Zurich Journal
September 14. Tuesday
Cathy
Radisson Blu is an impressive hotel and so convenient! Our train pulled into the station at the airport, we got off and followed the signs to the hotel. The view from our room is of the planes as they arrive, so Gary is pleased to have this view. The room is lovely. We sought out the COVID testing folks to see if we could get that done before our 7:00 PM reservation time, and that went well. We knew of our negative test results within 15 minutes!
After the test we went looking around to see what was available and to find food for dinner. The first store after leaving Radisson Blu is a small Coop! We checked their selection and pricing, then headed down the shopping area to see what else there was. There's an even larger Migros, where we bought some things and planned to get the rest back at Coop. We ate dinner in our room.
Tomorrow is open and unplanned, except to visit Zurich Old Town.
Gary
Believe it or not, for this part of our trip there is a fantastic view onto the airfield from our hotel room for our last 2 nights in Switzerland. Why so enthusiastic?
- We have a direct view of the airfield and can watch planes taking off. Always loved that.
- To get to our departure gate Thursday morning, we take an elevator down to the hotel lobby, walk a short distance through a lovely corridor, go up an escalator and we're there.
- We are relieved and relaxed since we just got our required negative COVID rapid antigen test results within 15 minutes after testing right here in our hotel.
All day tomorrow is available to relax some more and take a stroll through Zurich Old Town.
September 15. Wednesday
Cathy
With our COVID test done, we felt free to do whatever. The forecast was for rain, but we've heard that cry too many times to pay it serious attention or let it spoil our day.
Gary had heard about the Edelweiss Cafe and was determined to find it! It took quite a while, but we did find it and had breakfast there. We needed to use our newly acquired Swiss attestation "International COVID Certificate" to eat there, else we could have ordered as takeaway.
Our on our way back to Radisson Blu, Gary suggested we find just where we need to check in the next day. We sure got the runaround! There seemed to be no one who knew where Delta was located for checking in, and finally we followed one piece of info that was almost correct - KLM has a check-in since they fly for Delta in Switzerland. Gary thought later he should have realized that KLM was the carrier for Delta from Amsterdam to Zurich. Anyway, it was so much better to have had this frustrating search today rather than at 5:00 AM tomorrow.
Now we are ready to explore Zurich. We had been given a city map by the Radisson Blu concierge and had a vague route to and through the Altstadt. We wanted to go to Sprüngli for coffee in the afternoon. Rain was falling pretty steadily and we were wet. We showed our COVID ID and were allowed inside. But inside it was quite warm - too warm for us. Since we hadn't been served yet, we left, explaining briefly to the waitress in our area that it was simply too hot for us there.
However, we have Natacha Müller to thank for telling us about Babu's Bakery and Coffeehouse. What a wonderful coffee shop! Our waitress was curious about our good German, so we ended up talking with her quite a while. That was fun and one big reason we like to travel - to meet interesting people.
We were damp but had been able to see some lovely old places before the rain strengthened. It was time to take the train back to the airport and our room, first stopping for dinner and chocolate to bring home as gifts, etc. Found all we needed, went back to Radisson Blu to eat and pack. Can hardly believe we've come to the end of our 28 days, yet we are also eager to go home.
Gary
This is our last day in Switzerland to take a walking tour of Old Town Zurich. Main goals: Find a suitable restaurant for lunch and find a great coffee shop afterwards. We scored high marks on both goals.
Lunch was at the Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten (Guildhall to the Carpenters), a historic house dating back to the Middle Ages. We shared a bratwurst with Rösti in a tasty sauce. We ate outside, but in a passageway, so we had no problem with the slight bit of rain. Our waiter was so friendly and attentive. It was all quite gemütlich.
Coffee was at Babu’s Bakery and Coffeehouse. Fantastic and totally family friendly. Coffee was super, and the fresh raspberry tort was incredible. We talked quite a while with one of the waitresses, who was intrigued we were from Seattle. The signage in Babu's is mostly in English, and she said they made a conscious attempt to create a cool American vibe, and I say they were totally successful, even for Seattle standards :)
September 16. Thursday
Cathy
Gary's phone beeped at 4:00 AM. He had set it to awaken him because he didn't want the hotel's wake-up call to do so! Neither of us slept well, but we were ready to leave Zurich and quickly dressed and packed. A panicky moment came when Gary couldn't find the blue shirt I had made him. It was nowhere to be seen, and we couldn't remember when or where we had seen it last. Finally I offered Gary Dad's shirt I had with me. He tried it and decided it would work. Such a shame about the blue shirt, though. It was falling apart but this was not the way he wanted to part with it.
I wasn't quite dressed, so he was careful with opening the curtain. Maybe he had a hunch that his shirt could be in that one place he hadn't checked. Sure enough it was up against the picture window and under the curtain! So I repacked Dad's shirt and we headed to our airline check-in after checking out of the Radisson Blu.
All went seamlessly, thanks to our prep on Wednesday. For breakfast at the terminal, we had Bircher Müsli which was made with strawberry yogurt and rhubarb! It was very good.
Our flight to Amsterdam was short and uneventful. We had nearly two hours between flights, did some shopping, then our plane started boarding nearly an hour before its scheduled departure. We ended up leaving a little ahead of schedule, so that we arrived nearly one half hour early in Seattle. Unfortunately we had to wait on the tarmac due to traffic. Our son was there to drive us home. It was so good to see him again. Good to be home.