In my infinite wisdom I made the last minute decision to go from Basel to Zurich instead of heading south as I originally planned. I was mightily impressed by the journey overall, starting with the price of the train ticket which was around £10, very much in line, if not better, than rates you would find in the UK and surprising having heard about the scare stories of Swiss train prices. Secondly, I was mightily impressed by the train I travelled on for this journey which is less than an hour, the train was very fast and very comfortable, overall it was a great first introduction to rail travel in Switzerland.
I arrived in Zurich at around 2pm and it was a beautiful day in this beautiful city. The days before in Basel, whilst warm, had largely been cloudy but today I had the sun to match and everyone including myself was out making the most of it.
Zurich's main station really brings you straight into the heart of the city and it wasn't long before I got some great views and pictures of the many picturesque buildings and bridges.
After a while the Linmat (the river running through Zurich) gives way to the mighty Lake Zurich which you just get a glimpse of here from the final bridge but it actually stretches to over twenty miles in length.
Just near to the last bridge I found a great little area with benches right by the water. I sat here with a drink for a good hour thoroughly enjoying the warm sun and wonderful view of Zurich.
I would have loved to stay in the centre of Zurich but sadly being Switzerland and me not being rich I was destined for a stay in the suburbs of the city! I headed to the main station for the short ride to Kloten Balsberg which is near to the airport and where my hotel was located. OK it wasn't a boutique hotel overlooking the lake but it was a fairly pleasant residential area and more than adequate for me. Below are some pictures from my short train journey there...
In the morning I headed back into Zurich and made the spontaneous decision to take the train up to a very small place overlooking the city called Uetliberg. It cost around 8CHF for a return journey on the aptly named 'Uetliberg Bahn,' and it proved to be a great decision as the views were stunning on the ascent and upon arrival. It was a very quaint little place which just had a hotel, restaurant, train station and a TV tower which unsurprisingly can be spotted for quite a distance. There was what I guessed to be an equal mixture of tourists and locals enjoying the many trails that winded through the woodland. I didn't have much time to explore further as I had another train to catch down in Zurich but I managed to do one (very steep!) trail and capture some great views of the city, it's always great to see somewhere from high up!
I had a train for my next destination at 4pm but there was time for a spot of lunch and a view more great views of the city. I didn't think any city could come as close as Porto did the previous week to being so photogenic but this place pushed it very close indeed...
