Zurich Archives - Wandering North

Europe Liechtenstein Switzerland Tunisia Trip 2018

Liechtenstein

On my last full day in Zürich, I decided to go to Liechtenstein. Why? Because it is there. A friend of mine, a real opinionated smarty pants, had scoffed at my plan to go to Vaduz, Liechtenstein. He had been there, maybe 10 or 20 years prior, and said “Don’t waste your time. you’ll regret it. There’s NOTHING there.” Of course, I didn’t care if there was anything there worth seeing or not; I had to go. It is a new country, a mere train ride away. I couldn’t resist.

To get from Zürich to Vaduz (capital city), Liechtenstein, you take a train and a bus. I’ll explain briefly, as it wasn’t totally obvious. At the man train station, on the day of (or before if you’re nervous) book a roundtrip ticket from Zürich HB to Vaduz, Post. You can also buy it from an agent in the kiosk. The train will take you to Sargans, just on the Swiss side of the border, and from there you take a bus. It is about 1 hour to Sargans and the scenery is stunning. At the station in Sargans, the bus loop will be obvious. Take bus 11 to Vaduz, Post. The trip will be about 30 minutes and all of the stops are listed on a monitor on the bus. It could not be easier.

The journey was terrific. The scenery was magnificent. Past a shining lake and velvety green farms and gentle hills, tiny villages with castles or churches perched just above them on the highest hill, and, increasingly, snowy mountain ranges. I took pictures, as best I could, through the train window.

In Vaduz, the bus stops just steps from the man drag, which is really all there is to see. It’s not much, but perfectly adequate for an afternoon. There is a church, a few different museums, cafes and restaurants, and an occupied castle looming above. Liechtenstein is some kind of “democratic monarchy”, which I think is another way of saying oxymoron.

I only visited one museum, the modern art museum, which i recommend, if you like that sort of thing. I took my pictures, slowly ate a raspberry tart and smoked a cigar in the warm spring sun (trying to protect my eyes from the group of men in spandex cycling attire at the table next to me. Blech.), and paid €3 to have my passport stamped at the info booth.

A few hours and I was satisfied. I think if one was keen to experience more of Liechtenstein, it might be nice to go to some other towns that look a bit more quaint, but my time was running short, and I had accomplished what I set out to do. It was a lovely day. (In your face, know-it-all friend.)

Back to Zürich, I walked around more, for no particular reason, except that the weather was perfect, and all of these little neighborhood joints started to open up and they all looked so appealing. I stopped and had a bowl of soup at one, and a glass of wine and a cigar at another. I finished the evening on a pedestrian street near my air bnb, outside of an Italian restaurant which was closed, but had left their outdoor tables and chairs out. I had a cigar and watched local residents go about their Sunday evening business.

It was a great end to my trip.

This morning I awoke and had breakfast with my airbnb hosts, who insisted on making me breakfast: muesli with apples and yogurt, tiny cups of strong coffee and squares of dark chocolate.

And then I was off to the airport.

Currently flying to Vancouver. The woman ahead of me has reclined her seat all the way and keeps stretching her fat arms over her head and reaching back and grabbing the top of the back of her chair, blocking my tv. If she keeps this up, I may lick her hand.

It has been a great trip: Tunisia, with a dash of Switzerland, and a pinch of France and Liechtenstein. Thoroughly satisfying. Not happy to be going home. Never happy to be going home, but at least I get to plan a new trip.

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Forced Relaxation in Tunis & Zürich

I returned to Tunis late and awoke the next morning with the beginning of a cold. Annoying, but inevitable when traveling, I suppose. The only good things were that I really didn’t have anything I needed to do in Tunis and I was staying at a fancy hotel (as has become my way; finish the trip somewhere slightly posh). I was staying at the Hotel Royal Victoria, right at the entrance to the medina, with a view of the square form my private balcony. I had a tv and my own bathroom and hot water. Luxury!

In the morning I gorged myself on their breakfast buffet (cold be dammed, I’m not missing out on a free breakfast).

And so, it being my last day, I decided to do some shopping. I find I am less and less inclined to buy things for myself. I have nowhere to keep them and even though that [insert exotic item] might look tempting when in the souk, when I get home, the gloss is gone and I realize that the item doesn’t fit with my real life. But I did haggle my way through the market and pick up a few items to be gifted. It was fun, but my cold was getting worse and my energy wasn’t great.

Despite that, I was determined to get a good walk in, so I picked a destination – the belvedere park – it was quite a way out of the centre but a good walk through streets away from the tourist-geared cafes and shops. It just felt like a regular city.

