Revisiting Mt. Üetliberg when the weather is nice

A couple of months ago, when we first arrived in Switzerland, our first trip blogged adventure was to Mt. Üetliberg.  It was mid-March, and the weather was very cold and foggy, so we didn't have the best views of the Alps.  We vowed to return when the weather was better.  Well, summer is now in full swing and the weather has cleared up beautifully, making it a great time to retrace our steps.

Hiking is a good Sunday activity.  As we've said in our previous posts, most shops are closed on Sundays and holidays.  However, the mountains are open 24/7 and are the perfect place to spend time on a nice day.

The Üetliberg bahn is located in a special section of the Zurich train station, tucked away on Gleis 2, far from the more commonly used S-Bahns and Inter-Regio trains .

Last time, we took the Üetliberg Bahn to the top of the mountain, then worked our way across the mountain range to Felsenegg, where we took a cable car down to Adliswil to end our journey.  This time, we decided to hike from the base of the mountain to the top.

Instead of going to the final stop on the Bahn, we got off early at Triemli.

We decided to do the route called Gratwegli/Hohensteinweg.  The description says the trek is sehr steil, einige Treppen (steep, some stairs).

On the way up, we were treated to stunning views of Zurich.

About half-way up the trail, we can begin to see above the treetops.

Admiring the view!

Along the way, we saw many great places to barbecue.

These grills were FILLED with meat and sausages.  Smokey goodness.

A park right near the BBQ pits for kids to play!

Public water fountains everywhere to hydrate tired hikers.

When we reached the top, we treated ourselves to a light lunch at Hotel Restaurant UTO KULM at the top of Üetliberg mountain.

You can sit outside and enjoy the view from the top of Üetliberg. 

If you don't have time to stop, a nearby stand offers quick bites to go.

Of course, we decided to relax at the restaurant!  Treating herself to a milchkaffee (a coffee with a high proportion of milk).

Same here!

Swiss Ms. ordered an air-dried beef sandwich (from the canton of Grison) last time.  This time, she got Rohschinken (raw ham) sandwich.  I forgot to mention last time that all sandwiches come buttered.   

I ordered the Zunftbratwurst last time, and decided to try the Paniertes Schweinsshitzel (vom Hals), which translates to a breaded pork cutlet (from the neck) with Zuri Frites (Zurich french fries).

While the views on the way up were nice, once at the peak, we could climb up the look-out tower to get even more breathtaking views.

Not just views of Zurich, but the entire Lake and the surrounding towns!

Lush, rolling green hills.  Clear blue sky.

You can see the Swiss Alps in the distance!

Another Toni Jogurt Update!

A new seasonal flavor was released for summer!

Apple Toni!  I thought it was quite good.

I don't know if you remember our Toni rankings, but for me, I would put it after Strawberry (#2).  Swiss Ms. would put it after Rasberry (#5 for her).  Again, I disagree with her.

Today is Swiss National Day, and since 1891, August first has been celebrated as the foundation of the Swiss Confederacy in 1291...like July 4th in the States.

Happy Swiss National Day!

-Herr Cervelat

Polybahn, Finishing up Toni and the tales of a HausFrau

Since we currently live in Thalwil and I work at ETH in Zurich, I have to take multiple modes of transportation to get to work.  As we've already gushed about, the Swiss transportation makes this a remarkably painless and fun task.  To get into Zurich, I normally take the IR (think commuter rail, longer distances and faster) or the SB (think more local, shorter distances and frequent stops).  Once at Zurich HB, I have three choices to getting to campus.  One is to walk, which would take about half an hour and up quite a steep hill.  Second is to take a tram, which is a short 5 minute ride.  However, the third is unique to Switzerland and is certainly our favorite mode of transportation - the Polybahn!

What is the Polybahn, you ask?  It's basically the most fun way to get to campus.  It's a funicular, a cliff railway, that is completely automated and takes mere minutes to scale the steep slope to ETH.  But enough talking, I bet you want to see pictures!

Fun awaits!

Here it is!  Get excited!

Yes.  I take this every day.  Twice.

Second car coming down.  Wee!

At the top, Polybahn lives in its own mini-chalet.

While the polybahn has been enjoyable, the commute from Thalwil to ETH still takes quite some time (ranging from 20 to 40 minutes, depending on if I make the connections).  We had the option of staying in ETH campus dorms, but a post-doc in my group, Kevin, offered us much more affordable housing in Thalwil and has been a wonderful guide, helping us adjust to Swiss life and culture.  

We came to learn that obtaining housing is exceedingly difficult in Switzerland, and that we were at a severe disadvantage because we were not Swiss Citizens.  In addition, it took us quite a long time to get our resident permit, which is essential to apply for housing.  We actually just got our resident permits this week.  We had to first register at the Thalwil Gemeinde (municipality) with the following documents:

Passport photo (NO SMILING)

Official Employment Contract from ETH proving I am a postdoktorand

Both of our VISA forms

Passports

Money - Lots of it

Housing Documentation - Proof we live in Thalwil

Setting up an appointment at Oerlikon's Migration office to get our biometrics taken (fingerprints and photos)

Since we were staying with Kevin, we needed an additional form that said we had permission to live in Thalwil.  I can imagine that if Kevin's housing or ETH campus dorms weren't available to us, getting into Switzerland would have been quite troublesome.  To get housing, we need a residence permit, but to get the residence permit, we need to show we have proof of housing (what?!?!).  

