The Switzerland Traveler

Without encouraging you all to drink like crazy (Remember now: use alcohol responsibly) I figured I really should tell you about the whisky ships.
To me that sounds like a cue for an old film, where a ship carrying a cargo of whisky ran aground on the islands north of Scotland. And all the local villagers were trying to remove the cargo while the customs officers tried to stop them. The film is called Whisky Galore if you’re really curious.
But no, it’s an opportunity to go and taste whisky and cigars, on a boat moored at the end of Bahnhofstrasse in Zürich.
Basically, …read more

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Obviously I don’t know whether you like cheese or not, but the Swiss are pretty keen on it.
Especially in the winter when you melt it and dip bread in it. Yum.
To be honest I try to eat fondue only once a year, or at least have some form of novelty to make it appetising.
Enter the fondue tram. Travel round Zurich’s tram line for a couple of hours, whilst trying not to spill melted cheese on your trousers (OK, I know my audience is mainly American and I should write “pants” but I just can’t bring myself to do it, sorry).
For …read more

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Zurich is one of those places where are there are lots of restaurants, so it was a very pleasant surprise to discover that there is a dining out guide in English that covers most of the good ones.
zurich – dining out guide covers restaurants based on the type of food: Asian, French, Gourmet, Italian, Meditarranean, Eclectic etc.  Each review (there are about 100) consists of a stylish photograph, and well-written text describing ambience, specialities and usually some background – for example about the owners.
Restaurants have been selected for quality of food service and offering. As with most guides it gives price, …read more

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We’ve been having some lovely summer weather here in Switzerland.
So, of course we want to be outside, eating drinking and generally socializing. So over the next few days I’ll be looking at a few options,  some of which, like Floss in Zurich are relics, or rather remnants, of the EM infrastructure.
Floss is run by the people that run Mascotte, a club down at Bellevue known for its comedy nights, bands, karaoke from hell, and of course, the normal clubbing nights.
For one month only, they are running the VIP barge from the EM as a lounge bar/restaurant.
The food is limited, Thai …read more

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Seebad Enge is another option for summer night lounging in Zurich.
It’s amazing what can be done with a few coloured lights and some chilled out sounds. And the approach often seems to be to take an open-air swimming pool and turn it into a trendy late-night zone.
Well, hardly late-night, it closes at 24:00. We can’t have the locals being kept awake…
The restaurant serves the usual salads and grilled foods, washed down with beers and drinks from the bar.
The location is good too, out by the big jet d’eau-style fountain. Get there early, especially at weekends if you want to find …read more

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 Summer is arriving rapidly now, and it’s time to find those cool haunts in the city.
The lake is obviously one place to look, but the rivers are equally interesting.
Down at Oberer Letten, Halfway between the main station and Escher Wyss, is a place to swim in the river by day, and relax listening to cool sounds by night.
Grilled food, chilled drinks and lots of people watching. Perfect.
I’m relaxed already.
Photo: Flickr: manimmac

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Nine out of ten people like chocolate, the tenth is a liar; as the saying goes.
Well, Swiss chocolate is world-renowned so I figured I’d better start featuring it.
The first tip, is just to look around your local town for a confisseur or bakery.
Many make their own chocolates, and many of their products are seasonal – I’m expecting to see chocolate May beetles in the shops any time now.
So whether you go to Sprüngli in Zürich, Blondel in Lausanne (see pic above) or a less famous one like Himmel in Baden, don’t forget to try as many different types as you …read more

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I keep stumbling across the fact that some Americans apparently think that “Swiss Cheese” is a particular type of cheese, close to what we in Switzerland know as Emmental.
So when I found a type of cheese that I hadn’t heard of before, and discovered you can can go and see it being made, I felt I had to tell someone.
L’Etivaz is a cheese made from raw milk, and is apparently produced over a woodfire in chalets in the Alps at altitudes of up to 2,000m (7000ft).
If you visit the Maison de L’Etivaz, you’ll be able to visit the …read more

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If you’re curious about food, and based on the motto “You are what you eat”, why wouldn’t you be, then the Alimentarium Food Museum may be for you.
It’s run by the Nestlé foundation which might antagonise some of the campaigners in the baby-milk debate but I like their chocolate so they’re ok with me.
Their idea is to cover everything to do with food: its history, its origins and uses, in a fun and interactive way.
The permanent exhibition covers the various aspects of food and nutrition as they affect all of us, apart from (presumably) African babies on Formula.
The museum …read more

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Meat is Murder used to be the cry of the Vegetarian brigade, but in Zurich there has been no need for that for, well, ages.
Zurich is home to the Hiltl Restaurant, which is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Europe, having opened it’s doors to the public back in the 19th century.
It’s just had a bit of a makeover, but the traditional vegetarian buffet is still there, along with a selection of fantastic dishes.
It’s so good we take even pure carnivores there, there really is something for everyone, and they also do a party service, which I’m happy to say …read more

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