Arrived in Zurich

I’m desperately trying to stay awake. It’s nearly 8pm and I’ve spent the last hour telling myself I cannot go to sleep yet.
The trip from Dubai was pretty uneventful. I did manage to take a shower in Dubai and I felt much refreshed.
I slept a lot of the way to Zurich, apparently the flight attendant tried to wake me a couple of times for lunch. I woke just as they were serving it so didn’t miss out.
I still find the lack of scrutiny at passport control/customs a bit strange. Apart from asking how long I was staying and did I come for a holiday there were no other questions asked. We didn’t have to fill out a landing card either.

I’m staying in the Old Town in Zurich. It’s very centrally located.
After a shower I went for a walk. I wanted to buy a SIM card and managed to find my way to the shop to do that. I then walked along the river and stopped for a snack at a cafe. It was still quite warm and it was nice just to sit and watch.
I stopped at a small supermarket and found the different foods quite interesting. They had a lot of Swiss chocolate but it was all what we can get at home.
I did get a bit lost coming back to the hotel, only realising I’d gone wrong after I walked to the top of a hill.

First impressions
The route from the airport was quite industrial and not pretty. Even here in the old town there are a lot of modern buildings.
The smoking. So many people smoking.
Lots of dogs. Someone even took their dog into the supermarket. No idea whether that’s allowed or not.
Lots of bikes. No one wears helmets.
The coins are tiny. The receptionist at the hotel gave me 2.5 Swiss francs in change and it looked like 25 cents. I’m going to have to be careful with cash.Read more