Belvedere park is a lovely green area with a zoo, as it turned out. I’m opposed to zoos generally and felt a bit conflicted about whether or not to go, but ultimately I did. I can’t say that part of me isn’t interested in seeing the animals, but i would rather it be under different circumstances. These were animals, exotic and otherwise, in too small cages, swimming in circles, or lying listlessly. That paints maybe too bleak a picture, but it is true. I enjoyed myself anyway.

(That picture of the guy and crocodile amused me, like why would anyone need a warning not to play catch with crocodiles?)

I walked back to my hotel, went into the medina for dinner and shisha, and spent the rest of the evening watching movies on tv in my room.

I woke up at 3:30am as I had an early flight, i slept for maybe an hour, owing to a fever, crushing headache, and an inability to breathe through my nose. I flew to Zurich and walked to my airbnb lodging, not far from the main train station, between there and Kreis 5. A charming apartment called home by a boyfriend-girlfriend architect couple from eastern Europe.

I felt like garbage, but it was a gorgeous spring day, so i walked to and around Kreis 5, a sort of former warehouse type district now populated by art galleries, eateries catering to foodies, and, on the day that I was there, an urban bicycle festival and a neighbourhood yard sale. The area is quite nice. In fact, Zurich really grew on me in my last couple of days. The historic area is beautiful and great to see, but these other neighbourhoods felt more authentic and I was charmed by them. Zurich doesn’t seem to me like an exciting city, but it is very attractive and so peaceful. Everything it quiet. There are no horns honking, no radios blaring, no loud conversations, no loud transportation. It’s almost eerie, but kind of nice. There is a lot of bike riding, people having wine at cafes, and picnics. It all seems like an ideal city. It is true that i prefer my cities dirty and chaotic, but this kind of grew on me. Or maybe it was just the fever.

I didn’t really do anything, but I walked, through that area and the into the old city. I thought about hitting a cigar lounge or going for lunch somewhere quaint, but I was feeling increasingly ill so i returned to the flat in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day and night in my room, listing to podcasts and trying to sleep through what seemed to be the flu.

Being sick at the end of vacation, which always seems to happen to me, is inconvenient but in a way it is also kind of nice to be forced to spend a day or to actually relaxing, which I would not do on my travels unless forced. And the rest was just what I needed to feel better for the next day when I would go to Liechtenstein.

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Arrival in Tunisia

I didn’t have any particular reason for choosing Tunisia, other than that I love Islamic countries and Tunisia is small enough to be manageable in two weeks, but also has a mix of desert, sea, history, and culture.

My flight from Zurich to Tunis was cancelled and the the new flight was delayed, so instead of arriving in the morning, I was arriving late at night. I don’t like getting into a strange city at night. I’m tired, the city seems weird, info booths and money changers are closed, and public transit is not running regularly or at all. So I wasn’t happy about that, but at least I had arrived. I went outside to the taxi stand and haggled them down from 40 to 20 dinars (still too much, but reasonable) and was glad to be en route to my hostel in the medina.

The car drove into the medina until the road became too narrow. The driver called the hostel and someone was going to walk down and fetch me as it is a bit of a maze. I handed the driver two 10 dinar notes and 3 dinar coins. The driver paused, did something with his hands and told me I had only given him one 10 dinar note. I was annoyed. I knew I had given him two because I looked at each of them as I took them out of my wallet as I am not familiar with the currency. I got out of the car. He got out of the car. We argue. He insisted i am trying to stiff him. I insisted he is mistaken (but I am certain he is lying). Finally, as the guy from the hostel arrived, I gave in and gave the driver another 10 – still insisting that the ‘error’ was not mine. I was just tired and wanted to go. I walked off with the guy from the hostel. About 3 minutes later, the driver came running up to us and gave me 10 dinars. He said he found it in the front seat. Faith in taxi drivers restored. Seriously. He didn’t have to come back and give me the money. This bodes well for Tunisia.

After that, it was midnight and I basically went to bed.

The next day, I was able to appreciate my accommodations. The Dar-El Hostel. Tucked away in the maze of the medina on a narrow street, behind one of Tunis’ ubiquitous blue studded doors, the interior is covered in tiles and is about 200 or 300 years old. My room is enormous and cozy at the same time.

I had planned to spend the first day exploring the medina and the colonial section beyond. As i was leaving the hostel, the fellow from the hotel was walking two young chaps to the train station, so i tagged along for the walk and accompanied my guide back to the medina entrance, chatting along the way about life in Tunisia, about how I should be open to having a relationship, and the Fast and Furious movies. A wide ranging conversation.

Then I was on my own. I walked the length of Habib Bouguiba street, which is lined with grand, French architecture in a variety of styles and rows of sidewalk cafes. The street meant to look like Champs Elysees, and it is, except that it is charming.

