What I Ate in Switzerland
Zurich
I was in Zurich for just 24 hours, but I managed to scarf down a wide array of delicious delicacies.
Main Courses
My dinner at Zunfthaus zur Waag was absolutely breathtaking. This was definitely one of the best meals of the entire trip. Pictured above is grilled shrimp with guacamole, eggplant tartare, and candied sundried tomatoes.
The main course was grilled sea bass with potato-thyme mash and artichokes. I may or may not have scraped the plate clean.
Dessert
We had a couple free hours, so I beelined it straight to Cafe Schober, the patisserie with world-famous hot chocolate. Here’s the beauty shot. It was pretty delicious, but not best ever. The desserts were extraordinary, and I believe they speak for themselves.
Chocolate Hazelnut Tart.
Lemon Meringue Pie.
Raspberry Mousse.
This is the dessert from that beautiful dinner at Zunfthaus zur Waag. Creme Brulee (my fave) with mango sorbet. An interesting combination, but it worked!
Breakfast
My last day staying in style in Switzerland. I had my standard bread basket and nutella breakfast on my personal patio at Hotel Zurichberg, overlooking the city. The watermelon was a surprise bonus. Ahhh, those were the days.
Lauterbrunnen
After one day in the big city, I packed my sack for the tiny mountain town of Lauterbrunnen. And with that, I traded in my fancy meals for lunches less than 10 Swiss Francs, and dinner with a glass of wine for less than 25. And I did it! Although meals did include croissants (for lunch), flatbread pizza (8.50 CHF), and bruschetta and wine (16 CHF).
This was the biggest splurge during my two days here, at Restaurant Schutzen. It’s Rösti, the traditional Swiss mountain meal. Basically it’s a giant hash brown with various toppings; mine is veggies and cheese. Not my favorite thing, but I couldn’t leave the mountains without ordering it.
Lucerne
My 26 hours in Lucerne were a nice mix of trying to stick to a budget, but also treating myself on my last nite in Switzerland, and for accomplishing the four-day solo leg of my journey flawlessly. This city is absolutely fantastic, and I was shocked by the number of New Town swanky lounges and restaurants that could just as easily have been found in New York. I’ll have to visit one when I return.
I passed a gelato stand while looking for dinner and couldn’t pass up a dish of hazelnut and caramel. So this was actually the first course of my last dinner in Switzerland. Siting on the riverbank, overlooking the Kapellbrücke bridge, it was just all too perfect.
I was dead set on having some Swiss Fondue for my last feast, but none of the restaurants I found were 1) in my price range or 2) appealing. So I wandered back to the Old Town to Grendel 19, a restaurant I passed earlier that day. I had Alpler Maggrone, the Swiss version of the Kasknopfle I had in Liechtenstein. It made me forget all about fondue. I even boxed up half and ate it on my train ride to the airport the next afternoon. A true first class-riding hobo.
And what would my last day in Switzerland be without a final coffee and pastry. This was at Luz, the cutest little cafe/glass boat house right on Lake Lucerne. So idyllic I stopped here twice.
