Those poor Swiss people with their neutrality

Looking out over Lake Zürich

COW!

Christmas Markets

Hello again all! Far from the bright lights of Paris, I’m currently on a train between Basel and Frankfurt- neither are cities that I’m spending any time in but to get to Amsterdam, I have to go from Zürich to Basel to Frankfurt first. So far this morning Swiss/German trains are impressing me with their ability to a) run on time, b) not break down and c) do announcements in two languages I understand (there was one announcement in French as we arrived at Basel but I’m ignoring that). Why are all these things important you may ask...well that brings me to why I currently have very little love for France.  In my last post, I said I wouldn’t talk about my brief time in Paris/ France but as it consumed a day of my life I’ve changed my mind. After flying into Charles de Gaulle (truly the most hideous airport I’ve ever seen), I managed to navigate my way slowly to the centre of Paris. The walk from Paris Nord to Paris Est was chore enough- first I was confronted by a man selling the French version of Big Issue who helpfully gave me directions from one station to the other but unhelpfully wouldn’t let me get away despite my repeatedly stating that I was in rush to catch my train, when I finally got away from him and was almost at Paris Est a guy trying to get people to sign a petition for UNICEF (which I couldn’t read what with it being in French and I don’t sign things I can’t understand)  grabbed my bag in the guise of helping me down the stairs then wouldn’t let go and who also couldn’t speak English and therefore couldn’t understand I was in a rush- I had to shove him off my bag and run.  Finally I was safely on my train to Nancy which is where I left you thinking that the worst was behind me- more fool me

I successfully got to Nancy but then my problems really started. Suddenly my lack of French was matched with a lack of English from the French. No-one had been nice enough to explain to me that Basel in French is NOT Basel- it is Băle. I therefore couldn’t find my train and was in a state of mild panic as the time for the train passed and I was stuck at a station in a country where I didn’t speak the language in a part of it where many of the other people around me didn’t speak my language. I finally found an information person who told me my train had in fact broken down and that instead I need to go to Strasbourg and then change for Basel (she still didn’t explain that it had a different name) and then from Basel to Zürich. Following using my non-existent French to order a sandwich (it was a  cheese(Brie) sandwich and thankfully/oddly one of the few French words I know is cheese) and a Coke Light (Diet Coke in Europe), I jumped on the train she suggested (which as it turns out was actually going to Basel but which I didn’t realise at the time) and jumped off at Strasbourg where all the signs/announcements are in French, the ticket office was closed (it was about 9pm) and I still didn’t know about the name difference for Basel- safe to say mild panic was now a massive panic and my being on the verge of tears. Thankfully I found someone who spoke a little English who helpfully told me my train was 50 minutes late and that Basel was called Băle in French. It turned out the Basel train actually was going all the way to Zürich and though it was a train that I normally would have needed a reservation for, the train guards were nice enough to let me on without one. I finally got to Zürich at just after midnight and made my way to my hostel where I used a bit of fractured German to check in (clearly not too fractured though as the guy at the hostel asked if I was German- I think more because he’d spoken to a lot of people who only spoke English that day than that my German was any good).

The hostel was an unattractive 1970s style building on the outside but inside was very warm and very modern. I was soon to discover just how expensive Switzerland is- how about 7 francs for a key ring or 1.20 for a postcard, the inability to get meal for less than 15-20 francs and 15.50 francs for entry to an art gallery (1 franc= roughly 1 Australian or US dollar)-  and therefore was pleased to discover that breakfast was included at the hostel (breakfast was fruit salad (actual fruit salad unlike the UK ‘s apple salad), cereal, yoghurt, cheese (it is Switzerland after all though it turned out the Swiss cheese on offer was a bit strong but the Brie was tasty), very nice bread (with jam or very tasty local honey), tea and coffee (bearable coffee!! Being next to Italy has taught the Swiss something)). The rooms weren’t over heated and had this weird vibe of having a small wash basin area with lockers before you entered the main part of the dorm. The other thing about the hostel was that it was actually a ways south of the main part of Zürich and after my experience in France, I was less confident about my ability to get around and was quickly reminded that speaking was always the weakest part of my German at school so I found while in Zürich that I could understand when people spoke to me in German  but I couldn’t answer them well (which clearly made some of them think I was an idiot).  All this resulted in my getting lost early on my first morning in Zürich, but thankfully I found the lake relatively quickly and could locate myself from there and I also quickly learnt to say “Sprechen Sie Englisch?”or “Sprecht du Englisch?” as a conservation starter when I needed to speak to someone. It turns out most people in Zürich do speak English (I got only a couple of people saying they spoke only a little and only one who couldn’t speak it at all except to say that he couldn’t understand me).

