Celebrating the arrival of Spring in Zurich

Got a five hour layover in Zurich?? That’s plenty of time to get out of the airport and in to downtown. When I made that trek a couple weeks ago it was a stunningly beautiful day, with blue skies and warm enough temperatures that seemingly the entire city was out celebrating the arrival of Spring. I left the airport, hopped on the train and alighted at the central station. With a couple hours to play around and no particular itinerary in mind the afternoon became an opportunity to wander, something I like to think I’m pretty good at.

As is often the case when I find myself in such situations, I tend to focus on food and outdoor spaces, parks and such. Zurich offered no shortage of opportunities on this front. Within minutes of leaving the train station I was in the heart of the old city, walking the narrow pedestrian paths towards the lakefront.

Along the way I picked up the first of a couple meals, a pretzel to snack on. Part of me wonders if the Swiss and Germans dream of NYC pretzels from street vendors the same way I do of their pretzels. I hope not, because theirs are WAY better. With pretzel in hand I made my way with the rest of the crowds to the edge of the lake. It was packed, everyone out to celebrate the arrival of Spring.

The swans were out celebrating as well, enjoying the warmer weather and all the folks out at the lake offering them snacks.

With my pretzel consumed it was time to find a more nourishing snack. Again to the mobile merchants, this time for a brat and a tall boy. Back to the lake again with my purchases in hand and I enjoyed lunch with a phenomenal view.

All too quickly my time in Zurich was running out. I had to head back to the train station and then to the airport to catch my flight. I was in the city for about 3 hours, barely enough to scratch the surface. Still, it was a great little side-trip for the layover I had and definitely worth the few dollars spent on the train ticket.