Switzerland Travel Guide

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The Flagship Freitag Shop in Zurich, Switzerland: A Towering Mecca of Eco-Design

August 4, 2011 at 5:03 PM | by | Comments (0)

Down a street that's more like an alley along the railroad tracks to Zurich's Hauptbahnhof (main train station) sits a stack of colorful shipping containers. It's Geroldstrasse 17, the address of the flagship store for the homegrown Swiss brand Freitag and it's something of a shopper's mecca for those "in the know" in the design, fashion and eco communities.

Why so? Well, Freitag is a bag and accessories company begun by two brothers who were inspired by the tarps that cover semi-truck loads driving around Europe, delivering their goods. The boys would buy the used tarps, wash them and cut them to repurpose the durable material into messenger bags, backpacks, travel duffles, even wallets...until it caught on and became a proper business with a look desired the world over.

Freitag bags are easy to spot; just go to any college campus, design school or "cool" town (Portland and New York are great places for Freitag-spotting). Owners of Freitags have been known to nod at each other in passing, as if members of a secret club...yet all they did was invest a little money into a top quality accessory that originates here, in Zurich.

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Harley-Davidson Gets Its Motor Running for...Zurich Airport?!

August 3, 2011 at 9:35 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you’re spending your summer in Europe and are hungry for a little slice of Americana, you might want to plan a layover in Zurich. There’s now plenty of chrome and carburetors thanks to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle exhibit right at Zurich Airport, so grab a Big Mac from the airport’s McDonald’s and check it out.

The choppers thundered into the airport back at the end of June, and they’re scheduled to stick around through August 7. Things are set up in the middle of the Airport Center at the airport disobeying the no-parking signs. As is usual with the Harley Davidson brand, the display is definitely selling the lifestyle and attitude rather than just the bikes. So in addition to the ten different motorcycles on display there’s plenty of mannequins sporting the latest in logo shirt fashion and of course plenty of leather goods.

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Peeking into Wings Bar, the Zurich Pub That Thinks It's a Swiss Airplane

Where: Limmatquai 54, Zurich, Switzerland
July 12, 2011 at 4:40 PM | by | Comments (0)

It's a Swiss bar that looks like a plane! Or is it...a Swiss plane that looks like a bar? Oh c'mon you know it's the former, and you can step right into it yourself for a drink when you're next in Zurich, Switzerland. It's surprisingly easy to find, too; located on the main street along the River Limmat, Limmatquai, Wings Bar is a perfect spot for attracting regular folks and not just avgeeks.

Inside, the decor is proper Swiss Air red and white, which makes sense seeing as how the owners are former Swiss crew, who opened the place back in 2001 after Swiss Air went bankrupt and sold off some goodies at auction. You'll find those goodies tucked around the place; there's real airline seats here and there, fronted by cocktail tables for enjoying a drink from their rather large menu.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Brat to Order in Zurich is a St. Gallen

July 1, 2011 at 12:40 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

In Germanic Europe, every city, town and even individual restaurant is known for a special type of sausage. For example, the region of Bavaria is all about their weißwurst and the town of Nuremburg has its own smaller version, the Nürnberger Bratwurst. The trend continues further south in Austria and Switzerland, and in Zurich, you'll want to order up a St. Gallen Brat with a Gold Bürli roll. It's a traditional combination in the city, best served at a single heavily-touristed restaurant of course, but it's worth it.

The taste: A St. Gallen is about 6 inches of grilled, milky veal brat goodness. Be careful upon first bite, as the trapped hot juices could burn your tongue. Following this, the heat to beware is that of the mustard. This is a damned spicy mustard—though crazy tasty—and a comic drawing posted in the restaurant warns diner of it. A St. Gallen should be eaten by being dipped in the mustard, chased with a glug of good beer and a bite of the plain and crusty Bürli roll.

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Oh Wow: There is an H.R. Giger Bar in Switzerland

May 26, 2011 at 6:36 PM | by | Comments (0)

How did we not know about this place before now? OMG—there is a bar in Château St. Germain, Gruyères, Switzerland, that is officially modeled after the style of H.R. Giger, aka he of the sexual-skeletal-alien-futuristic illustrations. Apparently the H.R. Giger bar is next to the H.R. Giger Museum, which only makes sense. As if the photos weren't enough to whet our appetite for another trip to Switzerland, there's this description of the place:

It is a cavernous, skeletal structure covered by double arches of vertebrae that crisscross the vaulted ceiling of an ancient castle. The sensation of being in this extraordinary setting recalls the tale of Jonah and the whale, lending the feel of being literally in the belly of a fossilized, prehistoric beast, or that you have been transported into the remains of a mutated future civilization

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Inside Runway 34, a Vintage Airplane-Turned-Restaurant at Zurich Airport

Where: Rohrholzstrasse 67, Opfikon, Zurich, Switzerland, 8152
May 23, 2011 at 12:34 PM | by | Comments (0)

In 2005, an old Soviet Ilyushin IL-14 airplane made its final flight (pic here), landing for good at Zurich International Airport. Its fate was to become a very unique attraction, the centerpiece of a new restaurant just outside the airport at the very end of runway 34. In fact, the restaurant and bar is called Runway 34, and it's something of a special secret for international flight crew, aviation geeks and those who just enjoy seeing the quirky sights.

