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Central Europe Part 2, 2024Central Europe Part 2, 2024
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My second solo holiday, travelling through Central Europe to visit cities in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Hungary. Read more
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  • 2.7kmiles
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  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 1

    Arrival in Zurich

    April 27 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After a mild panic last night over just how frugal I'd been with my baggage allowance when I booked this trip, this afternoon I touched down in Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland. 🇨🇭 The tram ride from the airport to the city was easy to navigate and treated me to several views of idyllic Swiss countryside before arriving in the city centre.

    The weather has been so pleasant all day and the Swiss are clearly taking advantage of it; the river-side bars are packed with people sitting outside enjoying the sun. ☀️

    After dropping off my bags in my hostel near the Grossmünster in the old town (Altstadt), I meandered over to the Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum), as today will be my only opportunity to visit while I'm here. I took a busy but scenic route along the Limmat river that runs through the old town from Lake Zurich.

    The Landesmuseum gave me my first dose of history on the trip 🤓 with its informative exhibition on the history of Switzerland running from the 9th Century through to the 21st. Starting out as a loose confederation of cantons in the Holy Roman Empire ✝️ that formed military alliances with one another during a power vacuum, the exhibition outlined the story of the Swiss people through civil wars, the Reformation, revolutions and federations, relations with France 🇫🇷 and Austria 🇦🇹, the impact of their famed neutrality during two world wars and their near-participation in the Nuclear Arms Race ☢️ Taken together, these events resulted in the unique political culture that Switzerland enjoys today.

    Historical geekery aside, this evening I'm off in search of fondue and looking forward to my day trip to Liechtenstein tomorrow 🇱🇮    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 2

    Train to Sargans

    April 28 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    After being inconsiderately woken up at 5am this morning, I made my way over to the Hauptbahnhof with *plenty* of time to spare! After what I can only describe as the most Swiss breakfast I've ever had, namely a ham and cheese pretzel 🥨 and a bar of Swiss chocolate 🍫 (in my defence, it's a Sunday so there are very limited breakfast options available), I boarded a train to Sargans.

    Sargans itself isn't particularly notable, however it is the closest train station to the tiny micro-country Liechtenstein, tucked away on the border between Switzerland and Austria on the Eastern bank of the Rhine - my destination for today.

    The scenery on the way over was stunning - Switzerland is truly a country of crystal clear lakes and spectacular snow-capped mountains.

    On the train I reflected on the very continental custom of closing almost every shop and non-religious notable building on a Sunday come hell or high water. ✝️ As a tourist it's infuriating - I'm only here for a limited number of days so it's frustrating to have to work around these closures to stand a chance at seeing everything I want to see. However, as I gazed out the window at families hiking up mountains together 🥾 and friends windsurfing on the rippling waters of Lake Walensee, I started to understand the mentality of that tradition a little more deeply.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 2

    Vaduz, Liechtenstein

    April 28 in Liechtenstein ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Liechtenstein 🇱🇮 is a goldmine of trivia for keen quizzers, so naturally I was very excited to come here! 🤓 It is one of 5 European microstates, one of two double-landlocked countries and one of four countries in EFTA; it's effectively the last relic of the Holy Roman Empire, has the highest GDP per capita in the world and is ruled by the only remaining german-speaking royal family. It has a political system that fuses a powerful monarch 👑 with referendum-based direct democracy 🙌 Basically it's a one of a kind country, so I was keen to see it for myself.

    After taking a train to Sargans, I caught a bus to Vaduz, the capital "city" (by any other standard it would be a town). From there, it was a short hike up one of Liechtenstein's several mountains to Schloss (Castle) Vaduz 🏰 where the Reigning Prince Hans-Adam II lives. I'd read his book on political theory so was hoping to bump into him but, alas, he clearly had more important matters to attend to. The hike up there treated me to a number of views of the spectacular surrounding landscapes - what Liechtenstein lacks in coastlines it makes up for in mountains!

