Fabulous Zurich
Zurich. . . Many have heard and read about it, but not everyone dares to go on vacation there. The first thing that holds back tourists is “This is Switzerland! ”, the second is “The prices are there, too”, the third is “A visa to Switzerland? No, they won’t give it. ” I heard a lot of questions and stupid phrases of this kind, but the decision was made, we are heading for Zurich.
Why Zurich? The richest city in the country, one of the most beautiful and mysterious. A huge number of cantons and interesting places worth visiting. Getting a visa was not as difficult as they say. Switzerland is one of the friendly countries in terms of obtaining a visa.
The flight through Vienna is very comfortable, but very fast. You have to hurry to be on time. Customs control, border, passport stamp, airport and all - hello Zurich.
A huge airport, a large number of people, hundreds of questions and German is all around.
The inhabitants of the country are very welcoming and friendly, they are happy to answer questions, try to explain and suggest.
I got to the apartment without any problems. Evening, Saturday. . Shops are closed, supermarkets too. Only grill cafes, restaurants work, and then until 21, at 20-00 the kitchen closes. That is, he came at 20:15 - sorry, you can’t eat anything warm. And gas stations are very helpful here, where you can buy everything you need. Well, almost everything. It is also worth considering that everything is also closed on Sun, except for supermarkets.
When flying to Switzerland, you should take waterproof clothing or at least an umbrella. Do not forget about warm clothes, for example, a jacket, sweater, hoodie, etc. Boots will not be superfluous on this list. For farmers, the rains are good, but for tourists, not so much. And, as never before, I was lucky with the weather, which is very unusual for autumn. During the entire stay in this country, it rained only half an evening and a morning.
The rest of the time it was warm and sunny. The jacket just came in handy.
First, you should take a walk around the city itself, or at least around the canton in which you live. At first glance, the town is like everyone else, nothing special. But if you buy a ticket for the whole day in at least two cantons, you can enjoy interesting architecture, clean streets, smiling people.
Uetliberg - the highest point in Zurich - the city at a glance. Landscapes of incredible beauty, views of the lakes and of course the mountains. Where without the Alps? You can get to this place with a transfer in about 20 minutes. While you are traveling by train, you can enjoy the beauty from the window. Traveling by train is very comfortable and convenient. They are clean and very fast, and most importantly, they drive strictly on time. Also, they are equipped with a monitor where you can see the route and time, how much to go to any of the stations. Arriving at the place, a very interesting, short walk through the forest awaits you.
Do not be afraid, the paths are laid, the lights are installed. It is worth noting that this is not just an iron table with a lantern, no, these are animal-shaped lanterns made of wood and are very beautiful. If you stop for a moment and look at them, you can see thin threads of cobwebs that play with different colors when exposed to sunlight. After walking a bit in the forest along fairly wide paths, you get to the observation deck. And here you understand that you have a huge city just in the palm of your hand. Mountains that shyly hid in the fog, greenery, a huge number of houses, lakes - all this is now open to your eyes. And this moment is breathtaking. Original benches for a little rest, and just sit and enjoy the fresh air and beauty around. There is also a box on the site, putting 2 francs or 2 euros you can make yourself a small souvenir with a pattern of your choice.
Also, for a couple of francs, you can climb to the top of the observation tower, from where you will see even more beauty. Without paying this money, you will only go up 2 levels of the tower. I think it's worth paying 2 francs and seeing with your own eyes even more. There is also a hotel here, for those who want to stay and enjoy these landscapes longer.
On my way back, I decided to take a walk through old Zurich. Getting off at the main station Hauptbahnhof, you have the opportunity to look into hundreds of shops and buy yourself a souvenir and more. Shops with chocolate beckon with their flavors and variety. Souvenir shops are simply filled with various gifts, magnets, T-shirts and caps, cups, knives and watches. And not only by them.
Swiss watches, if you are still determined to buy a real watch, you should be aware that they are quite expensive.
For example, the minimum price that I personally saw is 99 francs, but if you're lucky! You can buy a Swatch for 50 CHF or less. But for those who want to buy watches from more famous brands, it is worth taking a walk along Bahnhofstrasse. Yes, on the main face of Zurich, you will see and be able to visit a huge number of expensive brand stores. But, if you are a connoisseur of quality, then you will definitely buy something for yourself. In addition, H&M, C&A and more are always open and you can also buy clothes or shoes there. The selection is good and so are the prices. To be honest, I'm not a fan of Ukrainian-made clothes, and since I order clothes in various online stores, for me it was an opportunity to update my and my family's wardrobe, without fanaticism, of course.
Walking along the main street, you should pay attention to the buildings around, the architecture captures, there is a desire to impress as much as possible.
Modeling on houses, how neat and clean the sculptures cannot leave you indifferent. Having reached the end of Bahnhofstrasse, you run into a park and a pier near the lake. Everyone can take a boat ride and see Zurich from the water. It's worth doing, I think a boat trip is a must have. Believe me, those landscapes that you will see while sitting on board the ship, you will not see just walking around the city.
If you go to the other side of Bahnhofstrasse, you will see a river, which, unfortunately, is not as clean as it seemed to me. No, I didn’t plan to swim in it, but walking along it, I noticed behind the fences more than one bottle of water and an ice cream wrapper. Of course, this is not the fault of the authorities, this is the savagery and lack of culture among the Tirists. After all, he does not litter at home. No wonder the proverb says: it’s not clean where they clean, but where they don’t litter.
Grossmuenster is one of the churches located on the banks of the Limmat River.
According to dates and history, this is one of the young churches, and was built in the place where the horse of Charlemagne fell in front of the graves of the patrons of Zurich. Fraumuenster is another church that was actually a women's abbey, and its abbess was the head of the city. This monastery was very influential, it had the right to own land, collect fees, and issue coins. However, this abbey ceased to exist in the 16th century.
Yes, I can't help but note that it's very interesting to hear the stories of these churches and other famous places from the lips of local residents. I was among the lucky ones who heard this from my friends, who happily shared this information.
