ZURICH
After our train layover in Milan, we took a train to Zurich. Our previous two trains had been really nice and comfortable—we even magically ended up in first class on our ride from Rome to Florence—but this train to Zurich was kind of miserable. Our seats were at the edge of our carriage, and people were constantly walking through the doors to use the bathroom. It was also the squeakiest vehicle I’ve ever ridden in. Plus, there was no AC and the air was stifling and hot. But besides the inside of the car not being super fun, the views of Lugano and Como and some other Swiss towns were pretty spectacular.
After we got settled at our Airbnb, we walked a few blocks to a popular, cheap bratwurst place called Sternen Grill. “Cheap” in Zurich means one bratwurst, plus mustard and a slice of bread is 7 CHF (Swiss francs—or about $7.75). I must admit that the brats were delicious, though I wasn’t a fan of the mustard that came with it, which was basically straight up horse radish. We had fun sitting on the edge of Lake Zurich, eating our cheap brats, and feeding a few breadcrumbs to the swans.
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| Our 7 CHF meal. |
LUCERNE
We woke up early the next day and made a day trip to Lucerne, which was about a 45-min train ride from Zurich. We met two of the sweetest 18-year-old boys from England who were also backpacking through Europe. We ran into them later in the day at the Lion Monument.
Right when we got off the train, we splurged and bought tickets to go to the top of Mt. Pilatus. I also, for the first time on this trip, payed to pee. To its 2-CHF credit, the facilities were impeccably clean and pretty nice. And with a cleaning company name like McClean, they should be!
We payed a little extra to take the boat (instead of a train) for the first leg of our journey to Pilatus, and we were so glad we did because it was the most glorious day.
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| More headshot sessions because duh. |
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| We took the world’s steepest cogwheel train up the side of the mountain. Gets as steep as 48°. |
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| So many cute cows chilling on the side of the mountain. They actually wear bells around their necks!! Video proof of this is further down on this post. |
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| The top. |
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| This guy was so cool. Every so often he’d play that Swiss horn at one of the mountain peaks. |
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| Sorry idk why I’m so into the panos lately. |
After we got our fix of crazy views from every peak of the mountain, we took a cable car down the mountain, back to Lucerne, which was almost as cool as actually being at the top.
Back at normal elevation, we visited the other famous spots in Lucerne, namely, the Lion Monument and the Chapel Bridge. Thanks to Rick Steves, we knew to visit these spots and why they were important.
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| This was one of my favorite parts of the day. The monument is a huge sculpture carved out of the mountain, in a quiet, peaceful area a little ways above the city, and it represents the Swiss soldiers who died defending the French during the French Revolution. A spear punctures the lion’s shoulder, and with tears streaming down his cheeks, he rests his paw protectively over the French shield. Mark Twain described it as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.” |
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| The oldest surviving truss bridge in the world. |
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| One of the coolest parts about the bridge is that the inside houses paintings from the 1600s depicting Lucerne’s history. |
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