Chocolate adventure in Zurich

You can’t travel to Zurich and not eat chocolate. Bahnhofstrasse is the main drag which runs for the train station to the lake. This stretch of Zurich is the most expensive commercial real estate. Excellent shops, anything you want is right there. Including many chocolate shops with beautiful displays in the windows and equally beautiful to look at. If you have just few hours to spend in Zurich, make no mistake: chocolate should be a priority.


There are many fantastic chocolate stores in Bahnhofstrasse, the famous names and the lesser known places. The amount and varied types of chocolates in the store is really astounding. Various Cocoa-dusted “truffle cakes", sophisticated pastries, pralines and hand made truffles arranged for a perfect display share the limelight in each of these stores. The only problem with buying from one chocolate shop, is that not long later you’ll stumble into another chocolate shop. However if you like to go for the handmade truffles or other specialities "Spruengli" and "Teuscher" are probably still the best.

Sprungli is the most famous confiserie, with its flagship storefront on Bahnhofstrasse. The chocolate here are excellent, but it is more known for "Luxemburgeli",kind of tiny macaroon or meringues with various cream fillings.

 

Teuscher is well-known for its Champagne truffles and they also have "Batons Kirsch",dark chocolate sticks filled with liqueur and dusted with cocoa.

The chocolates in these shops are expensive, but you can buy chocolates by the piece, just one or a small box.If nothing else, just walking around these acclaimed chocolate shops is an adventure by itself .

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24 hours in Geneva

I arrived in Geneva around 12:00 pm. The 2.5 hours train ride from Zurich to Geneva is a beautiful one; it’s a destination in itself. It goes thru fields, forests, lakes, and mountains. The scenery was amazing: There were Swiss chalets everywhere! Vineyards were terraced on nearly vertical mountainsides, Castles tucked in mountains, Mansions bordered the lake. The train goes through multiple tunnels through the mountains. Sometimes we would emerge from a tunnel for few seconds, glimpse the mountains, and be plunged back into darkness again. Realistically speaking, traveling by train in Switzerland is expensive but worth the price. To me, the view is worth a million dollars. 

Geneva is a beautiful city with a very international crowd, I reckon its the presence of the international organizations like UN, WHO,WTO et al,...It is geographically well situated, surrounded by the Alps and adjacent to Lake Geneva. It is lively, clean and got a mixture of old and new. It is both cosmopolitan and touristy. Not surprising, it has an American stamp as well. McDonalds and Starbucks are in every major square.

The main street from the train station towards the lake is lined with countless luxury watch stores. These were definitely not the watches you see in your Macy's store but were the most expensive watches I've ever seen, it easily made my Tag Heuer seem like a $0.99 mcdonald burger, Oh well ! I just put my hand in my pocket and walked passed them towards the lake. oh and there are lots of swiss knives & chocolates.

I decided to explore the lake and the Old Town. Geneva is dominated by the huge lake. The lake was filled boats, the swans, and there was the gigantic fountain- jet d'eau (the 100m high water spout) right on your face.The Jet d'Eau is fabulous and is appreciated by all as the symbol of Geneva. If you want to 'see it', its visible from most areas of Geneva around the lake

Besides the Jet d'eau, everyone goes to see the giant Flower Clock in Geneva.Well, I felt  I have to too. Luckily its right at the lake, so no special excursion. Nothing special, just a clock with flowers ! it's changing depending on the season. 

The lake front promenade was quite busy with young & old, local & tourists everywhere. After walking around the lake for an hour or so I crossed the bridge towards the old town. It is a steep walk up to the centre to the Cathédrale Saint Pierre but the narrow cobbled streets are picturesque, housing boutique shops and bars.

I spent the rest of the evening in the Old Town and on the lively streets of the new town. There are lots of shops, restaurants, Christmas bands on the streets, and to-go food stalls. That stretch is about 3 km of shops on both sides. There are no cars on the street; only public transport. The bad thing about this is that they all close early. I went into a store to buy something at six. I got out at 6:30 and everybody was closing! By seven almost everything is locked off.

