Zurich, Switzerland
Next up, the beautiful Zurich, Switzerland.
Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the lights, the cozy feeling, the beautiful decorations-everything but the cold. And Zurich blew my freaking mind when it came to Christmas.
Getting off the train, the station is rather small, but even in the little available space, their Christmas market was overwhelmingly beautiful. A massive Swarovski crystal tree (how do I get one of these in my house!?) and a handful of adorable stalls.
While planning this trip, I had heard from multiple people that this would be one of the most expensive countries I would visit, so I planned to spend just half a day and save my wallet.
That left me really just the evening to explore, but I was not let down. It was clear that such an incredible amount of thought, and time was put into decorating the city.
The city was amazingly clean and I felt perfectly safe at every turn. I didn’t have much of a plan here other than wandering over to a vegan restaurant and back to my hotel, but I really took my time and took whatever turns seemed particularly cute.
If you love a magical Christmas wonderland at every step, or love high end shopping, you absolutely must add Zurich to your list. My interactions with locals were minimal, as I wasn’t there long, but the few that I did were quite pleasant. Everyone seemed very mellow and very calm.
After wandering as long as my stomach would allow, I finally made my way to Beetnut, an all vegan restaurant featuring delicious, healthy options. For this salad and a small soup, I spent a whopping $50USD. Friends were not kidding when they said this place was expensive.
And that was it! A quick, but amazingly beautiful stop in Zurich.
Back on the train I got, and the beauty did not stop. Moving trains are certainly not ideal for taking quality photos, but the area through Switzerland was some of the most beautiful and I enjoyed every moment.
Before closing this post, I’d like to make a small note. Switzerland is a non-Schengen territory, which means your passport is likely to be checked more times, especially when entering and leaving to a Schengen territory.
For my trip, it was as simple as someone checking my ticket and passport, but laws do seem to be shifting, so please check your current passport requirements to be certain you have everything you need going in.
