Zurich, Switzerland

I'm so excited to be kicking off the recap posts from our trip to Switzerland. Let's get into it!

The flight was 8 hours and 7 minutes and over 3,000 miles to Zurich. We bought some healthy snacks to bring on the plane and then I ended up passing out for most of the flight. I woke up really hungry and was so happy when they brought around breakfast. Am I the only one who actually likes airplane food? I really don't think it's that bad!  

It was a low key breakfast of a croissant, strawberry yogurt, and apple juice. We arrived around noon and walked 35 minutes to our hotel. I swear I am never using a traditional suitcase again. Backpacks are so much easier to maneuver with.

Along the way to our hotel we stopped at an ATM to take out some Swiss francs. I don't usually take a photo of local currency but I couldn't help myself with this one...it was just so vibrant and colorful. So much prettier than our boring American money. 

We stayed at the Hotel Wellenberg, which was well located. We walked around town to stretch our legs and help fight off jet lag. I'm happy to say that we were lucky and jet lag didn't knock us out this time!

Zurich was not what I expected. It was much older than anticipated and so beautiful! 

The whole city had such a vibe. The cobblestone streets were so fun to explore and we worked up an appetite with all the walking and stopped in at Sternan Grill to order a bratwurst sausage. Husband ordered in Swiss German (or tried to) but it all worked out. We also got a bread roll with our brats!

We continued to explore the city a bit more. We stopped at Lake Zurich.

And naturally we tracked down some Swiss chocolate. I couldn't wait to try it! We wandered into Laderach, which we heard about from one of Husband's friends. It did NOT disappoint. We walked out with so much chocolate but we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to try everything.

We had the Swiss Travel Pass, which gives you unlimited train travel pretty much, and we took the train to Uetliberg to explore "Zurich's Mountain" and take in the views.

After that it was time for dinner. We went to Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten, a very beautiful restaurant known for its traditional Swiss food. We started with a Swiss version of cream of potato soup and then had Zurcher Geschnetzeltes (I tried to spell that right!) for dinner. It came prepared and served table side so that felt pretty fancy. And it was so tasty! That mushroom sauce was so creamy and delectable and the rosti (the hashbrown on the side) was so satisfying. 

I liked to put a little of the meat and sauce onto a forkful of rosti. Everything in one bite!

While I was savoring every last morsel of our dinner I started to hear alpine horns. We looked out the window next to us and their was a literal alpine horn and brass band playing. Luckily, we finished up dinner and they were still playing, so we walked out to join the gathering crowd.

It was the perfect end to our first day in Switzerland. I can't wait to continue to share our trip with you!