When someone mentions Switzerland, most of us think about quality products, Lindt chocolate, watches or banks. What I didn’t know is that they have so many wonderful places to visit and most of them include nature.

At first, I tried to make a plan with some friends to go there for a hiking, but since weather on the weekend wasn’t that good and we didn’t have the equipment for that we decided not to go for a hike. But the idea about visiting Switzerland was still stuck in my head, so my friend and me decided to go for a weekend to Zürich.

It took a few hours bus ride from Stuttgart. We stayed at couchsurfer place. For you who don’t know about it – go and check Couchsurfing.com page, make an account and explore your options for travelling/find accomodation on low budget.

Zürich:

Lake Zürich

Mother nature always makes best landscapes. Chilling around Zürich see was precious. Nicholas Sparks had a point when he said “It is life, I think, to watch the water. A man can learn so many things.” Take a moment to look at these photos:

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And my favorite photo, where you can see lake, forest , mountains and sky all at once.

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Renting bikes and exploring city for free? Why not!

"Zurich on wheels" offers you truly amazing experience and to make it even better - it is for free! They have 6 stations where you can go and rent a bike, they will ask you for basic information and for 20 franks deposit, which you will get back when you return the bike.

Exploring the city on wheels was a great experience, and I enjoyed every moment of it. It gives you a whole different perspective of town, you are faster, so you can explore and see more things. And what was most wonderful was riding with summer breeze and fresh air near the river.

If you are visiting Zurich and prefer to be more active than just walking and sightseeing in a regular way, I recommend you to think about renting a bike.

More information, here: Zürich on wheels

Also, as I was driving, I ran over a piece of glass that was on the road, and got a flat tire, so the staff was really kind and got me another bike.

We bumped into these graffiti while driving next to a river. What I didn’t take a photo of is a lot of street artist and subculture. You feel like there is a freedom for literally everyone to express their music and art. Many people had a stereo and while passing by them, we heared so many genres. From reggae to hip-hop, Balkan music, Spanish songs... The spirit of this city is definitely alive.

If you are close tu Universitat Zürich, you can visit the Zoological Museum with rare animals of different species. It is also for free. My battery was dead till then, so if you want to see more, take a look at: https://www.zm.uzh.ch/en.html

Since we planned this trip to be low-budget, our only expenses were bus tickets and few euros we spend on food - seven euros together. Switzerland is really expensive and I was shocked to see prices at their McDonald's comparing to other countries. Somebody can have own food for 2-3 days so this city will be for him really free then. 😀 

As usual, I didn’t mention real tourist information. I prefer taking photos to express my impression of the city. If you think about travelling around Europe, make Zürich one of your destinations, you won’t regret for sure.

Have a nice day! 🙂

Photos & text

Karmen Bušić

https://karmenland.wordpress.com/