Spring Break! Part 1 - ZURICH

We left for our journey on Friday morning. We caught the 10:15 airport bus in Sevilla and headed for the planes. Our plane left at noon and we had an hour layover in Mallorca. For lunch we had bocadillas packed by Isabel, of course.
Air Berlin is officially my favorite airline of Europe. They are so swank. On our first flight we got cookies with lime filling and on the second we got a whole bocadilla. The air berlin flights included a slew of languages: German, English and Spanish, when the flight was in Spain. Also, on some of the flights, the flight attendants wear jeans, black jackets, and hot pink hats.

We arrived in Zurich and bought our Zurich cards, which turned out to be the best idea ever because after that we didn't pay for the airport train, city trams, nor museums. Aside from a few minor adventures such as losing Katherine in the bus station for ten minutes, everything went famously. For dinner, we went to a place called millennium. You ordered at the counter and then a waiter brought us our food, so it was like a mix of fast food and fancy. I had a big plate of spaghetti!
Some things about Switzerland:
It is one of the only countries around not in the EU and so there is a different currency. Swiss francs are a little less than the US dollar, but essentially equal. Everything in Zurich was crazy expensive, but we had to keep in mind that
A. Francs are less than Euros.
B. Sales tax is always included in the price tag (this is the same in Spain).
C. Also, in Spain and other places, tipping at restaurants is not expected.
People in Switzerland are much quieter than Spaniards (the tram was shockingly silent) and they also move more quickly. However, pretty much everyone we spoke to knew English and they were all extremely friendly. The first night, we got on the wrong tram and some girls helped us find our way. (in English)
The public transportation system in Zurich was the most awesome transportation I have ever seen. There is a complex system of trams all over the streets, and we never had to wait more than two minutes for one. The trams are never late, and never full. There were always seats.
The Youth Hostel of Zurich turned out to be on the expensive side, and they mysteriously added six francs a night because we weren't members. This was the only money flaw of the trip. On the other hand, I felt like the hostel fit the price. It was extremely clean and we got a nice breakfast every morning.

Day Two:

We woke up early to take full advantage of our one full day in Zurich. We started with the churches: the fraumunster and the grossmunster, fondly referred to as the "Grau" and the "Frau" by our group. The Grossmunster has two steeples, and we paid two francs to climb the tower. It was legitimately ancient with a spiral staircase and later layers of wooden stairs. The view was outstanding, you had to be there.

Next we went to an art museum. My favorite exhibit was a shadow art display. It had sets of spinning objects with giant lights casting shadows on the wall. The shadows were constantly changing, like a kaleidoscope. Next we went to a history of diseases and medicine museum, where we saw some antique medical equipment and methods. Then we ate our plane bocadillas for lunch, along with some Swiss chocolate. The next thing was to do some shopping, or rather looking. We found a few chocolate shops, one selling chocolate hamburgers, which were delicious. We also saw a four story toy store. Switzerland is clearly in the money and downtown has some truly swank shops.
Next we went to a conceptual art museum. It was weird. There was air duct art. We went back to the hostel for a rest and had mcdonald's for dinner.
Day Three:
We checked out of our hostel, and went to the Swiss history museum. This museum was amazingly set up. The displays were works of art: some of them spinning in a giant wheel, some of them inside the walls, some of them in the floors. We rode the tram for a while, to get a quick free tour of the city, and then got ready to head for the airport. We got lunch on the way. I had a sandwich from a little stand. Not surprisingly, there was a chocolate festival in the airport, so we caught a few free samples before we got on our plane and headed for Austria.

In Summary Zurich, Switzerland
-reserved, yet kind people.
-one of the wealthiest cities in Europe with one of the highest standards of living.
-amazing public transportation.