Nur Ayçiçek Zurich Going on an Erasmus exchange was one of the biggest events in my life. It allowed me to travel to many countries, one of which was Switzerland, a place I fell in love with for its breathtaking nature. I started my journey from the Netherlands by train, arrived in Frankfurt, and stayed with my cousin for a week before taking another train to Switzerland. However, my day began with a 3-4 hour train delay in Germany. My destination was Zurich, and I was staying in Lausanne, with my sister’s best friend.
I used a SwissPass for 4 days, which covered public transportation and museums in Switzerland, so I was looking forward to a museum-filled trip. This delay, however, made things a bit challenging. There were frequent ticket checks on the trains, and tickets were incredibly expensive. Since I planned to visit four cities in four days, the most logical and economical option was to get this pass.
Impressive Swiss National Museum
Switzerland is a country where many languages are spoken, including German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Zurich is the most well-known city, although it is not the capital (the capital is Bern). Despite not having the capital title, Zurich is, in my opinion, the most worth-seeing city in Switzerland. Therefore, my first destination was Zurich, a city that I couldn’t have imagined would impress me so much with its nature and museums. During my train journey, I mapped out all the museums I wanted to visit since this was the first country I explored and discovered on my own.
When I arrived, I immediately locked my backpack in a locker, which was quite expensive compared to other countries. Then I visited the Swiss National Museum, located opposite the train station. It was incredible how impressive a museum could be. Moreover, every museum I visited had a staff member who provided information on how to tour the museum and always gave me a map of the museum. I must admit that I got lost a few times due to its large size. It was an amazing museum with many artifacts related to Swiss history.
Peaceful City Center
Zurich’s city center is of a size that can be explored by walking in a day, so I walked around and enjoyed the surroundings. Just like everywhere else, I often heard people speaking Turkish on the streets. I climbed Lindenhof hill, which offers a stunning view of Zurich, and the view was incredible. After that, I waited in line for a while to eat Raclette, a famous Swiss dish. In fact, my task was to melt the cheese with the machine placed in front of me, so I kind of prepared my own meal, which was a nice experience for me.
In Europe, you can usually ask for tap water for free in restaurants, but the situation is different in Zurich. The tap water in Zurich is very tasty and well-liked, so unfortunately, it is not free. I should also mention that Switzerland is a very expensive country, but people’s salaries are high, so the standard of living is high, and people are generally happy. Perhaps the incredible taste of Lindt Lindor chocolate also contributes to their happiness. It is an absolutely perfect chocolate, one of the rare chocolates that I was amazed by and couldn’t forget the taste of (another one is Raffaello). Additionally, unlike other European countries, Switzerland uses the Swiss Franc, not the Euro. Maybe this is why everything is a bit more expensive compared to other countries.
Nature’s Wonders: Interlaken and Grindelwald
Going to this natural wonder, where I spent a total of seven hours traveling, was the best decision I made during my Zurich trip. I saw the clearest water I had ever seen in my life, and I was mesmerized. It was such a beautiful color that I can’t describe it, and I didn’t see a single piece of trash. Interlaken is a fantastic lake that attracts tourists from many countries. A fifteen-minute train ride also takes you to Grindelwald, where you are greeted by a magnificent waterfall. Everything was so clear and natural that everything I saw felt like a dream. It felt like these were unreachable places that could only exist in animated movies. I was somehow in this movie, and I was the protagonist.
Last Words
Even though I was very sleepy during the train journeys, I didn’t want to close my eyes because everything along the way was so worth seeing. Additionally, this was the first country I traveled to alone, and the freedom to do everything as I wanted and when I wanted made me very happy. Sometimes a person should just grab their backpack and hit the road without thinking too much, and if you travel enough, you might even see Heidi in the Alps.
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