We arrived in Zurich from England and got an Uber to our AirBnB; a very nice, albeit small, apartment just outside the city. From there, it was a 20-minute walk to a train station and a 10-minute train ride into Zurich Central. We went into the city the next day and walked from the station to Lake Zurich, which had water so clear it was like looking through glass. From where we were on the wall, it must have been at least 10 feet deep, but looked shallow. On our way back we stopped for a coffee and overpaid for some sorbet, before heading back along the other side of the river. Along this side, we found a number of interesting sights, including a floating dock off of which people of all ages were stripping down and jumping in. Braver than us, clearly, as this was October in Switzerland. There was also a set of sand volleyball courts and a skate park. The whole place was full of people enjoying their Saturday.

Over the next few days we visited Zurich some more, seeing everything one can do in the city without breaking the bank. However, to properly experience the Alps, we had to cross the border into Austria. We spent one night in Innsbruck, and it was spectacular. We saw the old town and walked around 3 miles in search of a cable car which would take us a good way up a mountain. From the mountain, we had a view of the landscape surrounding this beautiful city. We could see the mountain range stretching as far as the eye could see in either direction and the valley created by the River Inn, in which the city resides. It was absolutely stunning.

The day after we got back from Innsbruck, we decided to travel to Bern, the country’s capital. The train ride there was painless, and we had around 6 hours to see the city. We walked through the old district, which exhibited buildings dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries, one of which being the Einsteinhaus. We walked further through the old town and found the famous Bear Pit – unfortunately we failed to account for the fact that it was October and the bears were hibernating. We also saw the cathedral and the Münsterplattform, which is basically a small park raised above the surrounding town and river. After that, it was pretty much time to hop on the train back to Zurich.

We realized one small hitch in our plan though. Our flight out of Zurich to Venice took off at 7:40A.M., which meant we were going to have to be at the airport before 5. Our AirBnB rental ended the day before, meaning we had two options: either get a hotel room close to the airport (or one further away and bank on there being an Uber willing to take us to the airport at 4am), or go to the airport the day before and spend the night. We chose the latter, saving ourselves around $150, but making for an uncomfortable night. Still, we arrived in Venice perfectly fine, but you’ll hear about that in the next post!

Check out the sights here! https://admeliora.travel.blog/switzerland-2/