Life & Travels in Zurich:
During the time I was not working, I was busy exploring as much of the town and the city as I could. The family I was living with was the most perfect host family. My host parents and sisters lent me umbrellas and hiking boots, made sure I was eating enough, and welcomed me into their lives entirely.
My most memorable experience was meeting my host father’s father at the senior’s hospital where he is a resident. He spoke perfect English and was reminiscing to me about his trip to Vancouver years and years ago, and telling me how he spent weeks on the road with his wife driving from the East coast of Canada to the West, and then back on the American side. I also met my host mother’s mother on Mother’s day, when we all had brunch together, and went on a small hike. That was one thing I did the most during my time in Zurich – hiking on the Alps. Some of the mountains I hiked on are the Uetliberg (869 m), the Rigi (1798 m), and the Stanserhorn (1898 m).
Besides hiking, I also went sightseeing, once with my sponsor teacher, and a few times with my host family. I visited the famous churches and streets in Zurich city, as well as palaces, bridges and museums in Lucerne. One of the churches in Zurich, the Fraumünster houses stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall, and are a sight to behold! Of course photography was not permitted, and no photograph would do justice to the beauty, anyway. No picture could capture the awe or the peace I felt when I visited these churches. The oldest covered wooden bridge of Europe that is in Lucerne, the Kapellbrücke, was very inspirational and contained breathtaking paintings from the 17th century, which, along with the bridge, have been restored after a huge fire. I tried to absorb as much of the beauty and history as I could, but most of all enjoyed every minute of my day, every day.
Any trip to Switzerland is incomplete without a mention of food – especially cheese and chocolate. I was lucky enough to be able to try a variety of cheeses including Gruyère, Emmentaler, Raclette, Haloumi, Tête de Moine, and Caprice des Dieux, to name a few. As far as chocolate goes, I had a dream come true – I got to visit a chocolate factory! We went to Chocolat Frey, the leading chocolate manufacturers in Switzerland, in the town of Buchs. After an informative and interactive tour of the chocolate production, we were allowed to “taste” a few varieties before leaving the visitor center.
Since it was spring, white and green asparagus were in season, hence, it was a vegetable I had the most in many different forms. I had asparagus with spaghetti, boiled asparagus with hollandaise sauce and potatoes, asparagus lasagna, asparagus ravioli, asparagus cannelloni, stir-fried asparagus with wild garlic dumplings, etc. I also had potatoes in different forms – boiled, baked with cream and cheese, grilled on the barbecue, and in one of the most famous Swiss dishes – the Älplermagronen. When translated literally it means “Alpine macaroni”, and I had the privilege of trying it at a revolving restaurant on the peak of the Stanserhorn, one of the mountains in the Alps.
I can justifiably say that I had the best time of my life in the two weeks I spent in Zurich. It is true that you learn most when you travel, and this trip went way beyond my expectations. I cannot wait to go back! 🙂