Look See

We went for our Look See to Zurich early April. My first impression of the place was strongly positive. We were extremely lucky with the weather, as it was sunny all the four days I was there. Before the sun came out and after sunset, if we were walking on the streets, it was cold enough to require a thick jacket, cap and muffler, but during the day, expecially if you were sitting in the sun, you could even get away with a light sweater. I had gone fully prepared for snow- with thermals, thick woollen gloves etc for me and for S and was pleasantly surprised.

The trip itself required a lot of planning and coordination. We decided to leave A behind, because it was going to be a hectic four days, and managing two youngs kids in a hotel room, their feeding etc while trying to see houses, see the areas etc would be a struggle and we had the luxury of my parents volunteering to come and look after A. Thank you so much Ajja and Ajji, so sweet of you to come to Bombay leaving your house empty and putting up with the demands of my maids, and so many other inconveniences just to look after A (and especially so that she would be in familiar surroundings) so that we could comfortably go and see Zurich. I am totally pampered and happy to admit it!

The flights itself were uneventful- we were travelling business, and the seats were fully reclining, and being a night flight, we got a good 6 hours sleep on the flight ( a big bonus after many sleepless nights with A). The first day we walked around Zurich city centre- there's a main road- the BahnoffStrasse which starts from the railway station and is the Oxford Street of Zurich, so to speak. It leads up to the marina where the cruises start. After a leisurely stroll, with S in the pram, we had an early Italian lunch (my elastic bands were off a few days before out trip so I could eat some proper food after ages) and managed to get some rest in the hotel before setting off in the afternoon to see flats. The flats on the first day were disappointing - the first one was very close to a railway station and we could hear the trains stopping and starting every 10 mins. The second one did not have car parking, and the rooms on the top level were too short for the hubby.

The next day was a Saturday, and none of the real estate agents work over the weekend so we had the next two days for sightseeing/shopping etc. Saturday morning we took the train to Utliberg. Its about a twenty five minute train journey from the main Bahnoff and we the last 10 mins are really scenic as you start entering the alps. The last stop is on top of a mountain and the view from there is amazing. There was a kids playground also at the train station and S had fun on the swing and slides, though she had to be careful as it was slippery with ice on the floor. We had ditched the pram, as the climb to the top was on on a track and S refused to walk so the hubby and I had to carry her all the way up! So we ended up going only some of the way, to the nearest restaurant about a 15 mins climb from the train station, though there are higher points about an hours trek away. Maybe when the kids are older! The one we went to had a huge tower which we could climb and get a great view of the Alps and of Zurich. We we went 3/4 of the way up and I suddenly got scared (I've found after my accident I get scared to climb/walk too much --hopefully this feeling goes away with time) and refused to climb up anymore. But the view was good enough - we could see the mountains on most of the sides and the city/lake on one side.

View from the tower

We had lunch at a restaurant at the base of the tower- it was an open air restaurant overlooking the mountains and it felt amazing to sit out in the sun, with the chill breeze, great view and nice wine. There were two couples at the table next to us, and they were having some wine tasting session I think as the bartender was sitting next to them, opening bottle after bottle of wine, and they would take a sip from their glasses and put it away. By the end I'm sure there were more than 100 glasses on their table and they must have been more than a little tipsy. Lunch was also good- there was more than 1 veg option on the menu and the ravioli was nice and fresh (again a pleasure to eat after so many days of liquid diet). S had her steady diet of fries!

View from the restaurant

After lunch we went back to the hotel for a long siesta, then at night we went to a colleague's house for dinner. They had two kids, and S immediately took to the elder kid after her offered her playdough to play with. She was happy for the toys and children's company after 2 days of househunting and boring (for her I guess) sightseeing and was quite reluctant to leave. As usual she did not eat anything even though there was a large variety on offer (found out that there is a lady who prepares Indian food in Baden, which tastes like home food, so that's helpful when we have guests, only we have to go all the way there to pick it up and its about 45 mins away!).

