Zurich Main Railway station
A passenger train in Switzerland (SBB)
Railway platform at Zurich
Inside a swiss passenger coach
It was a dream come true for me when we planned a trip to Zurich. We were staying at Germany and our place of stay was around 3 hours from Zurich. Our nearest main station was Friedrichshafen railway station. The European countries have a common system which we should emulate as it is of utmost convenience. Almost all major stations at cities is a combination of railway station, bus station and tram station. They have planned it in such a way that the traveller wont feel stranded once he reaches a city to proceed to their further destination. Long distance buses ply from these major cities of the entire Europe and one such network is FLIXBUS. These buses offer cheaper rates than trains and are indeed comfortable. Mostly all the buses are double decker ones and booking a seat on the deck would be better for a tourist who wants to relax during the trip. These buses are operated by one staff per bus and he is the driver cum conductor and helper to stow your luggage in the compartment. They are professionals and their driving is perfect and gentle without jerks sudden brakes and swerving on winding roads. I did not feel tired at all by the trip. Our bus route is Munich to Zurich and our place of boarding was in between. The bus stand has slots for each destination and long distance buses has two different slots one for up buses and one for down buses. Our bus came 15 minutes late and we boarded immediately and took our seats on the deck. The seats are bucket seats with push back facility and very comfortable. We had to cross a large lake namely Lake Constance (Konstanz). Here this is done by a huge ferry ship which can house around 5 buses and trucks around 20 to 30 cars. After crossing the ferry one reaches Constance city which is on the German side. Soon after the city of Constance the Swiss border has a toll booth and Swiss police will inspect the passenger list and we are allowed entry to Switzerland.
Underground shopping plaza in Zurich rail station
The bus stand is sandwiched between Zurich Railway station and Tram station. Here also a tram ticket costing about 10 CHF will allow you to ply in trams to any destination for a full day. We had already taken tram tickets online and had no difficulty in our local travel. On going through the attractions in Zurich, There are few places of tourist interest like Lake Zurich, Old town, Munster Church, shops of many renowned brands of swiss watches, swiss chocolates etc. Here I would like to mention one thing, Switzerland is not a member of the European Union but have a bilateral relationship with European countries. So they still use their own currency Swiss Francs and this reflects in every purchase of goods thereby selling out Euros which gets converted to CHF and the balance is paid in CHF. So make sure that you have a travel card loaded in Euros which is accepted all over the country and being Euros there is no charges or commission on conversion. Euros have a better purchasing power over CHF which gives a slight advantage for the buyer.
If time permits one may venture out of Zurich for short rides in trains to villages where you can witness the famous swiss cows grazing and farmers working in the field.
A twin tower church
Natural spring water tap
These taps can be seen all over Switzerland and water comes from the springs in valleys which is natural and pure. It is a public convenience by which the water is brought from these valleys by underground pipes. One can make use of the natural water taps to fill up your bottles.
Clock face of Gros Munster church
This is one fo the prominent structures in Zurich and has the largest clock face in Europe. These clocks show the exact time and is maintained to keep their standards.
A tramcar in Zurich
These tramcars run criss cross across Zurich and one line extends upto Zurich airport which is almost 12 kms from city centre.
On the sidewalk one can see the departmental store namely COOP. It is a huge supermarket and caters almost all needs of a consumer.
Now comes the next requirement of taking food there. There are lot of restaurants all over the place and is very costly. Tables are lined up on the side walk in addition to the regular ones inside the hotel. For a shoe string budget customer, my suggestion is to go to COOP stores which is a huge supermarket catering from tooth brush to jewellery. The food section has a variety of tarts, breads, croissants,toasts and pizzas which are kept in heated chambers. Here the food is not that costly and one can have a good fill and not go starving. Always keep water bottles in your backpack as there are lot of fountains at major road sides like a soda fountain which continously provide water which is coming from the springs fit for drinking purposes and very rejuvenating.
