Switzerland 1: Zurich

Here it is, Switzerland in 9 days. This is my dream vacation, the one that was so perfect that I would happily go back and do it the exact same way. Okay, so it wasn't only Switzerland. We also saw a bit of Italy and France, but that only makes the deal sweeter. This trip was designed around a couple of pinnacles - my idea to visit Switzerland, followed by Mike's idea to do the Stelvio Pass, a drive that he saw featured on Top Gear. The idea of some James Bond sites fuelled us further - like the Verzasca Dam, the Villa La Gaeta, and unintentionally the Schilthorn fitted into the itinerary too.

And so was built, our ideal holiday. Think pristine roads, gourmet food, blue skies and charming towns.

9 Day Switzerland Itinerary

Trip Style: Self directed

Transportation: Rental Car

Average Accommodation Cost: CAD$105/night ($80-130, excluding Bormio's luxury accommodations)

Travel dates: September 15-23, 2012

Saturday, September 15

We arrived near midday into downtown Zurich. We had picked up our Scoda Yeti at the airport, GPS included, and found some paid parking downtown near our airbnb accommodation. Mike's quite a car fanatic, and his response to our little Scoda Yeti - that's an ugly car! By the end of this trip, we dream about the days spent in that reliable little fuel conservative car, and I even find it cute. But more on that little car later.

We only had a day to explore Zurich, so we had to make it count. From our airbnb we followed my prearranged walking tour map. Our route took us through Neiderdorf [B], which is the city centre area full of boutique shops. My favourite of which was the Sprüngli store and associated restaurant. For anyone not familiar, if you look at the packaging of any Lindt chocolate, you will see the brand name is actually Lindt & Sprüngli. Here they incorporate their chocolate into all sorts of desserts. Sadly I couldn't read their menu, but I saw the desserts brought out to people on the terrace and they looked delicious. Their store sells not only Lindt chocolates, but a variety of other candies and macaroons.

We walked down multiple alleys searching for the famous Augustinergasse [C], which is a narrow alley that was actually fairly difficult to find because it was poorly signed. But looking for it introduced us to the entrance to the old town, Lindenhof [D]. We explored the old town extensively, enjoying the cobblestone pedestrian-only plazas, the boutique stores, cafe terraces and gardens.

We eventually meandered our way towards Bellevue [D], the riverside promenade. This area was associated with a more modern pedestrianised area. We stopped for some street food and watched as a colourful parade of sorts (or possible it was a riot, but it certainly looked celebratory) marched across the bridge.

We followed the riverside back to the Platzspitz park as the afternoon drew to a close, and hung out there for about half an hour until returning to the apartment. We stopped on the way at the Coop mini-mart across the street for some minor groceries. We fell in love with the Coop, and ended up getting lunch from this supermarket nearly every day.

The view across the river from Platzspitz (not in any way reflecting what the park looks like)

Our hosts were just wonderful. They made a great suggestion for dinner that night, and provided us a delicious traditional Swiss breakfast in the morning. By recommendation we went to Drei Stuben for dinner. This was the best rosti we had in the whole trip. Rosti is a traditional Swiss dish of grated potato that has been roasted, although each restaurant had a different variation on this (think the way home fries can differ so much depending on where you go). The restaurant had a traditional and homey atmosphere, with wooden tones and warm lighting. The price was high, but standard for the country and well worth it given the quality of the food. Overall, when it came to dinner, mains averaged about $40 each. Keep in mind, tax and tip are included so for a high class meal, this price competes with Canadian restaurants. We were charged for water everywhere, except for in circumstances where we purchased another drink, then most restaurants provided complimentary water in addition to the drink.

Next: Davos