Cole and I were itching to get back to Europe so one weekend in April we decided to make the 4679 mile trek to Zurich, Switzerland.  In the midst of all the excitement of our trip, we somehow forgot to check the weather forecast. We arrived early on Saturday morning and immediately made our way to the metro so we could head into town. As luck would have it, we got confused with the station names and didn’t realize Zurich HB did not stand for Zurich Hardbrucke – silly American tourists. We ended up at the wrong station walking around town in the rain without any proper rain gear – woops. We eventually made it to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza Zurich, which I highly recommend because you can’t beat the price in such an expensive city. The hotel is only about a 5-10 minute streetcar/tram ride from the city center and very convenient.

Despite the rain and colder weather, we tried to make the most of our short time in Zurich. We walked all over – starting at Bahnhofstrasse – which is one of the most expensive streets in the world (#1 in Europe and #3 in the world!). It has some of the most exclusive designers and high-end shops so it was fun to spend a couple hours window shopping. We stopped and grabbed a delicious prosciutto and mozzarella panini at this little cafe/coffee shop at Gran Cafe Motta. We walked along the river and the lake, but unfortunately were not able to see the picturesque Alps in the background of Zurich due to the weather. We then explored a bit more of Old town – soaking in the history and architecture of the beautiful city even in the rain. In order to not get completely soaked but still check out Zurich, we rode around on the street cars which operate all over town and were super easy to navigate.

That evening we stopped in for a drink at Tibits – a restaurant that focuses on healthy food options. The restaurant was bustling and it offered a modern vibe offset with a touch of comfort with oversized chairs which made you feel right at home. After enjoying a few local beers, we made our way to an Italian restaurant we passed earlier in the evening called Santa Anna. We split a pizza and pasta and enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant. Afterwards, we walked along the river to see the city lit up at night and stumbled upon Helvti diner where we tried out a few more local beers. After a long day exploring, we called it a night. Cole and I are excited to get another opportunity to see Zurich in all its glory without the rain – stay tuned for hopefully a future blog post on Zurich 🙂