I'm sure
Zurich is a
lovely city 164 days of the year. When I arrived there, however, it was
cold, grey and rainy. The plan was to arrive in the morning, check out the city and
take the night train to
Rome - allowing for plenty of time to at least get a feel of the town.
Andreea and I had taken different flights with a two hour delay, when at last united we
changed our money and took the train to the
city. On said train we were unfortunate enough to sit in front of an elderly couple who overheard our
anglican converse. This somehow obligated her to tell us about her
church, who sponsored her missionary trip. ::sigh::
Once in Zurich, we deposited our packs in the train station's storage area and rode the tram to the "Kunsthaus."
Inside, we realized the vast downside to Zurich and most of Switzerland. Everything was twice as expensive as anywhere in the states. $5 for a cup of coffee, $2 for a pretzel, etc. Even given that we were in a museum, this was outrageous - the cafes never sold a cup under $3. The exhibition was good overall, I remember, but to the most part (evidently) forgettable.
We stole so much back then, without even knowing - the pretzels were lying out, people were just taking them (having paid before,) and the tram which were we using so freely was supposed to require tokens. Oh well. We still helped their economy more than we hoped to.
After the Museum we took a stroll along the river which divides the city, taking ample time to explore side streets. Then it started raining. Not only that, it was cold and rainy, and all our warm clothes were in the station, across town. Spotting a smoke-filled cafe, we ducked under and spent two hours writing and talking to locals. When the rain tuned down, we headed back towards the train station (still frozen-ass cold) and picked up some forgettable food along the way. The rain started again. This time there was no smoke-filled cafe, only an upper-class lounge which was attached to a hotel. We were reluctantly presented a menu, out of which I picked my coffee and sugar. Yes, they had a selection of sugars. =)
We got out our imported cloves and ordered some cake, looking out upon the local crowds hurrying through the rain, home from work. They all had a place to go, a home where they could lay there heads down.
The hours of five until eleven were spent waiting in the cold train station, cold, tired and having nowhere to go. Soon, we would travel to Rome, where it would hopefully be warmer.