Daily Archives: 9 June, 2012

Day 25 – Back to the Beginning

For their final day in Switzerland, Raul and Lauren decided to take advantage once more of the Swiss Pass, as well as the conveniently compact size of the country, to return to the first Swiss town they visited, Appenzell. It took less than two hours to reach the town by train. Here they hoped to find a non-touristic store selling cowbells, since this is cow country. They were assured by several people that local farmers bought their bells at a certain shop on the main street. Despite these assurances, they decided not to buy a bell from this souvenir shop and resigned to returning home without one.

After a traditional Appenzeller lunch featuring the smelly regional cheese, they returned to Zürich. Ahead of them lay the daunting task of organizing and packing their bags one final time. They were somewhat glad to be leaving their hostel, as Lauren noticed during her shower that the bathroom ceiling was covered in mold.

They ate dinner at an Italian restaurant, and, as luck would have it, Lauren found a dark chocolate gelato at a stand next door. Although the texture was perhaps not quite as right as the gelato in Lugano, the “darkness” of the flavor was delicious. Raul and Lauren strolled the restaurant district, the Niederdorf, eating their gelato and stopping here and there to watch the Germany vs. Portugal soccer match that was playing on all the TVs.

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Coat of Arms

Time Plan Sleep in
Day 25 Saturday 9 June Zürich
08:17 Depart Murten platform 1 on S5 15829 to Zurich
Total duration: 1h 41m
Saved S₣27
08:56 Arrive Bern, transfer to platform 4 on IC 817
09:02 Depart Bern
09:58 Arrive Zürich, stow bags
10:15 ▲▲Swiss National Museum, free
13:00 Self-guided walk
14:00 Zürichsee cruise
16:00 Uetliberg, Zürich from above
17:30 Check in to City Backpacker Hotel Biber, S₣78 including sheets, no breakfast, free Wi-Fi
Tel: +41 044-251-9015
sleep@city-backpacker.ch
Sights
  • Self-guided walk or 2 hr paid tour, S₣20 or half with Swiss Pass
  • ▲▲Swiss National Museum, S₣10 or Swiss Pass, Tues-Sun 10:00-17:00, closed Mon
  • River/lake cruise covered by Swiss Pass
  • Bicycle ride
  • Uetliberg, Zürich from above, good at sunset, 1.5 hrs

Sleeping

Eating
  • Zeughauskeller, Swiss, S₣18-33
  • Restaurant Swiss Chuchi, cheese dishes, splittable S₣25-30 fondue
  • Commihalle Restaurant, Italian, S₣17-25, or S₣25 4 course
  • Manora, cafeteria, S₣10-15, closed Sun
  • Confiserie Sprüngli, old-fashioned pastry shop on Bahnhofstrasse, by Zeughauskeller