Please sign in to post.

Trip Report: Nine Nights Around Lake Zurich

Posted by on

Click here for the previous trip report from Ticino. This series of trip reports is based on travel during April/May 2024.

The final leg of our trip beckoned, and we headed to one of Zurich's tony bedroom communities (Thalwil) for a week+ in and around Lake Zurich. It was fascinating to watch the Alps fall away, to be replaced with rolling hills and shimmering lakes. The architecture also changed. Mountain chalets became mingled with half-timbering and gingerbread. Once settled into our apartment, we headed out on a Lake Zurich cruise to Rapperswil, soaking in the atmosphere of our new region.

The next day we satisfied a bit of history geek-ism with a trip to the town of Brugg. Why Brugg? Well, it turns out the Hapsburg Dynasty -- the very Hapsburgs who shaped so many facets of world history -- didn't start out in Germany or Austria or Hungary as one might expect. The Hapsburgs began at a little castle outside of today's Brugg, Switzerland. The castle is basically a restaurant now, but there are interpretive panels (including English) leading through all the major towers and elements. What was far more moving was heading down into the fields below and looking up at this humble castle that would someday lead to one of the most substantial empires and families in the world. (Fun tip: Brugg also has an improbable but very good Filipino restaurant. Seek out Papa Oro's, pick something cooked-to-order like the fried springrolls, and enjoy!)

Given our proximity to Lake Lucerne, we decided to give a day over to taking the ferry cruise from Brunnen back to Lucerne. We also thought it might be fun to warm up with a hike up and over into Brunnen from Schwyz. It was, but it was a lot of "up" before we hit the "over" and down portion. We survived, but definitely a heart-pumper. In Brunnen we had lunch at Birdy's, a Michelin one-starred restaurant. It was great food and we enjoyed the bok choy so much, we ordered it twice. [Soapbox detour: The only sour note was the biggest charge yet for a carafe of tap water. C'mon dude, I can see you filling it up from the faucet! I know this is common practice in Switzerland, and Rick Steves alerts us to it, so it shouldn't be a surprise. But I think Switzerland really needs to follow France's lead which requires providing free tap water upon request. End of soapbox]. After lunch we enjoyed that languid and thoroughly beautiful cruise down Lake Lucerne. Especially nice was the ever-changing array of "Golden Age of Travel" hotels with names like Beau Rivage, Victoria, and Palace. As for Lucerne, I'm going on record with a likely unpopular opinion -- I don't think it is all that great. It felt very much overrun with loud groups, pushy tourists, suitcase-wielding commandos, and enough selfy sticks to build a sizable house. Yes, it has an impressive core, but relaxing or enjoyable it was not -- at least for us. Your results may vary...

One of the branches of my family tree originated in Sursee, Switzerland, and we devoted the next morning to exploring the atmospheric Old Town, including finding the house that used to be great-great-great grandpa's! We continued to Zug, where we walked another Old Town. We really liked Zug, and agreed we could easily come back and stay for a few days. It was approaching lunchtime and we were overwhelmed with choices, hemming and hawing. That's when we spotted the Lake Zug ferry come in. How about lunch on the lake? This is one of the great things about having a Swiss Travel Pass -- or our jumbo version, the One-Month GA Travelcard. It allows for complete spontaneity. We hopped aboard and had a blast. Lake Zug can't compare to Lake Zurich or Lake Geneva, but it has its own quiet charms. Plus Zug is cherry country, and the Zuger Kirschtorte onboard was fantastic!

Posted by
785 posts

May Day arrived, and we went to what has to be one of the most Swiss-y things ever: a cheese festival! Natürli is a cooperative of natural cheese makers in and around Saland. On May 1 every year, they bring together over 30 of their cheese-making partners, along with other products like yogurts, breads, and meats. The cheese hall was already hopping at opening bell, and the samples were flowing freely. It was as delicious as it was fun. While we could have lingered, we had a lunch date over the Albis Pass at the Restaurant Löwen in Hausen am Albis. Löwen has been serving Swiss meals since 1833. The May Day menu featured a variety of dishes with rösti, another Swiss classic we had yet to try. I know, I know...a cheese festival AND rösti?! But May Day is a holiday in Switzerland, and calories/fat grams don't count on holidays. Right? Right?