I had an espresso at a café. The great thing here is that you can order a coffee, for like $1, and sit there for ages. I saw so many people, locals, sitting for an hour or more after they finished their coffee. It was great for people watching.

I then visited the big cathedral, stopped for an obligatory touristy selfie, and headed into the medina. Medinas are basically really old walled cities and are tangled webs of streets, paths, lanes, and alleys in no discernible order. This medina dates back to the 7th century and it shows. It feels ancient. In places the stones are worn down to smooth, rounded slivers, like well-used bars of soap. The walls are high and imposing, to keep enemies out. Today the walled streets hide homes, courtyards, mosques, and restaurants. Some of the passages are quiet and with nothing to see other than doorways (exquisite though they are here); others are lined with market stalls selling touristy items, spices, hookahs, clothing, soap, herbs…et cetera.

It is all fascinating to explore. A map may be of some use, but it is better to just walk and explore without purpose. Eventually you will hit a wall or landmark from which to orientate yourself.

I walked for hours. Eventually i stopped at this super charming cafe (photos do not do it justice) and smoked shisha, watching people walking past.

There are tourists here, but not a lot, which is nice. My basic French is passable, but many people also speak English, as well as Arabic. All of my clothing (both outfits) are appropriate here. Some women dress very conservatively (long, loose dress or coat and veil), but most just wear a headscarf, and some none at all. There is just no exposed arms and legs that I have seen, which suits me just fine. In fact, as long as i have my tattoos covered and my sunglasses on, I don’t even stand out as a tourist, which keeps the market merchants at bay.

I am happy to report that, after Zurich, Tunis seems like a budget paradise. Last night I had a freshly baked mini pizza for $1.50, coffee for 50c, and bought bread, cheese, an orange, and a yogurt drink from the super market for $3.00. (Those who know me know i love wandering foreign supermarkets due to a weird box of cereal I once saw in Tel Aviv. Here, I note that almost all of the boxed breakfast cereals are chocolate and there was an ENTIRE aisle at the market I visited devoted to halva.)

After a bit of a rest, I went for a late night walk in the medina (careful not to get lost this time) and smoked a cigar on the steps of a mosque, watching cats walk the alleys looking for food. Other than that it was quiet.

I think this cheesy photo says it all.

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Lucerne

I awoke on day two in Switzerland to grey skies. I had a coffee and picked up some breakfast from my favorite eatery in Zurich – the local supermarket. (It’s preferable to spending a small fortune on coffee and breakfast.) Made a bee-line to the train station and caught a morning train to Lucerne. It was scheduled to leave at 4mins past the hour and at exactly that time, it started to roll. About 45 minutes later we arrived in Lucerne with Swiss precision.

I think I did the right thing by not going to Lucerne on a weekend, when it is teeming with tourists I am told. Things weren’t too busy on a Monday morning and i managed to get ahead of the one bus group I spied. To be fair to the tourists, it wasn’t like i was there to do research; we were all walking around photographing the same buildings. I’m just happier doing it away from other people.

The draw for Lucerne is that it is a charming town, easily walkable, with a number of old, decorative buildings, and a notable covered bridge. It is a perfect day trip from Zurich.

The day started out cold and grey, but finished up cold and sunny. Regardless, I Loved wandering the town. Every turn revealed some beautifully painted building, ornate fountain, or church square. There was one church in particular that had these huge, carved, wooden doors, one of which opened slowly when i approached it…but there was no one on the other side. “(The holy) ghosts!” I thought, but i watched as a couple walked in about 5 minutes after me and the door opened for them too, so I figured it was an automatic thing, which made more sense. Still though, it’s a creepy feature; like a petty miracle to convince non-believers to sign up. God saw you coming and he says, Come in.

There were no hi-jinx or misadventures; it was just lovely. I walked a million steps and then climbed up a bunch of stairs to get a better look at some ramparts (they don’t merit close inspection, as it turns out, but the walk was nice).

I had lunch from the supermarket. (Was going to splurge on daal and rice but couldn’t justify the expense). More walking until i felt like i had visited every historical sight in the city, at which point i trained back to Zurich.

I chilled at my abode for a couple hours and had coffee with my host. We discussed, amongst other things how expensive Zurich is (including its health care apparently, which surprised me) and how much we hate the current administration of the U.S.

In the evening i went to another cigar lounge – Manuel’s. it was very busy with business type men. I loved the room and the cigar selection but did’t find it as friendly as the lounge from the previous night. Still, sitting in a cigar-smoking room without judgment (and, in this case, also enjoying a coffee martini) is a rare treat.