During a recent jaunt off to Switzerland, we made it a point to visit Runway 34, even if it involved a trek through deserted streets at 10pm the night before our early morning flight. There was an airplane trapped in a restaurant! Duh, we wanted to go and at least have drinks on its wing. Unfortunately our cutting it short cost us, and only the bar was open. Perfect, actually; a waiter took a shining to us and gave us a guided tour of the whole place, letting us run around and go camera-crazy.

And we have video...

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Foreign Grocery Friday: A Swiss Chocolate Bar Named 'Tourist'

April 29, 2011 at 4:07 PM | by | Comments (2)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

To tell you the truth from the first, we've been tracking this chocolate bar for about a year. Ever since spotting it while randomly browsing Flickr photos of the contents of people's traveling bags, we've wondered what sort of candy could something named "Tourist" be? As it turns out, we located it recently in Switzerland because...[drumroll please]...it's Swiss chocolate! Specifically it's a chocolate bar containing raisins, hazelnuts and almonds. We believe the bar is named "Tourist" because the nuts kinda remind you of eating trail mix, but that's just our hypothesis.

The taste: There's so many nuts and raisins in this chocolate that it's pretty soft and easy to bite into. At first, you can be confused at the taste of the chocolate. It's good—very, very good and rich—but it begins with the lightness of milk chocolate. Start chewing and really tasting it on your tongue, and the strength of the dark chocolate comes through; it's 44% cocoa. Luckily the raisins don't play into the flavor as much as the hazelnuts, so raisin-haters don't be afraid to try this!

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Foreign Grocery Friday: What the Swiss Think Texans Eat

April 15, 2011 at 2:46 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Beef, beans and bacon baked into bread. That takes care of the four food groups, right? Wrong of course, but it is the four food groups of Texas, according to Switzerland. We happened upon this "Ranger" snack in Zürich recently, and since it was just about the cheapest, weirdest snack on the convenience store shelf, we had to go for it.

The taste: In your hand, it feels like you're about to bite into a room-temperature cheap burrito, and were the exterior made of tortilla rather than oddly fluffy bread, it could've passed for one. Instead you chomp into a weird central mix of bacon, beef and beans which is somewhat chewy like jerky and a little mushy thanks to the beans. The first bite was super gross. The second was not so bad. By the end of it, we kinda liked it, but not enough to go purchase another. It's totally a novelty thing.

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Peeing in Switzerland: Yep, Even This Will Cost Ya

April 13, 2011 at 2:16 PM | by | Comments (0)

Ryanair isn't the only one in love with the idea of pee fees; European train stations have elevated it from just an idea to a practice, installing many automatic pay bathrooms to serve the tens of thousands of travelers who pass through every day. One such station is the Zürich Hauptbahnhof in Switzerland, known as a hustley-bustley nexus for trains around the continent.

The pee fee area is hilariously named "McClean," though not associated with the Golden Arches in any way. It's a fancy pee station; there's also the option of taking a shower or just using a vanity to freshen up, although you have to pay extra, of course.

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$8 Vanilla Lattes and Other Perils of Starbucks in Switzerland

April 4, 2011 at 3:01 PM | by | Comment (1)

When we're away from home, we take a perverted pleasure in sauntering into places we recognize, and noting differences. For example, checking out the "Shaka Shaka Chicken" on the menu at McDonalds in Tokyo, or swinging by the "World's Nicest Taco Bell" on a beach in California. Okay, so most of this involves fast food, but then there's always Starbucks.

Do you think you pay a lot for Starbucks coffee in the States? Well, then avoid going to Starbucks in countries that rank high on the quality of life scale. For example: Switzerland. Starbucks is celebrating its tenth anniversary of being in the country, and their shiny signs convinced us to come in during a recent visit to Zurich. Hold on to your wallet...

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Luxemburgerli of Zürich

March 25, 2011 at 6:12 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Everyone knows Lindt, right? Swiss chocolate Lindor truffles and whatnot... But although the name Lindt is well-known, its full name—Lindt & Sprüngli—is practically a secret. If you'd like to taste this other half of the Lindt genius, then you've got to save up and head to Zürich, Switzerland, an expensive city if ever there was one.

This year marks the 175th anniversary of Sprüngli, and with that many years behind them, you can bet that their version of a macaron—called Luxemburgerli—are long perfected.

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Wish You Were Here: The Peak of Mount Pilatus, Swiss Alps

March 22, 2011 at 1:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

The tippy top of Mt. Pilatus

What's a traveler to do when they've got more than enough days in a foreign city? Day trip! If you've been following us on Twitter and Foursquare, then you're already tuned in to the fact that we've been chillaxing in the still chilly temps of Switzerland—Zürich, to be more exact.

We're probably the last people to be able to turn down a great airline deal, so yea; here were are in Switzerland on the first day of Spring and looking for adventure. What to do? We contemplated hopping over to the medieval town of Feldkirch, Austria and then going from there to get a fancy passport stamp in Liechtenstein. But we'd already done that before, even if it was a whole passport ago. Maybe we'd try to hit a Swiss ski town...Zermatt? St. Moritz? Davos? Spending Monday afternoon in front of a fireplace at a lodge with caffè corretto in hand sounded awesome. But...

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