The day’s plans were somewhat set back by me feeling rather under the weather from the previous evening. Luke got me some toast from the hostel kitchen and made sure I was ok before heading out at 11am to join a walking tour.

I went back to sleep and by 1pm I was ready to get out and about. Fortunately, with the sky being light until nearly 10pm, there’s no rush to get into things early.

Our first activity was to do a walk from one mountain to another along a ridge. we caught a train up to Uetliberg.

There were quite a few people but most were going to the lookout. The trail we were walking featured a scale model of the solar system. But first, these weird reindeer lights.

The view was pretty good, the weather was very fair but became windy and cloudy right at the end.

I didn’t take a photo of the sun at the beginning but it was the width of two basket balls. Some of the planets were so tiny they were encased in Perspex. I think this one is Ceres (not a planet obviously).

Here’s a better one of Saturn. They were clearly in the process of installing new benches. The path was very well set up, with toilets about half way, lots of rest stops and even places you could light fires and have barbecues.

And of course many of the ubiquitous natural springs.

Almost every mountain top in Switzerland has a hotel. This is the view looking back at Uetliberg.

We saw these bright orange butterflies along the trail.

Looking down to Zürich.

We got a message from Lea and Pete while we were walking, saying they had arrived in Melbourne after an uneventful flight.

The road was gravel the whole way (sandals were a bit of a mistake, bits of rock got caught in them) and the occasional cat went past, but apart from one steep-ish bit it was definitely a family friendly walk.

At the opposite end was a cable car down but we stopped at the mountain-top restaurant for a drink first.

The cable car was short but offered a good view and wasn’t crowded. we had bought a multi-zone 24hr public transport ticket. It was about $30 each and covered all the trains, ferries, cable cars, funiculars, trams – everything. That being said, no one, at any point, checked our ticket and there were no gates that needed a ticket to get through so if you were in Zurich on a very tight budget you could probably get around for free.

Love a cable car!

Next was a walk down to the train station and a ride back into the city. We ate our cornflakes chocolate on the way. It almost had the texture of popping candy chocolate.

The cheap bars of chocolate are very good and only work out to about $1.50 AUD.

Next activity: the funicular! It was tiny. It only went a short way up the hill, from the riverside to the university.

A very cute little station house.

We had then planned to go on a ferry down the river to make the most of our ticket but the ferry finished by 6pm.

We took a walk along the river, enjoying the sun on the buildings and the dark clouds overhead.

I’d watched some videos online about things to do in Zurich and one suggested the “Zürich car show, which runs from January 1st to December 31st every year”. Zürich isn’t quite as luxury car-heavy as Monaco but it isn’t far off. We didn’t make too much of an effort to look for them, not being car people, but I took photos of a few.

Actually, I didn’t see any more luxury cars here than in Windermere, but I can definitely say the people of Zürich are the best dressed I’ve ever seen. Somehow at least 80% of the population look like they’ve just stepped off a yacht, despite this being a landlocked country.

We finished off the evening with ‘Ghosts’, a series on Stan that Mark and Sue recommended. We loved it, thanks for the tip!

Tomorrow: St Moritz!