Day 2B: Zürich

The view from our room.

Once Kurt and I finally settled into our Zurich Hostel, it was early evening and we decided we should do some wandering around the city. First, we stopped at the cafe downstairs and chatted with one of the guys that runs the hostel. We had a beer and explained our trip while he told us about his visit to Manhattan once. Luckily, most people in Zurich spoke English, so communication wasn't too difficult.

We set off to do some exploring around the city center and eventually find some dinner. We walked along the Bahnhofstrasse, one of the main arteries running through the city center. There are tons of stores and businesses along the route. It runs parallel to the large river which dumps into Lake Zurich.

View of Lake Zurich.

By the time we made it to the lake, a storm was rolling in and we decided to find shelter and food quickly. Of course that was easier said than done in a city we knew nothing about. We were looking for something not-touristy and affordable but were in the city center along the river, right around the train station. It was hard to come by.

We finally veered off on some smaller side streets and found a little cafe just before the rain came through. Kurt and I shared a cheese and meat plate and had a couple beers. Not quite as affordable as we had hoped, but come to find out, Zurich is one of the most expensive cities in Europe. I guess we should be used to ridiculously high prices from New York.

After dinner, the sky cleared a bit and we were able to wander around some more as we made our way back to the hostel. We came across this little park tucked behind an office building. It really looked like a space ship! The lights were so bright! Kurt couldn't understand how anyone could design a space like that. Really bizarre.

Jet lag was beginning to set in, so we headed back to the hostel to hit the sack and prepare for Day 3!