This made us all the more appreciative of the foreign students and immigrants who likely navigate a sea of red tape when arriving in the US.  Seriously, kudos.

I also recall many people asking what my wife would be doing in Switzerland and that we'd play it by ear.  Well, I'm happy to say that she is an absolute superstar and got a year-long nutrition education research fellowship that allows her to work remotely while she is in Switzerland!  She'll even occasionally travel to the States to present her work.  This resulted in quite the humorous exchange at the Thalwil Gemeinde:

Gemeinde Official:  Do you have a job in Switzerland?

Swiss Ms:  No, but I have job in the States.

Gemeinde Official:  So you are a housewife.

Swiss Ms:  No, maybe I wasn't clear.  I will be doing work here in Switzerland for a job based in the US.  

Gemeinde Official:  But not employed in Switzerland?

Swiss Ms:  Yes...

Gemeinde Official:  Then in Switzerland, you are a housewife.

The form listed her as a "HausFrau" (housewife).  

We were able to open a bank account with the temporary Gemeinde form, but not much else.    We had to wait until our appointment at Oerlikon's Migration Department to get our biometrics taken to apply for apartments, or sign up for cell phones.  Finally, we received our residence permits in the mail this week!  Both the Postdoktorand and HausFrau are finally on the Swiss grid.

Whew!  That was a lot of text!  Sorry about that!  We didn't want to put pictures of our official documents online.

Toni Jogurt Update:

We finished the Tonis!  There weren't that many flavors, but we tried the last three from Coop.

Himbeere (Raspberry) Toni.  It was ok.

Erdbeere (Strawberry) Toni.  Very good!

Mocha Toni.  Really good.

To wrap up this post, we have both my and Swiss Ms' rankings of the Tonis we have tried.  

Sir Cervelat's Toni Rankings

1)  Blood Orange 

2)  Strawberry 

3)  Mocha

4)  Stracciatella

5)  Chocolate

6)  Raspberry

7)  Nougat

Swiss Ms' Toni Rankings:

1)  Chocolate 

2)  Mocha 

3)  Blood Orange 

4)  Strawberry

5)  Raspberry

6)  Nougat

7)  Stracciatella <--- I disagree with this.

Thanks for reading!

-Sir Cervelat

Exploring for the adoring fans (Hi Mom!)

Since Switzerland is known for its gorgeous mountains and landscapes, we decided to ask Kevin, a fellow post-doc in my lab, for recommendations.  He suggested Üetliberg, just a 15 minute train ride from the Zurich Hauptbahnhof (Zurich main station) on the Swiss Federal Railways (abbreviated as SBB CFF FFS).  

On a side note, the Zurich HB is the central station in Zurich that connects to almost everywhere else in Switzerland.  Not only can we get to Üetliberg, but we can also get to the Zurich Flughafen (Zurich Airport), Geneva, Lausanne and Bern (the capital of Switzerland) with ease.  With the help of travel agents inside the stations, the SBB can even take you to the surrounding countries like Italy, Germany, France and Lichtenstein.  For work, I only take the SBB back and forth from Zurich and Thalwil, but we do intend on using SBB to get all over Europe!

So we left from Thalwil, got to Zurich HB, then transferred to the S10 line to get to Üetliberg.  The train practically took us all the way up the mountain to some breathtaking views, despite being a fairly cloudy day.  The engineer treated us to a few Thomas-the-Tank-Engine style whistles on the way up the mountain!

Go away clouds.  I want to see the mountains.

At the top of a tower in Üetliberg.

This was followed by Jenica's first restaurant experience in Zurich at the Uto Kulm Resturant, while I have already been eating out for a fair bit.  While Jenica has been diligently making her lunch at home from the Migros and Coop goods, I have been going out to the mensas (the campus dining facilities, not the high IQ society).  There are several campus mensas out there, such as pasta mensa and asian mensa, which offer things like different pasta or mongolian/indian dishes.  I guess I am still too used to eating out at food trucks for lunch everyday.

Jenica's air-dried beef sandwich with buttered bread and pickles. 

My bratwurst in a red wine onion sauce mit Zuri Fries (with Zurich fries). 

Combined with the views, this was a great way to have lunch.  Although, as we left, we passed by what appeared to be the restaurant's mascots.

All hail the giraffe king.

We then traversed between Üetliberg mountain, past Balderen and to Felsenberg on the Gratstrasse trail (about a 5.5 km walk).  According to the map, it was flach and gut begehbar (flat, easy).  We'll have to go back an do a more difficult trail next time.

We traversed between "5" and "10". 