The next day, we went for a cruise on Zurich lake. We had to walk through the Bahnoffstrasse to reach the marina where the cruise starts, and the main street was completely deserted. No shops are open on Sunday! The cruise is for 11/2 hours and takes you on a round trip to the main areas on both sides of the Zurich lake (known as Golden side and Silver side). There were some really lovely houses on the lake on the Golden side and many parks and restaurants overlooking the lake-it seems they are packed in the summers. We saw the Lindt factory on the Silver side, couldn't smell the chocolate, but it seems it emits a nice chocolatey smell in its surrounding areas.

View of Zurich lake from the cruise

The cruise was beautiful, but S got quite bored - I really think we have to make an effort to make her more patient- here in Bombay she is entertained 100% of the time, she needs to learn to keep herself entertained also for some time in a day. Hopefully, when she doesn't have a choice in Zurich (like when i need to cook, or feed Aditi) she will learn! She was tired also and slept in the pram as soon as we got out from the ship, and slept all the way on the walk back to the hotel.

We had time for a small siesta (not me since I had to cook and feed S!) and then set out for tea at a family friends' place. They had a beautiful house in Zumikon and after seeing that, and seeing their kids playing outside in the garden, I felt quite tempted to agree to houses- so far I was against them because a) I'm a scaredy cat and would get quite scared in a large standalone house when the hubby is travelling and b) the extra work involved in maintaining a house! S even climbed a tree in their garden after seeing the elder son climbing a tree, and the road was a private road so the kids could go cycling down the road. Lovely.

Diner was in a Swiss restaurant in the hotel itself. I was looking forward to a fondue which I thought was a Swiss national dish, but they didn't have that on the menu, but I had a lovely puff with vegetable filling in a cream sauce.

Monday was hectic househunting day and we were scheduled to fit in 7 places that day. We fell in love with the first place we saw which was an independent house in Zumikon- very close to S school. It was in a nice quiet locality (ok all places in Zurich are quiet, but this wouldn't even have much traffic) and had a beautiful garden and heated swimming pool. The hall opened out into the garden and from the kitchen I could see the garden. I could imagine putting in swing and slide and S and A playing the garden, while i watched them from the kitchen! After seeing that house all other flats paled in comparison, and we half heartedly went through the motions. A couple of other places we liked (though a distant second) was a large flat in the English quarters which a huge hall and lovely terrace, and an appartment in Dolder (Zurich Hill) which is a lovely area, and the flat was huge with a master bedroom the size of our hall in Bombay! We also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Audi showroom and the hubby was very disappointed to find out that there was a 5 month waiting for the Audi SUV! Dinner was at an Italian restaurant in the old city, a colleague of the hubby joined us and gave us the low down on what all formalities we need to complete as soon as we land up here. S had an early dinner in the hotel itself and slept as soon we reached the restaurant (on my lap there and in the pram on the walk back- love the child's life I say!).

The next morning, S and I took the flight back to Bombay. I was a bit apprehensive about keeping S entertained on the flight since it was a day one, but she was amazing (touch wood) and after a couple of Tom and Jerry sessions, slept for a couple of hours, then again Tom and Jerry, playing with a 8 month old baby a couple of rows ahead and numerous feeding sessions by me (how will I managed both kids alone in the flight??) we survived!

A was happy to see us and did not give me the cold shoulder I was worried about. My parents said that overall she was alright, but quite grumpy and was much more cheerful once we were back. We missed her too, next time we'll take you with us dear. S was overall not so thrilled with the trip I think and told my parents that we have only one room in Zurich!! I was quite happy, and keeping fingers crossed that we get the place we liked.

Addendum: We didn't get the Zumikon house - they gave it to someone else :( and even the English quarters flat with the terrace which was the second choice came back saying that they would need more time for renovations and lease possible only in July, which is too late for us, but we got the Dolder flat :) I like the flat, and somehow felt it was the safest while the hubby was travelling since it was in a cluster of appartments, but it doesn't have a lift and is on the second floor. We really need to work out the logistics on two young children, prams and groceries on this!