Today was day two for Adam and I in Zurich. Today we started off the day by stopping into a grocery store on our way to the tram. Needless to say we headed to the bakery area to pickup some croissants the size of your head. It was definitely the most inexpensive thing we have had here in Zurich. :)
Afterwards we headed to the City Center for our Zurich and Surrounding area tour. Our hotel is downtown however to walk from one side to the other it would take about 40 minutes so the chosen mode of downtown transportation for the 1 million residents is the above ground tram. The tram is very clean, quick, and easy (one you figure out the German ticket system).
Today our tour consisted of approximately 12 people, a guide, and our bus driver. Today proved to be another example of just how small the world can be at times. Of the 12 people on the tour we met one girl from California who went to Engineering school at Purdue, and a couple who live in Indianapolis/Broadripple and went to Butler and IU respectively. We couldn't believe that all of the way across the world we ran into each other! The tour took us all around Zurich and then we took a cable car into the Alps. Unfortunately it was so foggy it took away from the view but it was still incredible. At the top of the mountain was of course a coffee shop that we had cappuccinos and Swiss chocolate at. To end the tour we took a ferry across lake Zurich which provided wonderful views of the nearby towns and hillside.
After the tour we headed out with our new friends mentioned above as well as a woman named Sarah who is from Melbourne Australia that we had met on the tour as well. The six of us wandered around downtown for awhile, checking out the local shopping. I saw the sweater that I had purchased yesterday in London at Zara for 19.99....here the sweater was 39.99. :). We found out on the tour today that the average salary here in 65-70k which is much higher than the states and probably also leads to the high prices of things. After working up quite the appetite we decided to experience a
Traditional Swiss fondue dinner that had been recommended on the tour. Here we had wine, beer, cheese fondue, and steak fondue. It was delicious and a lot of fun sharing travel stories with our new friends.
Afterward we exchanged information and made plans to meet up again in Indianapolis shortly. Adam and I headed back to our hotel to have a German "bier" nightcap in the bar and are now getting ready to head to bed as we head to Vienna (Austria) tomorrow morning.
More to come from Vienna!
Guten Tag!! (goodbye)
Shelby
Also to explain my picture above with the parkingq lot.....if you look closely this is nice sample of the average cars driving around Zurich. Lots of BMWs, Range Rovers, Audis, Volvos, Maseratis, and even some Ferraris!
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