Having learned a variety of Swiss history threads on this trip -- William Tell; the Hapsburgs -- we headed back to Schwyz the next day for The Museum of the Swiss Charters of Confederation. Built in 1936 as a national shrine for the Federal Charter of 1291, it struck me as a mixture of our National Archives and Independence Hall rolled into one. It was also refreshingly honest about concepts like founding myths and faulty collective memory. Definitely it was a surprise hit, one that I highly recommend. We also headed back to Brunnen (by bus this time), and took the segment of the Lake Lucerne cruise we had missed last time -- the final segment to Fluelen. This portion of the lake is called the The Lake of Uri, and is rich in the history we had just studied at the Charter museum. Is it also more wild, with steep rock faces and great views. In Fluelen we had a very fine dim sum lunch at Asia Garden. Throughout our month in Switzerland, we had noticed that ethnic cuisine had made terrific inroads, including taking over former trophy properties, as Asia Garden had in Fluelen. It was a nice counter to the sins of May Day!

It had been an incredible month of Swiss mountains, meadows, forests, fields, waterfalls, and lakes. So with our last weekend, we decided to shift the focus to the excitement of urban life -- museums, cool neighborhoods, nightlife, funky shops, and flea markets. Zurich often gets bad rap. Just on this forum alone it has been described as "boring," "a business city," and "sterile." It made the list on a post titled: Not Worth Seeing? But on our previous trip to Switzerland, we had a taste of Zurich and found it intriguing. This was the birthplace of Dadaism for gosh sakes, surely it couldn't be as boring as all that? So, here are our findings:

If you want to shed the cobwebs of Zurich's staid reputation, consider the west side of the Sihl River, which is where we headed. In the neighborhoods of Langstrasse and Zurich West, you'll find the heart of Zurich's renaissance turn into something cool and hip. For example, the repurposed shipping container tower for Freitag's flagship store. Shop here and the label-conscious folks on your Christmas list will be forever grateful (at least that was our plan!). Or walk The Viaduct, an old train viaduct repurposed into home decor and fashion boutiques. One of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Zurich, Co Chin Chin, anchors a street filled with ethnic restaurants. Stellar! A close second pick would be the Lebanese mezze platter at Schmido. Antiquing without breaking the bank is possible at Zurcher Brockenhaus, a three-story, non-profit thift store with fantastic finds. Those with a serious budget and a love of mid-century might also want to check out BLISS modern antiques. Finally, even the train stations on this side of town were more intersting. The art deco styling of the Zürich Wiedikon station is worth a look, as are the murals. They wouldn't fly today, but the department store ads they represented are an insightful look into 1920s style and culture.

Posted by
785 posts

If West Zurich sounds too hipster for your taste, we found Old Town Zurich has plenty to recommend it as well. We started with Saturday's Zurich Bürkliplatz Flea Market, featuring goods both high end and kitsch. But Old Town's greatest gem is the Kirche Fraumünster, which is where you will find Marc Chagall's stained glass windows. We had seen another set of Chagall windows in Metz's cathedral (France); however, the ones in Zurich were later in his career, and we thought even better than Metz. Truly breathtaking. We were also shocked that no one was visiting. I don't know if I'd call this a "hidden gem," but it was ours to enjoy solo on a beautiful Saturday. Wrap around to the Enge neighborhood (and another interesting train station), for sophisticated evening options. We particularly liked the Italian-inspired libations at the cocktail bar Garibaldi. And then there are Zurich's museums. The Swiss National Museum always impresses, and this return visit was no exception. Their "Bodies in the Middle Ages" exhibit runs through July, and is phenomenally curated -- visit if you can. A new museum for us was the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich on Ausstellungsstrasse, a design museum. The temporary retrospective of Oliviero Toscani's photography (you've seen his provocative United Colors of Benetton ads for decades) was especially well done. Also, the Zurich Card offers a great value for museum-hopping if the entrance fees aren't covered by another pass, like the Swiss Travel Pass.

Bottom line: Don't be too quick to dismiss Zurich. We loved it. And so ended our great Swiss adventure.

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.