Switzerland

If you ever get the opportunity to take a train ride through Switzerland in winter, do it. The country is spectacular and photos just don’t do it justice. The mountains are steeper than you could ever imagine and just the construction of roads and railways through here is a mammoth feat. In some places there are five different levels. It’s like Back to the Future or Total Recall but on the ground (sort of). The train spends some time in long tunnels through mountains and then crosses bridges over deep crevices – you can see roads and other train lines in the hillsides below and often above you on a neighbouring mountain. While I had struck grey skies often on my trip so far (and missed the northern lights because of it), this was a clear blue day and that made the scenery even more amazing. [‘Red Red Wine’ – UB40 – As I discovered UB40 and other reggae greats after falling in love with Madness, you can guess that UB40 were also an 80s fave. I saw them once at the Raiders Club in Queanbeyan]

The first thing you notice about Zurich is how clean it is, the second is that it is very expensive and largely full of the well-heeled and, obviously, bankers. The city east of the main canal is littered with banks – they’re everywhere and many are labeled private. The concept of a private Swiss bank is probably what keeps tax lawyers employed. My favourite was the Arab Bank (Switzerland). So why did I need a bank? Firstly, Switzerland is another one of those places that refuse the Euro. But of course you can exchange for Swiss francs in the train station. My reason for trying to locate a bank was to use my new plastic fantastic to get some hard cash. And what better place to visit a bank than the banking capital of the world? Who of note doesn’t have money in a Swiss bank account?

I decided to try the local Swiss banks – surely Swiss people must need to visit a bank and not just a machine. Apparently the trick was to find one that actually carried cash. After two attempts I was directed to the main branch, where I was quickly sorted. Banking done, it was time to explore Zurich, the first place I had been where there wasn’t snow on the ground. The Europeans love their cobblestoned old cities and canals and Zurich was no different – a myriad of laneways built around a central canal with trams as the main form of transport and, interestingly, electric buses that connect to the tram wires. The other interesting site was a number of fountains that had clearly frozen while running. [‘Manic Monday’ – The Bangles]

Some of the clichés turned out to be true – the banking sector was a sea of shiny big black luxury vehicles and the well-heeled European women were varying shades of blonde and dripping with gold. The streets were littered with fashion brands – Louis Vitton, Prada and many other labels I could never afford and that don’t actually hold great appeal for me. And Tiffany & Co. with some stunningly beautiful pieces to drool over that seemed to cost even more because this was Zurich. Nestled amongst all of this was another awesome goth shop. I had a look but this was Goth-wear at Prada prices!

I ventured to the west of the canal and found an entirely different city – small, funky boutiques with cheaper prices, bars and cool coffee shops. I spent quite some time in a sneaker store – need to offload some stuff so I can expand my collection (I have to call it a collection now because no normal person has anywhere near the number of pairs of sneakers I have amassed). It turns out finding tacky souvenirs in Zurich didn’t pose as much of a challenge as I thought and so with that purchase made it was time to buy some Swiss chocolate (which predictably didn’t last past Milan) and some lunch. On the chocolate – when the Swiss make liqueur chocolates, they don’t cook the alcohol out – those babies had some serious kick. For lunch I chose something quintessentially Swiss (apart from fondue which would a) be very expensive in Zurich and b) steal my own dinner party thunder – like if my nanna ever caught me buying scones). I bought a German sausage wrapped in puff pastry from this mega-deli which had everything from cooked roast to half a lobster with a cream mayo on top that you could take home. The sausage was actually pretty good. You used to be able to get Vili dogs in some bakeries in Australia. Also the Vili dog with cheese. This wasn’t the kind with cheese (gratuitous West Wing quote there). After lunch I headed back to the station to catch the train to Milan. [‘Summer Rain’ – Belinda Carlisle – another 80s train station song