 When we arrived at Felsenberg, we took a gondola down the mountain to Adiswil (between Zurich HB and Thalwil)!!!  Very Swiss.

So excited to be on a Gondola!

A view of the gondola's path from Adliswil.

Of course, we decided to do the hike on Samstage (Saturday), so there was limited public transportation between Adliswil and Thalwil.  As such, we would've had to back-track to Zurich HB then go back to Thalwil.  So, I had the brilliant idea to WALK from Adiswil to Thalwil.  The next picture will give you a good idea of how Jenica felt about that idea, especially since it was another 4.8 km walk.

Not at all excited for the walk.

But not to worry, we both got back to Thalwil safe and sound.  We were even able to do some grocery shopping and prepare dinner and dessert for Kevin's birthday (March 23rd).

Toni Jogurt Update:

Since we love the yogurt and dairy here, we've decided to go through all the yogurt Switzerland has to offer.  So far, we're going through the Toni brand and got two different flavors.

Nougat Toni.  Seriously good, but not as good as Chocolate and Blood Orange.

Stracciatella Toni.  It's like eating ice cream.  Thumbs up!

Thanks for reading!

-Sir Cervelat

Grüezi!!!

Hi all!!!

Jenica and I have been slowly adjusting to life in Switzerland (currently 5 hours ahead).  We were hoping that this blog would serve as a way for you all to keep in touch with us over the next few years as we explore Switzerland and Europe, and of course, ask questions!

We first started our Swiss Journey by leaving from Boston Logan Airport.

I took a bunch of photos of the food on our SwissAir flight to Zurich.

Dinner served at midnight!

Not too bad for airline food.

Free Swiss Wine!

And breakfast!  For a 7 hour flight, this was a lot of food.

Complementary Swiss Chocolate!

Overall, the flight was great.  Seats were a little cramped, but we tried our best to relax.

Once we arrived, the post-doc at Professor Norris' lab, Kevin McPeak, picked us up and our six bags of luggage.  We paid the an additional fee for extra bags, since it's much more expensive to send packages by mail to Zurich.  We took the train to Thalwil (a small town south of Zurich), that is about a 15 minute train ride from downtown.  Since then, we've been getting to know Thalwil, Zurich and life in Switzerland.  So far, we'd like to comment on a couple things:

Public transportation:  AMAZING.  It's spotless, efficient and always on time.  From what I hear, if the train is late by 30 seconds, the locals start to complain.  It's really remarkable how consistently reliable it is, especially after Philly, when sometimes your bus may not even show up.

Prices:  Everything here is so expensive.  You pay for that efficient public transport in the $15 dollar round-trip ticket from Thalwil to Zurich.   Or the 33 CHF fajita (~$35).  Or the 22 CHF burger.  Or even the cafeteria food here is at least 13 CHF.  There are no cheap foodtrucks around here, and there is definitely no King's Wok.  

Grocery Shopping:  We've been going to Migros and Coop, the two major grocery stores, and because we're still not used to the high prices, we've been buying the Migros "Budget" or Coop "Prix Guarantee" brand foods.  Once we have some income, maybe we'll start splurging a bit on food, but for the time being, no.  Although, you can see evidences of Swiss culture even in the food.

Look at that "Budget" spinach!  It comes in pre-portion cubes!  It's so convenient and makes sense!   So Swiss!

This was cheapest item from Coop is chocolate.  0.40 Rappen (100 Rappen = 1 CHF).  Go figure.  

We did, however, splurge.  According to Kevin and Elena (Kevin's wife), they have had the best yogurt in Switzerland.  Naturally, we had to get some ourselves.

Blood Orange Toni.  Seriously good.

Chocolate Toni.  Also, seriously good.

We both have to agree, this is the best yogurt we've both ever had.


Local Food:  Despite the high prices, it hasn't stopped us from sampling some of the local cuisine.  On our walk around Zurich, we ended up in the Bellevue area, and I insisted we get some sausages.

Cervelat Sausage with bread and mustard.

This was super good.  Too bad I had to share with Jenica.

In our tour of Zurich, we also saw a ridiculous amount of chocolate being sold.  Since Easter is a very big holiday here, it wasn't surprising to see all the Easter chocolate that came with it.

If it wasn't so expensive, I'd buy it all.

Way better than the Teusher in Philadelphia.

Chocolate Easter eggs being decorated by a  Swiss Chocolatier.  Too bad they cost over 100 CHF.

Not only was chocolate big, but so is candy in general.  We found a Barenland store that would probably cause Tyr to spend his entire month's stipend on gummy candy.

The entrance to gummy haven.

Actually, the same price as a real cheeseburger with fries.

So....much....candy.....

Gummy shakes!

The Views and Environment:  It's hard to believe that everyday we wake up and we are surrounded by the Swiss Alps.  The air is so crisp and clean, and it's an absolute joy to walk around.  In-congruently, there are just as many smokers as there were in Philly.

View from Thalwil looking across Lake Zurich.

View of the Swiss Alps from Zurich.

Thanks for reading!  More to come later!

-David