A night in Zurich

I booked a layover in Zurich. Some people may avoid this, but besides the savings in the cost of flight, its a good way to explore a city that I may never get to other wise. The most promising find on this trip to Turkey was a 13 hour layover on the way home, at night.  Arrival time was scheduled at 7:30pm so I figured, a 10 minute train ride to center town, at the least, we could squeeze in a dinner and some atmosphere that Zurich has to offer. I was surprised at how dark it was our entire time  in the city, from 8:30pm to 7am. I think the sun started to rise @ 8:30 - 9am, on the train ride back to the airport for our 10am flight out.  Prof Sun was travelling with us on our return flight. This worked out well as he had been to Zurich before which made for a very efficient tour. 

Here's to our blurry night shots of our walk into the city, around and back.  Can you tell the morning shots from the nighttime photos?

It took us an hour getting off plane and into city central via the rail. We walked from the train station, down a shopping corridor and then headed left & right to walk along side a river. We crossed a cobble stone bridge towards the elevated Grossmünster church. Up the stairs and we entered the quiet cobblestone streets lined with pubs, restaurants and precious shops. All were closed, window shopping only.

We stayed at Hotel Otter, entrance via a pub. Lots of young people sipping wine and sharing stories. Chaz was mesmerized.  

We wandered down some streets and chose tarte flambée restaurant (Cafe Henrici) Bubbling atmosphere, shared tables. Incredibly nice, casual and helpful servers.  Swiss are happy people! We took the only seats at a large round table. I think the girls may have preferred if we were a group of handsome and witty male travelers...that's what I would hope for, sharing a table and all.

We were across the street from a candy store. The only store that was open and that my child had spotted and ran to after dinner. This must have been what kept him motivated, to remain awake throughout dinner.

We managed to wake up at 6:30 and get out the door by 7. Since it was still dark and foggy we skipped the walk to the "beach" where one can view the Alps in the distance. We hopped on our train just as it was leaving. Went to the second floor and stumbled through 2-3 more cars aiming to get to 2nd class seats, round trip tickets we had purchased the night before. When we hit the dining car, we decided to stop and sit for the remaining 5 minutes of the ride.

p.s. all the photos were taken in the morning.
p.p.s. Swiss people and the city ambiance are very relaxed and joyful.

Amsterdam layover.
Paris layover