From Rome, we boarded an overnight train to Zurich (after a one-hour transit at Milan). A cool breeze greeted us when we got off the train at the station and it was definitely a nice change from the crazily warm hot weather in Italy; sort of like the weather we had in UK just before we left.
Zurich was the 'neatest' and most organized (in terms of layout) city that we visited thus far in Europe; badly vandalized train carriages were few and far, streets looked clean and litter-free and the place just seemed to be giving off a healthy glow despite the occasional chilly breeze and mist. Oh, but it was definitely the most expensive city too.
We met the friendliest old man at the tram-stop when we were buying tram passes; there are different types - per-day passes, per-trip passes, half-day passes etc but all of them were in German and we were at a loss deciding which will be a better option for us. The old man came over with his walking stick, asked if we spoke English, and went on to describe the different passes that were represented in German words even before we asked for any help. What a nice uncle!
Of all the places that we've been to in Europe and UK, we had the easiest time finding our hotel in Zurich; and that's probably why I said Zurich is an organized place earlier.
Most expensive Big Mac meal I've ever eaten in my ; that's about S$17, we didn't even ask for up-size and this was shared between F and me.
I've been reading some food blogs and French pastry brand Ladurée's always been greatly raved for its sweet treats, macarons especially. While wandering, I spotted Ladurée in the corner of a street soooo, we headed in excitedly and got ourselves a few pieces of these world-famous babies.
Sweet (but only subtly so) tastes bursting in your mouth when you take a bite into any one of them. Loved them!
Continued to take a walk down the streets with F and here are a few pictures of our wandering:
This reminds me a little of the Grand Canal in Venice hur; only it's much emptier - void of boats and signs of activity.
On our second day, we visited Lucerne, and paid for the golden round trip that included a cruise along Lake Lucerne, a ride on the world's steepest cogwheel railway to the top of Mount Pilatus and a cable car ride down from the top. My very first visit to a Swiss mountain (okay any mountain for that matter)!
F & I on the ferry.
b&w.
in colour.
it was quite a long ride and there were quite a few stops along the way.
My impression of the type of houses and places Swiss live in; this picture looks like it's come out straight from my social studies textbook in secondary school.
I wonder what the people living here do for entertainment - definitely not shopping, probably trekking/mountaineering... and making rosti?
the spectacular view that greeted us when we finally reached the top.
I am swa-gu max, this is my first time at the top of a mountain and I wasn't expecting the temperature to be very different from ground level, but oh dear, that was a big mistake. It was freezing! I wish we had our Primark coats with us.
Beautiful view. There were people trekking along the trails you see above; thumbs up for their effort! I hope I'll be one of those trekkers some day.
Descent, cable-car ride; the trees remind me of enchanted forests that I used to read about in Enid Blyton's fairy tales.
And we spotted another shop selling macarons; Luxemburgerli's a Swiss brand though.
These were much lighter and 'fluffier' compared to Laduree's; I'm talking about both the filling and the shells. They look really cute here, but looks aside, Laduree wins hands down in terms of taste - I'd very much prefer the firmer texture.
Nonetheless, I'll never say no if you were to offer me one of these cuties.
Zurich was over for us in a mere 2 days but I hope I'll be back in Switzerland someday to see the Matterhorn and the Bernese Alps!
Up next: Paris!
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