Dec 22, 2006 04:47 AM
11889 Views
(Updated Dec 22, 2006 04:51 AM)
If you are visiting Zurich read some easy to go thru quick tips, I won't write the details coz there is too much, just the basics & important things to remember.
Language - Mostly Swiss German as it is the first language & little French, yet you’ll still have people following English even though they might speak it sparingly. Best thing to do if they don’t speak English is make some hand action & they will follow / use key words.
Weather - Winter time - Warm clothes, not just warm but VERY warm. Mufflers. gloves, head cap, woolen scarves whatever you can, you MUST. The sun sets pretty early or shall I say you may not be lucky to catch the bright sun at all however the dusk sets in quite early, by around 16:00 to 17:00 & you are probably thinking that it's 19:30 or so, but not really.
Standard of living - Is very high, again VERY. Do not even think of comparing IRS (Indian rupees) to CHF (Swiss francs) & try your expenses, you will fall flat on your face. European countries are not just expensive, coz they are worth the price it takes to live there, so be prepared & plan your budget well.
Travel - Excellent transport facilities, train, blue trams, taxi & buses. Taxis are by far the most expensive, followed by pvt. Shuttles (check if you hotel provides one to & fro from the airport). If you are on your own & don't have an agent to guide you, NO PROBLEM, pick up one of the Zurich guides from your Hotel reception or from the Airport & as long as you have enough currency to comfortably travel on your own, you'll be able to go around the city by using the rail station & the trams. That way it will be less expensive than hiring a taxi. There are also local travel agencies offering 1 day/weekly tours across the country. On your own, the city is VERY well planned & you will never be lost in case you decide to go window shopping. There are direction's everywhere & you will always know what street you are standing at, & if you are still lost, just ask someone & even if they can't speak English, they'll still be able to help you. You must know your 'start' point so that you can know where you have to head back incase you are lost.
Shopping - You will find almost everything you want available locally in India, so if you are shopping pick up something that you will not get in India, else if you are window shopping look out for discounts & sales, on some streets you will find only the high end stores & o others of you are lucky you might end up with prices slashed to 50% to 70%.
Food - Food is expensive, a regular burger can cost about cost 6-7 francs i.e. about 250 bucks! You can't carry much food while you are traveling, so FIRST check if your hotel provides ALL meals or just breakfast, many hotels only provide the first meal of the day & you have to feed yourself for the rest of the meals. Some hotels have their own restaurant where you can have the rest of your meals. If you wish to snack, the best places to go are the Coop stores. You'll find the Coop stores on virtually every 3rd street, selling the same wares. They are by far the best in prices & well stacked with everything you need under one roof. Then there are others like the Margos et al. Again do not compare food prices, food products costs the same or higher most times there. If you are going to Switzerland its hard to miss the cheese & Swiss chocolates. If you are used to the Indian variety of cheese, BEWARE the cheese may not taste the same, they have not just cow but other kinds like Goat etc so if you are not quite sure what it would taste like, don't pick up too many boxes until you have tried one & you like it. There is plenty of variety & you should find one for your taste bud. You'll find ALL kinds of chocolates, some familiar like the Ferro Rocher & of course Cadbury & some local ones which are not quite local as they are exported all around the world like the Lindt & Sprüngli chocolates
Some good websites for details:
https://book-hotel-in-zurich.com/
https://swx.com/index.html
https://wunderground.com/global/stations/06660.html
Have a nice trip!
