Jaunted - Zurich

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

JetSetCD — 2011-08-04T17:03:50-05:00

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.

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

JetSetCD — 2011-07-12T16:40:28-05:00

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.

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

JetSetCD — 2011-07-01T12:40:03-05:00

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 wei�wurst and the town of Nuremburg has its own smaller version, the N�rnberger 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 B�rli 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 B�rli roll.

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

JetSetCD — 2011-05-23T12:34:29-05:00

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...

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

JetSetCD — 2011-04-29T16:07:08-05:00

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!

Peeing in Switzerland: Yep, Even This Will Cost Ya

JetSetCD — 2011-04-13T14:16:57-05:00

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 Z�rich 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.

$8 Vanilla Lattes and Other Perils of Starbucks in Switzerland

JetSetCD — 2011-04-04T15:01:52-05:00

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...