Craigs Trips: Zurich Switzerland March 20-21

Zurich is a small city set in an area where apparently, money does grow on trees. Not anywhere that the general population or I could harvest it, though. Just because there is a lot of money in swiss bank accounts doesn't mean that it leaks out. This is a very expensive city. I don't understand why. It has a thriving economy and is a picturesque stop for tourism (it must be gorgeous in winter). Then why did a basic dinner for one (one entree and two beers) cost nearly 50 dollars. I can't imagine what a fancy dinner would cost here, but it wouldn't be worth the money.

Zurich was a one night stop for me. I am so glad that I did not plan on a longer stay. The hotel I slept in was in the old city and it was fun hauling my luggage around trying to find the sliver of a building. Once I did, I was welcomed to the oldest hotel in Zurich. The woman at the desk, told me the complete history of the hotel. The daily log since the late 1800's including its history of debauchery (wink - yes she winked). I wasn't impressed, she had no idea I was just in Amsterdam.

Once she recounted the complete renovation of the hotel, brick by brick, I was then allowed to go to my room. I rested a bit before heading back out. I needed to buy Zurich trinkets ASAP.

By the time I went back out, the city was dark. I used my gps to find a cache in the olde city - not to be confused with the old city. I then tried to find a another which had multiple stops. As I crossed the river, in a light rain. I finally saw the starting point of the multi cache. Not near the point where the webpage said it was. Not only do they have no idea of what money is worth, they have no idea where they are. It was getting late and I only found an Asian restaurant was open. This is where I spent $50 on a basic chinese meal.

After strolling the cobblestone (slippery) streets for a while, I returned to my hotel. The same woman was behind the counter, lecturing the people checking in on the complete history that they were about to pay extra for. I guess the history of the hotel is included in the price of the room. I smiled and moved quickly to the elevator. I did say completely renovated, right?

In the morning, after having breakfast, overlooking the quaint street, I checked out and made my way to the train station. I searched a park near the train station for another cache, with no luck. It was cloudy with light passing showers for both days. I nice city but, I doubt I'll stop here to pay extra again.

Next stop Milan, Italy.