Nonetheless, I think Geneva is my kind of city!

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Touchdown in Zurich!

My SWISS flight from New York landed in Zurich at 10:55 am and, even though the airport was'nt busy at all, I found myself silently wary of the location of things. I blindly followed the flow of passengers from my plane to passport control and then on to customs. The transit at some point included a short trip on an internal train which had the most awesome elevator music consisting of a mixture of mooing cows, yodelling and the sound of large cowbells. Welcome to Switzerland!! Anyone who flies to Switzerland for the first time in his or her life should fly directly toZurich airport. Here you are truly welcomed to Switzerland. 

Got thru passposrt control & customs in less than 10 mins and reached the airport outside bit that's really a high-priced shopping mall designed to lure jetlagged tourists into paying $10 bucks for a bottle of water. It was surreal.

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Vieux Montreal and Hotel Le Saint Sulpice

I had been to Montreal once before in 2007 for the Canadian Grand Prix (separate post here), and one of  favorite things to do during my earlier visit is to walk around Old Montreal exploring all the little shops, cafes,galleries and trying out great dinners at the fabulous restaurants there.  As the name would suggest, this portion of the city is very old. One-lane cobblestone streets criss-cross between classic landmarks like the Place D'Armes and the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, there are street performers, horse and carriage rides.. Like stepping into a time machine, a trip to Vieux Montreal allows you a glimpse at an older world.  It is only a small section of Montreal but it has that Old Paris/Amsterdam feel to it.

This time I was really looking forward to staying at the Hotel Le Saint Sulpice and surely my wife and I weren't disappointed. Surprisingly located in the same block as the  Notre-Dame cathedral in old Montreal, couldn't be in a better location to explore this beautiful city

Warm, cozy and inviting are the words that come to mind when I entered the hotel. The lobby was grand and had a European charm to it and our room was a three room suite (BR, LR/Kitchenette and Bath) that was like having our own apartment. It was spacious and well-appointed. The furnishings and style were very modern, yet very cozy at the same time.This boutique hotel is located in Rue St.Sulpice in the most historic spot of Old Montreal just steps away from the famed Basilica de Notre Dame and is an ideal spot for sight-seeing, shopping and strolling along the cobble stone streets exploring all the shops and sights.

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Street food in Amsterdam

But before we go on, let’s get oriented a bit. A couple hundred years ago, in what is now Belgium, some genius decided to slice up some potatoes and then deep fry the slivers. The Brits call them “chips,” the French call them “pommes frites,” and for some reason the Americans call them “French fries.” But in the Netherlands and Belgium they call them “Vlaamse frites” and they eat them like there is no tomorrow. Vlaamse frites literally means “Flemish fries,” correctly attributing them to the northern Belgium region of Flanders.

The fries are probably the most famous single food item in Amsterdam. Famously served and eaten by the locals smothered in a rich mayonnaise, are served nearly everywhere. From what I heard, the best place for fries in Amsterdam is the one called "Manneken Pis".

This one is right on the main street if you head directly away from Centraal Station, so every visitor is bound to pass it at least once. There always seem to be a line out front, even when nearby places are empty.The sign out front says the place was “Voted #1 Holland’s Fries”, and as dubious as claims like that often are, this one might be correct. There is no seating at all, just couple counters facing the street, with the fries being the only main course on offer.

The fries are served in a paper cone with a tiny wooden fork which comes in handy during the later part of your meal. The fries are also served with different variety of sauces including ketchup, incase your stomach cannot handle the mayonnaise. As you can see from the picture,  I opted for ketchup instead.

The fries are hot, crispy and tasty. The locals definitely love them, so this isn’t one of those things that solely exists for the tourists.

The other popular food eatery is FEBO.  It is a street fast food chain with shops all over Amsterdam selling Dutch food in a huge walk in vending machine. They have all their selections in an automated wall like vending machine style slots. You basically drop a euro or two in the slot and the door opens. You can eat the typical dutch croquette here.

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