Zurich

We arrived in Zurich right on time - just after 8.00am. Our driver was waiting for us. There are 8 Aussies on our tour. Two from Queensland, four from NSW and Stephen and I from Victoria. We are staying at the Marriott. It is quite luxurious and situated right on the river and within easy walking distance of the heart of the city. We were very lucky and only had to wait half an hour for our room to be ready. We were able to have a shower and a short rest before walking into central Zurich. We ate fish and chips fresh from the North Sea while sitting on a bench at the very busy Zurich Central Station. We then had a fruit pastry each from Sprungli. My apricot flan was as good as the one I ate and loved when in Paris. Next we strolled along Bahnhofstrasse (Zurich's equivalent to the Champs Élysées). All the very best brands were on display. It was just lovely to wander the small, cobbled streets in the sunshine. We finally made our way back to the river and back to our hotel. 

My first impressions of Zurich are that it is very clean and busy. The people look affluent. They are well dressed and they drive very high end, expensive, new cars. We saw a number of Lamboginis and Maseratis, and BMWs, Volvos and Mercs are a dime a dozen. 

We also saw thousands of Swiss watches and Swiss chocolates. There is a Swiss bank on every corner and the Swiss flag hangs proudly from many of the city's buildings. There were also Swiss Army pocket knives and Swarovski crystals on display everywhere. We haven't seen any cows yet but we were greeted by the ringing of cow bells in the arrivals hall of the airport and instead of Muzak playing in the shuttle from the plane to the baggage claim area, there was yodeling and the sound if cows mooing and cow bells ringing. Very amusing!!! The one very famous Swiss thing that I haven't seen yet is Roger Federer.....but I have my eyes peeled.