Popular Trip
got to Zürich in the evening, and from the moment of my arrival to the moment of my departure, I oscillated between various degrees of confusion, anywhere from slight to no friggin' clue. I'm not sure why I found Zürich so confusing, but maybe it was the switch from tiny principality to Swiss metropolis.Finally figuring out how to navigate the train station, I found the tourist office. There I picked up a few brochures, including an ad for an internet café (aptly named Internetcafe). I headed there to check my e-mail and be absolutely sure I understood where I was meeting P, whose couch I would be surfing that evening and the next. Then I just walked around town until I couldn't bear the cold anymore. I headed back to the train station and had a tea while I waited for the designated time.
P was really cool and lived pretty centrally. His girlfriend was also really nice, and we had a cup of tea before we set up my sleeping area. My hosts had to get up early the next morning, but P gave me a key, so I could sleep in and leave at my leisure.
I walked downtown from P's and went straight to the tourist office to buy the ZürichCARD. A lot of the cities I had visited had had these tourist cards that included local transportation and entry to many or all museums. All the other cities were so small, though, and the museums so cheap, that I didn't bother with those cards. In Zürich, however, it was totally worth it. All the museums were free, and my zoo ticket was discounted.
My first museum stop was the nearby Swiss National Museum (Schweizerisches Landesmuseum). Lots to see, including a large special exhibition on Roman gold finds from that area and the surrounding countries. Next I tried navigating the tram system and encountered a very hostile, unhelpful tram conductor, who put me in a very bad mood. I decided it was time to visit the zoo, in particular the Masoala Rainforest, an indoor Madagascan rainforest, a good place to warm up.
When I got to the zoo, I realized that I was just in time for the penguin parade, so that's where I went first. The penguins changed my mood completely; they're so much fun and so funny to watch! They seem like very proud birds, and I think they enjoy being paraded through the zoo with everyone smiling at them along the way. From there I went to the rainforest. I tried taking pictures, but the change from cold to steamy made it difficult, so I just went on my way.
In one of my tourist brochures, I had seen an interesting looking exhibition advertised: "Food and Power: An exhibition about feasting, slaughtering and starving". It was at Mühlerama, an old mill and museum a bit out of the way. I'm really glad I went. The exhibition talked about how unconscious we are of the power we exercise while eating: we are killing life forms and turning them into a part of us. Control of food is also one of the strongest forms of political control there is.
After I finished going through the special exhibition, I walked around the mill. At the top was a slide, down which flour sacks used to be sent. Next to the slide were some old flour sacks, and visitors were invited to slide down themselves. I was very tempted but hesitant. Finally, though, I decided I had to try it: a few seconds of relived childhood.
I took the tram back toward town and walked around a bit more, but it was very cold, so I took the tram back to P's. I got a little lost, but I eventually found his place again. He was there, and after he checked a few things off his to-do list, and after I warmed up a bit, we went out to dinner. I had requested East Asian, because I hadn't (and still haven't) really had much East Asian food since coming to Europe. We had Thai, and it was very good. We were going to go straight back to his place afterward, but walking by a café, P decided he needed a digestif espresso. I had a beer. We ended up staying for a bit and talking about this, that and the other. I asked P what stereotypes the Swiss have of each other, and P told me that the different Swiss language groups don't really live with each other: they live next to each other.
When we got back to P's place, we shared a Guinness and went to bed. I had one more city to visit in the morning.