Day 20: Zurich, Switzerland - The City Tour and an Old Friend

July 20, 2023

Day 20: Zurich, Switzerland - The City Tour and an Old Friend

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Zurich Switzerland

After a full day of travel yesterday, it would have been nice to sleep in at our Airbnb in Old Town Zurich, Switzerland… but something got me up.

Maybe it was the excitement of a new city or the fact this would be the last full day we had in Switzerland. My body, mind, and heart didn’t want to miss a single minute.

I got up without waking the family, put on my running clothes, laced up my shoes, and quietly exited our apartment.

For running or hiking in unfamiliar places, I use an app called, “All trails”. It’s a crowd-sourced and rated list of nearby trails or routes people have recorded, rated, and added information about. I previewed a few routes but decided to run a five-mile route that would take me around the whole city.

So, I headed out in the cool morning, while the city was still sleeping (6:30am). I ran along cobblestone alleyways, past huge churches, and up steep steps.

The route led me to the University of Zurich and the beautiful buildings surrounding it.

My path took me downhill to the river and train station. From there, I ran down the shopping district as the city started to wake.

I ran to a small riverway with a wooden sidewalk and enjoyed peace and tranquility, in the middle of a big city.

I followed the waterway into a botanical garden maintained by the University. It was a green and quiet pathway, where a person could get away from the busy city life.

I made my way to the banking district and took a brief detour to a cafe called, “La Stanza”. I ordered a cappuccino, sat outside, and recovered in the cool morning. I was surrounded by businessmen by the dozen, having coffee and breakfast, speaking in German or French, and starting their day socializing before going to work. On one hand, I felt very out of place in my running clothes, from another country, culture, economic strata, and career path. On the other hand, I didn’t feel like I was singled out— I was visiting a unique ecosystem and got a chance to observe. I finished my coffee and started my running app back up.

I ran back to the fashion district and my route took me through some really cool streets.

I run took me to St. Peter’s Church, which has the largest clock face in Europe.

After that, my cobblestone jog took me to the riverside where I ran by Fraumünster, the church with windows.

I crossed the bridge to the Eastside of the old town, getting a better view of the Grossmünster church, which is Zurich's landmark and center of the Reformation.

I ran along the river on a cool running/biking path.

I went across a road and was met by a huge empty square set before the Zurich Opera House.

I went through a park with a beautiful fountain, and up a staircase above a train station.

Eventually, found the street that led me back to our neighborhood and Airbnb— where Jonas was looking for me out the window.

I checked in with the family before I left to pick up coffees at, “Henrici: The Rhythm of Coffee”. Also, by request, I stopped by Moltā, a cafe bar, for croissants.

We enjoyed breakfast and I took Jonas down to the park. We were soon overtaken by a Kindergarten class on a field trip and Jonas had to learn about sharing.

When we were ready to start the day, we decided to stop by some of the amazing places I ran by that morning.

I introduced Alina and Jonas to Grossmünster and then crossed the bridge to Fraumünster.

We walked through the streets, stopped by St. Peters and went to the river.

We had lunch at a hamburger and halal stand.

After lunch, we walked to the fashion district for gelato. Then we went back to the Moltā cafe to meet our friend, Adela.

Adela is the sister of a family member and we have stayed connected with her as we’ve made trips to Switzerland. We enjoyed catching up with her over coffee and lemonade.

Afterwards, she went shopping with us at Coop for the last time. We said goodbye and went our separate ways.

As we started packing up that evening, I still wanted to get some souvenirs before leaving. I picked up some inexpensive coffee cups and stopped by Pizza Nation to order dinner.