The tram station is Sihlquai which is nearer to railway station and our destination is Rennweg Tram No. T13. These trams are slick and clean and has a fresh look as if it has been painted recently. The doors open automatically and footsteps open up only when the doors open. These trams run at a good speed unlike our trams in Kolkata. We got down near the waterfront and proceeded by foot to the old town which is paved with cobbled stones and having ups and downs and can be proceeded by foot. These paved routes are having steps and hence one has to go by foot to visit the old town. The constructions in this area belong to bygone era and has a remarkable swiss stamp on it. They are also very patriotic and almost every other building depicts a swiss flag. The Gross Munster church is one of the main attraction and has a clock face which is said to be having the biggest clockface in the entire Europe. These clocks show the correct time which is credited with their prowess in manufacture of clocks and watches. After strolling in this area for an hour, we returned to the waterfront to explore that area and to buy souvenirs. One such shop is Teddys corner Souvenir shop which is better priced than others. We purchased Victrionix pocket knives famous for its sturdiness and can be put to various uses. We also purchased Swiss cow bell and a swiss flag. Many other curios and small key chains, hats, scarves and musical boxes are also available and will bleed your purse. We also went window shopping in the adjacent street where showrooms of all big swiss brands are there.
In addition to these tramcars, electric trolley buses ply along the tram routes by hooking to the overhead cables laid for the tramcars. As these buses run on normal rubber tyres, there is no need for rails. I found this concept quite novel and worth emulating.
A high end Swiss shopping street
The people of Switzerland are elegantly dressed and polite in their behaviour. Their official language is German, but they speak English which is a blessing for tourists like me.
Swiss way of dressing can be considered as a yardstick for dignity and elegance. The office going men and women generally wear suits and jackets. Normally the colour of coats and trousers for men and skirts for women is black in colour with white shirts and black ties. So casual visitor can be distinguished from them.
One mention of swiss watch making is indeed needed to be mentioned as that is their benchmark and hall mark of their tradition. One such wall clock is made by Mondaine and is costly. These clocks has a silver dial and has a sapphire crystal glass and these clocks are used in almost all railway stations in Switzerland and Germany. A unique feature of this clock is that the second hand stops at 12 for a second and jumps two steps to make good the loss which is a marvel and their precision. These clocks are costly which costs about 250 CHF to 400 CHF.
Coop stores are everywhere and one can buy their food items and fruit juices. The famous Lindt chocolates of swiss fame is also available and has bargain offers like buy one get one. We purchased a few chocolate bars and some cosmetics. You have to hunt down the bargains by going through the entire supermarket. Our return trip was scheduled at 5.30 pm and by 2.30 pm we left that area and went to the lakeside of Zurich. The side is fully paved with steps and a huge area is converted as park with footpaths and garden benches. On the other side we can see a fountain and the passenger yachts ply through the lake depicting swiss flag. This lake has a large number of swans and ducks which come near the ledge for crumbs thrown by the tourists. We took some photos of this area. Parallel to the lake there is a road which is having heavy traffic and on one side we saw an imposing bulding of medieval times which houses a library.
Lake Zurich view
This is one of the panoramic views of the waterfront of Lake Zurich. Across the bridge the second building houses the world famous swiss chocolate manufacturer LINDT. A visit to this shop is worthwhile as sweets of almost all varieties is available which you may not find readily available in other stores.
Swans in Zurich lake
Yacht plying in Lake Zurich
Library building
Zurich also boasts of a museum and there are short train rides to the countryside to enjoy the swiss landscape with its greenery and see farming activities taking place.
Around 5.00 pm we took the tram to Zurich bahnhof rail station to catch our bus back to Germany which was scheduled at 5.30 pm. The bus came at 5.45 pm and we boarded the same and took our snacks already purchased during the travel and we reached our starting point at around 9.15 pm. The playground of Europe justifies its name and I would recommend everybody who is on a visit to Europe to put Switzerland as a tourist destination as it is worth the trip.
My next blog will be based on my trip to Lucern and Mt. Pilatus which is also a much sought tourist place. Before venturing out tor a trip to Europe, I request you to go the Google site
THE MAN IN SEAT 61 which gives an indepth details of travel who want to venture alone and it is worthwhile.
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