The next day i was supposed to fly to Tunis in the morning but my flight was delayed until the evening, so i had a bonus day. I really wanted to go to to this medical museum where they have wax figures showing various diseases (it looks awesome) but it is only open Wednesdays and Fridays, so i walked all the banks of the centre of town (which lies along two rivers and with a lake at the end), enjoying the sun.

I went to the museum, which is small enough to be manageable and has some good exhibits, but is terribly organized. I had to ask for directions multiple times after the second floor completely disappeared.

Finally i had a cigar on the Bahnofstrasse in the sun and people watched until it was time for my train to the airport. (Again, i didn’t want to spend $30 on a sandwich and coffee.) I was particularly baffled how the people in Zurich really don’t dress any differently from the people in Vancouver, but they look so much better. Better jeans? Nicer sneakers? Or maybe it is because they are all thin – probably because they can’t afford to eat much.

On to Tunis.

Europe Switzerland Tunisia Trip 2018

Zurich

Zürich is one of those places that I never had any interest in. Or it’s not that I was disinterested; I just didn’t give it much thought. I figured Switzerland would be lovely but not life-changing. It seemed like a perfect place to spend a couple of days en route to Tunisia. A couple days of charming Cobble-stoned streets, pan au chocolat, and ornate churches before the real vacation begins. Plus, it’s a chance to go somewhere new.

As I write this I am in a smokey cigar room in Zürich (Manuel’s) smoking an H.Upmann magnum 50 and surrounded by men smoking, drinking, and conversing in German. I know it is an unpopular opinion, but I find German to be a very…appealing sounding language. I am happy.

I arrived yesterday morning. Early. Having flown from Vancouver I slept only a couple hours on the plane and only a couple the night before. I was somewhat delirious, but delighted. Zürich was -is- lovely. Pretty, decorative buildings, cute storefronts, calm squares, and rows of enticing cafés. The sun was out. I had taken the train from the airport and emerged in the light at the end of the Bahnhofstrasse – the main thoroughfare through the old town. My first sight was a Davidoff cigar store and lounge. I had chosen my destination wisely.

The hotels and even the hostels were all too expensive, so I opted for an Airbnb, at an apartment shared with its owner in the middle of the old town. I met my host by accident on the street near his building. A nice fellow, he showed me my accommodations, which were more that adequate. Certain friends of mine were certain he would murder me, as his Airbnb listing had no reviews and after i booked it he deleted the listing. Nearly 48 hours later and i am still alive.

After getting settled, i set off to explore the old city. It is exactly what one would expect. Very pretty and great for walking. The wide streets give way to winding pedestrian alleys, lined with antique shops, clothiers, watch shops. Eventually one inevitably finds their way to the river (the Limmet ) which winds through the city, various narrow bridges linking the sides, swans gliding underneath. The sun was shining and , although the city was extremely quiet, there were people out strolling and riding bikes, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes along the banks.

I walked for hours, stopping for the odd coffee, stopping to visit churches and squares. Finally, i stopped for lunch at Haus Hitl, apparently the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world. (Very good, but too many choices for me.)

I then walked back across the river to visit the Kunsthaus, an art museum. It was good. I recommend it. The problem was, at that point I was severely exhausted. I refuse to nap when arriving half way around the world. It is important to commit to the local schedule to combat lingering jet lag. But i was suffering. I had, about an hour, earlier nodded off over a coffee at the Café Voltaire. At the Kunsthaus I literally started to fall asleep on my feet several times and then dozed on a bench while gazing at a Kandinsky. It was rough.

I revived myself at the Hotel Storchen, where they have a perfect cigar lounge. Cozy, well stocked and staffed, with medieval stained glass windows and jazz music. I smoked a Bolivar and chatted with a man formerly of Canada, now a citizen of the world. I walked back to my abode in the dark and collapsed with exhaustion.

A couple of observations. Zurich is small and quiet. A day or two would be sufficient to take in its sights. Stores (ALL stores) close on Sunday by law. No supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores…nothing. Just bars, cafes, restaurants, and churches are open. Prostitution is legal. I haven’t seen a single beggar or homeless person (i assume they exist, but i haven’t seen any). Much more German is spoken than French. And it is super expensive. A coffee in a not fancy café averages $7, more for a cappuccino. A lentil curry at a shabby Indian restaurant is about $30. My round trip train ticket to Lucerne (45 minutes each way, in the cheap class) was $75. Other than my lunch at Haus Hitl, all my meals have been from supermarkets. An apple, piece of cheese and pretzel was $13. I’m thankful i brought some coffee and cliff bars with me. Cigars, thankfully, are the only reasonably priced item i have found.

The other saving grace is that the water here is drinkable and the city is filled with these stunning fountains from which you can fill your water bottle. So i’m hydrated, but a bit hungry. Tunisia will be a serious bargain by comparison.

Tag: Zurich