So this past weekend (Thanksgiving weekend) I went to Zurich, Switzerland to meet up with my boyfriend Ben! It was so great to see him, and it was definitely a great trip! Although it was so cold and the city was covered in snow, it put me in the Christmas mood and now I'm excited to be going home to spend Christmas with my family and friends.
The weekend started off great. As soon as I met up with Ben at the airport, we took a train and a tram (the trams that are eco-friendly and run on wires) back to the center of Zurich and he immediately bought me Zurich's best sausages! Then we walked around the city a bit and saw all the various Christmas lights covering not only every street of the city, but also all the neat little shops, and several huge trees!! That night we stayed with family friend of Ben's. Since Ben went to a private high school where his mom works, she knows a lot of international students, one living in Switzerland. So his family was nice enough to let us stay with them for our first night. It was a beautiful house that overlooked the city. Since it was Thanksgiving when I arrived, they cooked us a nice "insta-thanksgiving" meal that consisted of chicken, stuffing, salad, roasted vegetables, cheese, chocolate and to top it all off, homemade pumpkin pie. It was delicious! That night, Ben and I explored the city and realized that the whole city shuts down after 8 p.m. So we kept that in mind for the next day! haha
When we awoke the next morning, there was snow covering the entire city. It was absolutely beautiful!! It was a winter wonderland and it was so nice to see snow, since Valencia will never get it while we're here. Karen, the mom, took Ben and I to the ice skating rink where she practices on a team with other women. While she practiced, Ben and I rented skates and went ice skating on one of the very few outside ice skating rinks left in Europe. It was so cold, but so much fun!! We said our goodbyes to Karen afterwards when she dropped us off at our hotel. She was so nice and Ben and I were lucky we had the opportunity to meet them and have them show us around the city!!
I loved riding the trams around the city, especially because it was so cold. And the food we ate was pretty expensive, but absolutely delicious and worth every cent! We ate hawaiian pizza at one restaurant right in the center, and then we decided we should save some money by going to the supermarket and buy some food. While there, I bought about 10 bars of chocolate for all you guys back at home!! Don't worry, I've already finished one by myself! Swiss chocolate is so great and it just melts in your mouth!
Don't forget the huge Christmas market at the train station! Ben and I were talking about it all weekend and finally stumbled upon it (well, BEN did) the last day we were there. It was huge and had little stands of people selling food and drinks like sausages, buttered pretzels, hot apple cider, and glug (a Swedish/German/Swiss drink, served hot--Ben and I tried some and it was really good! It tastes like hot sangria! haha)
Anyways, yes, it was definitely a great place to put you in the mood for Christmas! From the German gifts, food and smells of Christmas at the market, to the lights lighting up the whole city with the snow falling and everyone wrapped up in their jackets and scarves, it was a great time. I'm so glad Ben and I picked Zurich to meet up. There is no place quite like it!
Now for some pictures!!
Also, here are some views from the plane when I took off over the Swiss Alps. Que bonita, no?
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