Easter trip to Zurich and the surrounding areas

As mentioned in the previous post, I did not pursue with my trip and instead decided to go back to homebase Geneva. The next day was really a challenge as it took me 15 seconds to figure out how I could wear my jeans. And climbing stairs is a big challenge itself as every step resulted in unbearable pain in my hips area.

Anyhow, I have been invited by good Swiss friend Alain to spend Easter Monday in Zurich. My trip started out pretty late beginning with the 18:14 train ride at the Geneva station. The train I took is the Swiss ICN tilting train which has the specialized tilting mechanism that allows it to reach speeds up to 200 km/h. Here is the arrival of my train to Zurich:



And here is the moment when the train actually makes a turn and tilts (not noticeable in the video though):



Fortunately, as the summer is just nearby, daylight is still there and I was fortunate to do some sight-seeing during the train ride.


Upon my arrival in Zurich, Swiss friend Alain was waiting at the train station to fetch me and we took the train together to Winterthur where I got a tour of the impressive Swiss higher education infrastructure. As a background of literature, Alain is a student of Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Winterthur and did one full year of exchange studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. We did a tour of his school which was indeed very clean, modern and impressive in terms of infrastructure and facilities.

Public terminals at the University are very ergonomic in design and modern. The keyboard is made of stainless steel and is built to stand internse force and pressure.

And the classrooms are modern with ergonomic chairs and fully equipped projectors. Not to mention that I was not even able to see any scrap of paper and/or litter on the floor. Very Swiss indeed!

Seeing such facilities, I reflected to myself that the Swiss are one of the luckiest people on the planet. They get everything in such an excellent quality - public transit, healthcare, economic opportunities, and higher education. Unlike in other countries, the Swiss need not to pay tuition to be able to attend tertiary studies as they are covered by the government. Textbooks are pretty much way way cheaper as well with books exceeding CHF 100 a rarity. This effectively equates to more time studying and lesser need to have a job while in university and more chance to divert extra money into other leisurable undertaking. With all the opportunities available to them, it is just to the person itself to decide his or her fate if he or she would like to be successful in his or her life.

After the classroom tour, I had the chance to see what the guy's locker contains.


Outside the school, we had a little walk along Winterthur's cobbled streets. Passing by one of the shops, I saw a window where this clothes were displayed:

Next day, we visited the city of St. Gallen, which lies at the terminus of the main train line from Geneva. St. Gallen is a univesity town being the location of the famous St. Gallen University. It is also the gateway to the Appenzell area of Switzerland. As it is a public holiday, we expected to see a very quiet downtonwn. First impressions of the city:




Walking at the core of downtown, cherry trees are already in bloom:





And architecture in the city is marvelous as well:



At this point of the stroll, we were already feeling hungry. As I am already with a Swiss person (which is such a rarity in my stay here), why not take the chance to experience Swiss food in this special part of Switzerland. We went to a tradition Swiss restaurant and this is what we got:

I got rosti, a special Swiss dish with meat and cheese

and fresh, healthy salad with some meat

After lunch, we did a brief drive climbing the Appenzel mountain ranges.


I also took this opportunity to take pictures in the impending participation of this guy to Mr. Schweiz (he'll really get mad with this I think......)

Go get a piece of him girls.... he's hip, he's nice, he's rich, he's hot, he's cool and most of all he's Swiss!

On our way back, Iwas lucky to have a sight of Zurich during daylight. The city reminds me somewhat of the atmosphere of Washington DC and Boston combined into one with of course, far developed public transport and cleaner, tidier streets.



Arriving in Spreitenbach, I got feted again for a dinner in true intricate Swiss fashion. First course is a wonderful salad with a dressing that would surely tickle your tastebuds. Next is a wonderful European main course, grilled beef with carrots and potatoes... delicious indeed. I cannot ask for more, thank you very much to M. and Mdm. Henri for hosting such an excellent dinner.

Come 8.15 Monday night, it was time for the fairytale weekend to end and as I stepped out of my friend's car, reality dawned on me again - that it will be worktime again tomorrow and that its time to be solitary once more in the anonymous world of international organizations. Nonetheless, it was nice to have a break.