Zurich

It has been a very busy couple of weeks since I got back from vacation mostly because I had to catch up on work and get ready for a business trip to Zurich. It was a quick trip flying out on Monday night and back on Friday afternoon. This meant I really only had three days in Zurich most of which was spent in meetings at a research lab I was visiting.

I did manage to walk around town on the afternoon I arrived. Zurich is a medieval town on a lake in the middle of Switzerland. There is a river at the top of the lake where most of the old town is. In the narrow streets and alleys are a variety of restaurants and little shops that you could spend a day exploring. Interspersed around the town and on the lake are large squares that usually had a beer garden or coffee shop with an outdoor sitting area.

It is a nice town to walk around especially on a warm sunny day. Unfortunately I didn't have much time to explore further.  My hotel was a block from the lake next to the Opera house. It was a decent hotel but like most European hotels the rooms are really small. Well designed but small. One of the strange thing about the room was the glass door to the bathroom.

One great things about Switzerland is the bus and rail system. It is easy to understand, very clean and always on time. Each bus or train has multiple screens telling you where you are and how soon you will be at the next 4 stops. The clock on the screen has a second hand just to prove that the train or bus will be on time to the second.

Since this was a trip for work I spent most of my time in meetings and didn't get time to do any real sight seeing. I was hoping to at least get a good view of the Alps but they were too far from town to see.  Zurich seems like a cool place to hang out. If I do make it back here again I may try to stay a few extra days to explore the area a little more.