After our short exploration of Zug we drive towards Zurich. Here we do our best to follow Google Maps directions towards our selected parking, without it we would have been lost given the number of one-way roads and even so sometimes it was difficult to identify the right lane in advance of turns. However we make it and then it is a short walk over the Limmat bridge to the old town area.
Here we visit a few souvenir stores while we make our way along the pedestrian street towards the Town Hall that we want to see while in Zurich.
There are lots of people on the pedestrian street both locals and tourists and it is slightly a party atmosphere especially near the bars and restaurants.
And then we are at the Rathaus (Town Hall). Given how large Zurich is we expected something a lot more impressive, it is quite a letdown really. At least the views across the river are quite good and we enjoy them.
We continue now on the river edge for a while enjoying the views and then we arrive at Grossmünster the other major goal in Zurich during our lightning visit.
We walk around the church trying to find a way in but all doors are closed, we are quite bummed as we wanted to see it inside. Likely because it is a Protestant church it would have been quite austere but still interesting to see. The major claim to fame is that it is the church from where Zwingli started the Reformation movement in Switzerland that almost led to the country being split in two by multiple wars between the Protestants and Catholics.
Next we decide to cross the Münster bridge towards the plaza on the other side of the river. It is getting quite late but our friend really wants to show us the lake and we really need a toilet so we decide to go in that direction.
A couple restaurants refuse us entry, again, even if we want to eat and use the toilet, there are no available places to sit for us. Luckily we find a public toilet which is one of the worst we have seen in any European country and even seems dangerous to use. Luckily we escape, see the beautiful lake with the mountain in the background and then starts walking back towards the parking lot, still looking for something to eat.
At this point there is barely any light left and the monuments start to light up which makes for great views from the bridge, we really enjoy these views before returning to the main commercial street.
We finally find a kebab place where we can buy some fast food for the evening and then it is time to return to the parking lot proper.
We say our goodbyes to our friend and then take the car to the airport with a short stop to buy gas on the way. Returning the car is easy, there is no one at the counter so we just drop the key and then we walk through the airport to the hotel. We have chosen an airport in the terminal as we have a really early flight the next day.
The room is quite nice and we enjoy a relaxing evening before going to sleep as we have to wake up around 4AM.
In the morning the airport is empty and there is fog and rain outside. We are scared a bit that the flight won’t be able to leave but it does and we are on our way to London.
There is no significant food on the plane but it is a relatively short flight and soon we land in London where we have to spend about six hours.
The airport is really full, it seems to be working at full capacity after the Covid years, and we explore it a bit while we wait for the time when we are able to enter the lounge.
The lounge is probably the one we have visited most often we already know the food available but there are always surprises as not everything is always available. There are also things broken and it is always a shot in the dark regarding what sitting places we can find, some are way better than other.
The flight home is uneventful, excluding the almost inedible food, and soon we are back in Phoenix after a very full trip where we visited four countries in three weeks, and none of the countries was contiguous even…quite tiring but worthwhile for certain.