So the first day, I went for a nice stroll by the lake and discovered that Switzerland has a profoundly large number of duck species that I’d never seen before. Then I found a cafe where I forked out 10.50 for a hot chocolate with a shot of coffee in it- very tasty (I’ve actually had a similar drink at the Lindt cafe in Sydney but never this tasty) so that slightly made up for the rip off cost of it all. I then rambled through the Alt Stadt (the old city i.e. the uber tousirty part of Zürich) looking for the Kunsthaus Zürich (the art gallery). Before I got to Kunsthaus Zürich, I found the Grossmünster, Zürich’s cathedral- the name translates as the Great Minister. Unlike churches in the UK and Ireland, entry was free (so I had no qualms about going in). The stained glass windows are the most spectacular that I have ever seen (some of them were redesigned last year and they are made from cuts of stones instead of glass) and the stonework was very pretty (actually the people responsible for the masonry around Zürich, in general, should be commended).  There was an old bible open on display so I got to read Psalm 23 in German. It cost 4 francs to climb one of the towers of the church which is totally worth it as it provides a brilliant view of Zürich and the lake. That said, if anyone out there makes a career of building cathedrals, lifts are a great invention! I’m so sick of climbing hundreds of stairs to see things- which you had to do pretty everywhere in Zürich (who builds cities in mountains! Really!).  I finally located the Kunsthaus where there was a great exhibit of Picasso (I’m getting some great exhibits by artists I like- I also saw a very good Gauguin exhibit at the Tate Modern) and also a bit too much modern art for my liking (how is a stuffed horse skin without a head art?). After that some Thai food for dinner...I had promised myself no Asian food in Europe but I was craving it and, though not cheap, Thai Bamboo in the Old City wasn’t bad- it did however take a while for the guy to understand that I wanted tofu and no chicken.

The next day and I was museum bound and was hoping for museums with cheap entry (I estimated that this wouldn’t be possible and withdrew 50 francs in case- stupid move it seems as 5 francs or less is coins and therefore not acceptable at a bureau de charge, and I still have like 12 or 13 francs in my wallet). In the morning, I made the massive climb to the University and visited the Zoological, Paleontological, Archaeology and Medical History museums. It turns out all of these are free but be warned all the signs are in German so if you don’t understand it you’ll struggle (not knowing German scientific words, I had to try and pull things together in my brain). I discovered at the Zoological Museum that smurfs come from South America and that I was right about Switzerland’s massive number of duck species. The archaeology museum had a great display of jewellery from a recent dig in Italy and the medical museum included an exhibit on AIDs which was just lots of condoms (also which clearly hadn’t been updated since the 80s or early 90s). The University is worth the visit in and of itself as it has some very pretty buildings and is so high up that it affords a great view of the city. After all this walking I was crazing Spätzli- i.e. German fried noodles and when prepared like they are at Löwenbräu in the Rocks (albeit called Spätzle there as that is the German name), they are one of my favourite food (if you are ever at the Rocks Markets, you should grab some). I found some, with a tasty mushroom cream sauce, and my one person who couldn’t speak English (my waiter) in a cheesy, very Swiss looking restaurant. Then off to the Swiss National Museum (only 10 francs entry) which is awesome- it is a bit of combo of a small design museum (think the V&A in London (my favourite museum) but downsized, more Swiss and with more Religious design stuff) and a historical museum of Switzerland. Definitely worth the visit and while the signs are in German and French, some are also in Italian and English (and there are English translations available). Sadly I couldn’t go down the slide in the centre of the museum (it was only for kids) but I did get the entertainment value of there being an exhibit completely on Swiss army knives.

I should mention while I was museum hopping, lunatics were running a marathon of the city (including up some of the mountain-y bits) and partially because of the interest in this and partially as part of Christmas markets, people had set up mulled wine, roast chestnut and wurst stalls all over the city. My walk back to the hostel last night was therefore through a very crowded city which smelt awesome!

This morning I was off early to the station and the trains have been kind to me (announcements in English and all- I love the Swiss and the Germans). I also discovered the cream cheese croissant- a brilliant invention!

So why poor Swiss? They have to carry power point plug converters everywhere as it turns out the Swiss have different power points to the rest of Europe. Neutrality is all well and good but it ain’t convenient.