The Old City

Zurich, Switzerland - We kicked off our Sunday with a lovely run from Zug to the neighboring town of Oberwil, about a 2.5 miles away. Our run took us along the lakeshore where we took in the Alps. Has to be one of the more scenic runs I've done.

We had plans in Zurich, so after our run, we made our way to the Zug train station. There we spent time with a delightful ticketing agent, Stefan*. I was thoroughly perplexed by this amicable government employee as my recent experiences at the California DMV had prepared me for a somewhat more abrasive experience. Stefan, from all appearances, could not have been more pleased to help us navigate the Swiss train system. Stefan helpfully walked us though all the options for passes and gave us recommendations based on how we would use the transit system (commuting for me, intermittent use for H). Stefan then recommended we use ticketing kiosks for most purposes and he practically leaped over the counter in his eagerness to walk us through these machines. It was disorienting to leave this discussion with all our questions answered and our needs met.

The trains here are nice: they are reliable, comfortable and quiet. We have not ridden them during rush hour, so we haven't seen the system put to that test, but I will venture a guess that it's somewhat nicer than the US commuter systems I'm familiar with - BART and the NYC subway.

But all this service has a (rather high) cost. A day ticket, which enables you to use all the transit systems in and around Zug and Zurich, costs about $35. You can purchase various passes that will allow you to buy tickets at a lower cost. H, for example, bought a half pass for $185, which allows her to buy all tickets at half price for a year. This make the cost somewhat more comparable, but still expensive.

Our next stop was the old city of Zurich (Altstadt). Like the old city of Zug, this neighborhood has historic stone buildings and narrow, winding streets that radiate out from plazas of varying sizes. In December, many of those plazas have Christmas markets. Most of the vendors are serving food and drink, though a few are selling nick-nacks. Here is a sampling of some of the food and drink you can find at the Christmas markets (most descriptions and items below courtesy of Happy to Wander):

Glühwein - Mulled wine
Glühmost - mulled apple juice that’s pressed with the seeds and skin
Roasted nuts of various types
Sausages

H and I got a sausage. This was provided to us in wax paper (no bun). So no carbs means healthy, right?

Fondue
Schoko Kusse ("Chocolate Kisses") - Chocolate covered marshmallows or cakes.

Hannah's coworker Isabel grew up in Switzerland and tells us that a favorite pastime is to watch as a friend started to eat one and then to push their hand into their face, causing the schoko kusse to explode on said face. This seems like a tradition I ought to take up with H.

Raclette - melted cheese scraped onto potatoes, pickles, or vegetables
Öpfelchüechli (real word) - Apple fritter with custard
65-hour Cider Steak - Beef steak cooked in cider for 24 hours, sous vide for 11, then topped with caramelized onions for another thirty hours
Flammkuchen- flatbread that’s topped with creme fraiche, bacon and onions
Gommer Cholera - vegetable pie/cake thing made out of onions, leeks, potatoes, cheese and apples
Kaiserschmarrn - shredded pancakes topped with powdered sugar, usually served with a side of apple sauce, plum compote or both

Next we met up with Jenny. Jenny is the cousin of Hannah's coworker Isabel and she's the best kind of person - the kind who is warm and helpful to strange Americans. Jenny works at a company that distributes chef-cooked meals to businesses. She and Hannah got on well when it comes to talk of food, restaurants, etc. Jenny is also an avid skier and so she was able to point me to some of the better mountains and give me some pointers on the Swiss skiing experience (e.g., lots of grooming). Jenny also gave us a bunch of practical advise about living in Switzerland, like tipping (I tipped the waiter too much).

All-in-all, a good day.

* Stefan's name is an approximation. It may not be Stefan, it may not even start with an 'S'.