

So today I got back from Zurich, Switzerland! I had a long weekend because it was Labor Day for Europe. My friend Kara and I explored Zurich for the weekend and we were very, very cold! Even though it is the beginning of May, Switzerland was extremely cold and rainy. The weather didn’t stop us too much though from walking around and exploring such a beautiful place! Since Thursday was Labor Day, almost everything was closed! It was like how everything was closed in Germany on Good Friday and we yet again felt the oddness of walking around an empty city. However, citizens take it upon themselves to protest and hold demonstrations through the streets on May 1^st, so that was interesting to see, but also a little bit scary. Apparently the police now expect the demonstrations to go on so the city was filled with policemen in their hefty uniforms with their guns and shields. They all drove around in mini vans and would get in and out based upon how disruptive the protest was. It kind of reminded me of Gotham City. After getting to know the city a bit, we took a train up to Uetliberg Mountain. We hiked a little ways up and got a beautiful and picturesque view of Zurich and Lake Zurich! It was too foggy to see the snow covered Alps but we were able to see so much green and several golden fields of flowers, similar to what Germany looked like. We were pretty tired that afternoon after being at the mountain and we decided to go to the Swiss National Museum. We took a quick glance at the museum’s visiting exhibit and a few rooms in the permanent collection and we were very confused. Nothing was in English and the collections were not in chronological order. We were staying in hostels on uncomfortable beds and we saw some very comfortable looking couches so lounged on those for a while. Before we knew it the museum staff came up to us and said they were closing and we had to leave. We were kind of bummed that we didn’t see the entire museum. Then on Thursday night I was reading about the traveling exhibit and learned there was a Pablo Picasso on display that we didn’t know about or see! So yesterday we went back to the museum and were able to see the Picasso and finished looking through the permanent collections which turned out to be very interesting! So we finally saw the Swiss National Museum after two trips to it. On Friday everything was open and it was so fun to walk around the historic parts of the city, along the river and traditional buildings! The Limmat River and Lake Zurich are so pretty and are lined with churches and houses of Swiss architecture. On Friday we also went to the famous Sprungli Café who boasts their amazing chocolate pastries and hot chocolate. We got some overly priced hot chocolate with our lunch money for the day. It was worth it though. Then for dinner that night we went to a local restaurant someone suggested to us and had a common Swiss meal of hash browns and eggs which was delicious! On Saturday it was pouring rain all day and was very cold. After we revisited the Swiss National Museum we revisited Sprungli Café and got a yummy raspberry sponge cake type thing. It was also overly priced and we used the last of our Swiss Francs on it, but it was also worth it. We then rode the tram all around Zurich and were able to see much more of the city from a warm and comfortable view. For dinner we indulged in the open air fondue experience and sat on fur covered seats and were given fleece blankets while we dipped bread, potatoes and pickles into hot Swiss cheese. It was pretty good and we liked having more traditional Swiss food. Overall it was a great weekend and Zurich is such a pretty place! Switzerland is definitely on my list of places to go back to because there are too many things to see in that beautiful country!

Coincidental Side Note: Having just returned from Switzerland, my host family got a last minute call a few days ago and they were asked to host a Swiss boy for five weeks while he studies in Siena. So there is some more Swiss culture headed my way and he is expected to arrive tonight! He will be staying in my host brother’s room as Niccolo has been sent to stay on the first level of the house. (Which I still don’t get because there is a family living there…) Once I leave in about 10 days, the Swiss boy will take my room and when I come back to Siena after visiting Sicily, my last night will be spent in Niccolo’s room. It is crazy to think my time here is coming to an end and my room will be occupied by another student!

Ciao!

-Rachel