    After surveying the tiny country from above, I headed to the Landesmuseum to get up to speed on the country's history. The exhibition took me through the country's past, beginning with the bringing together of Vaduz and Schellenberg under one Count during the medieval period through to the establishment of the Principality. For most of its history the country was composed primarily of cattle-rearing peasants. However in the 20th Century, as its ruling family fled German-occupied Vienna and so started actually living in the country they ruled, the country was quickly transformed into a fully fledged export-based modern economy with a heavy focus on R&D.

    After filling my brain with history for a couple of hours I had worked up an appetite so headed to a restaurant in the centre of town and ordered Liechtenstein's national dish, Käsknöpfle - cheesy pasta with apple sauce. It was delicious, particularly washed down with a pinot noir 🍷 from - you guessed it - Liechtenstein!    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 2

    Sargans

    April 28 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    My train 🚆 back to Zurich was cancelled so I went exploring in Sargans, a Swiss town on its Eastern border. It has a castle located prominently high above the town which was unfortunately closed by the time I made my way to it, but it did have a number of spectacular views of the mountains and valleys of the Swiss Alps and the towns nestled within them.Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    2
    Day 3

    Uetliberg - the top of Zurich

    April 29 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    I kicked off this morning with a short trip up to the top of Uetliberg, the mountain overlooking Zurich 🏔️. Fortunately there is a train that takes you to within a 10 minute walk from the peak!

    At the summit (called Uto Kulm) there is a hotel and an observation tower, which gives you 360º views of the city, the lake, the Alps in the distance and the surrounding countryside 🏞️. My first thought as I reached the top of it was just how much Dad would have absolutely hated how high it was!

    Since it was relatively early in the morning, I had the whole place to myself - I felt on top of the world!    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 3

    Kilchberg & Lindt Home of Chocolate

    April 29 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    After descending Uetliberg I headed over to Kilchberg for a quick breakfast of Schinkengipfeli - a croissant stuffed with pork 🥐 which felt like a very sophisticated Swiss sausage roll. Following that, I headed over to today's main event - a tour of the Lindt Home of Chocolate experience.

    The tour took us through the history of chocolate, how Switzerland became the chocolate capital of the world and the manufacturing process to create it, before finishing up with several opportunities to gorge on Lindt Lindors! I left feeling very satisfied, if slightly sick! 🍫

    After finishing up in Kilchberg I decided to make the most of my Zurich transport card and headed back into the city by boat, crossing a pristinely pale blue Lake Zurich.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 4

    Reflections on Zurich

    April 30 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Zurich is a very pretty city on two fronts. The city centre is filled with cobbled streets, attractive buildings and plentiful pedestrianised outdoor spaces. It is dotted with fountains ⛲ that dispense fresh mountain water for the public. The multiple rivers that flow through the city team with waterfowl 🦆 and the view of the Altstadt from the view spot at Lindenhof is very pleasant to enjoy in the tranquility of the morning sun over a quick breakfast fresh from a bakery 🥯.

    The second front contributing to the city's attractiveness is its setting. The tall mountains, dense forests and clear blue lakes framed by the distant snow-capped Alps provide a rich backdrop to the city 🏞️

    The people here have largely conformed to my mental image of the Swiss - friendly but reserved and proud of their country. The streets of Zurich are filled with the sounds of German, French and Italian, unsurprisingly given that these are all native languages here, but it is also very common to overhear English, Spanish and Mandarin. Unlike in more Mediterranean countries, when I have spoken my (admittedly very limited) German, shopkeepers and waiters have tended to react by smiling and quickly switching to English rather than encouraging me to keep trying to speak their language.

    While I've enjoyed my time here, I do also see why many native Swiss do not like Zurich. Similarly to many major European cities, the city centre feels very busy and filled with tourists, diluting the "Swiss-ness" of the place. I think it is also expensive here even by Swiss standards - even a quick snack has tended to cost me a franc or two more in Zurich's Aldstadt than in Sargans or Kilchberg.

    All in all, I leave Zurich continuing to have a bit of a crush on Switzerland. It's a stereotypically quaint country filled with natural wonders with a very distinctive, particular culture. While I feel that I have now seen most of Zurich's main sights, I would definitely be keen to experience more of Switzerland, perhaps in somewhere like Interlaken, Lucerne or back in Geneva.    Read more

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