Cole had to be in Zurich for a work trip back at the beginning of October, so I flew to join him Friday night so we could spend the weekend together in Switzerland! We had previously visited Zurich for a whopping 24 hours a few years ago, but felt like we didn’t really get a chance to see what the city was about so we were excited to be back for a bit more time.

Saturday morning we woke up early and took the train from Zurich to Lucerne, a stunning town in the foothills of the Alps. We spent the morning and better half of the afternoon just exploring the town and soaking in the views. We grabbed some coffee in a local café, walked through the beautiful streets, and drank too many half liter beers along the river. The highlight of our short visit to Lucerne was Musegg Towers. I forced Cole to hike up to the city wall that once protected Lucerne. The stone wall was built in the 13^th century and the 9 bell towers of varying heights are nearly perfectly preserved to this day. It offers the most incredible views overlooking the town and lake and was absolutely worth the steps.

Given its proximity to Zurich as well as the mountains along with its gorgeous views, we discovered that it’s a fairly popular spot for tourists and we were not the only ones with the smart idea to visit this idyllic town.

We caught the train back to Zurich and spent a couple hours at the spa at our hotel relaxing before venturing into town. For dinner, we ate an amazing meal at Zeughauskeller – an old artillery building from the 1400s that’s now a beer hall serving traditional Swiss food and drinks. We ordered our liter jugs of beer and ate every last bite of sausage, wiener schnitzel and spätzle.

Sunday morning, we woke up early to make the most of the time we had left before our early afternoon flight. We ate breakfast at this charming restaurant called Babu’s and while we incredulously spent $50 on two coffees, a bagel, and an acai bowl (welcome to Switzerland),  it was delicious. We walked through Old Town, down to the water and the lake and spent some time just watching the boats go by and taking in the views.

There’s so many more places we would love to explore in Switzerland – Zermatt, Geneva, Interlaken – to name a few. Hopefully, we will have a bit more time during our next visit and be able to take advantage of all the outdoor activities and hikes that the Swiss Alps offer! Plus some more chocolate 😉