Last day in Zurich - Budapest here I come

Grüezi! (pronounced grooetsi, means good day in swiss german)

It's my last night in Zurich and have been having a great time. Alas, it's time for me to move on to another country. Tonight I will have the pleasure of taking an overnight train to Budapest Hungary. All the sleeping compartments were full, so I get a reclining seat airplane style. Woo!

Gonna check at the last minute to see if there were any cancellations in the sleeping compartments... otherwise, I'm gonna be dead tomorrow in Budapest.

BTW, I'll be at the Goat Hostel in Budapest. Currently scheduled to arrive tomorrow and stay for 4 nights. Yes. It's called the goat hostel.

Yesterday's day trip to Gruyeres was amazing. I can't even begin to explain how awe inspiringly beautiful this country is, but there are so many times where I round a corner (be it on foot, or in the train) and gasp at what I see. Whether it's the rolling hills, or the looming alps, the lakes... this is the best country I've been to if you like the outdoors. The day trip wasn't without it's issues as I missed a very tight bus connection in Fribourg to Bulle and screwed up my whole itenerary. Luckilly, when you buy a ticket to a specific destination i atter what means you use to get there, so you can substitute a train for a bus or vice-versa. What this did give me was an hour to explore Fribourg which was an great little city. The town is built into a mountain and is 2-tiered with a large part of the city in a lower valley.



Random fact: you're daily tram/bus pass in Zurich can even get you on the river boats! Now you know.

So, a 2.5 hour journey to Gruyere ended up taking 4 hours, but it was so worth. Gruyere is like something out of a fantasy novel (think Tolkien). Here's a picture (but honestely, it doesn't do it justice)



That's the small town in the upper right.

This is the picturesque, admittedely very touristy, but no less charming, town:



There's a small fairy tale-esque chateau on the far end of the town, worth visiting. And smack dab in the middle the small town in the middle of south-west Switerland, where it has no business being, is the HR Giger Museum!



12 Swiss Francs to get in, and well worth it. Most Giger's key works are housed here, as well as a large section devoted to his designs for the Alien movies (natch!). They were missing a few of the ones that I know (like the one they used for Danzig III), but beggars can't be choosers. Next door to the Museum is the Giger Bar were I enjoyed a fine swiss beer. Very cool place based on his designs. On one wall was a ceramic version of the baby face landscape. I was very happy they didn't have a ceramic version of his "Penis Landscape", which was at the museum BTW, but behind a curtained red-light area for adults only. Very sick man. I loved it! (which I guess makes me a sick man too... oh well)



Had myself a tastii croque monsieur made with Gruyere cheese and bought myself a small bottle of authentic Absynthe from the distillers who claim to have invented it. This is the real stuff, made with wormwood. Absynthe party at my place when I get back. Now I need to lug the bottle for 2 weeks in my backpack.

By the way, I can't explain how nice it was to be in the French speaking area of Switzerland, and to be able to actually converse!

I got back to the hostel at around 9PM, changed, and joined Dave, Anita, Dalia and the rest of Swiss based Huber clan at Huberfest 2007. I got there just in time for desert and the hired band, and had a great time.

Speaking of which, a special thanks to Berny and Ariane for their hospitality and for making me feel welcome. I'll never forget that.

Random bits (including some stuff I forgot to post before):
- When in Zurich, go to Sprüngli for quite possibly the best swiss chocolate and pattiseries. I warn you, it's pricy, but worth the visits. Try their Luxemburgerli's.
- Dave and I went to Lucerne on Friday. Had a great time in a picturesque small town. I think I've used the word picturesque too much, but you can't help it here in Switzerland.
- I love the fact that you can drink anywhere you want in most of these countries. For example, before a train ride, you can grab beers at the grocery store and drink them on the train. Last night, there were kids drinking beers on the public tram. Not sure that would work so well in Montreal...
- I spent a long time trying to figure out how to say 'sorry/excuse me' in german as I arrived in switzerland. Had a good laugh when it turns out that the word in Swiss German is "Sorry". Swiss German is an interesting variation of regular german (or high german as it's referred too). Much less agressive sounding.

There's probably other stuff I've forgotten to mention, but I'll cover it later. This entry is long enough as it is.

Next post will be from Budapest. Til next time.


(from the top of the chateau in Gruyere)