Zurich - private banking capital of the world?

Pic 1 (top): Chagall stained glass at the Fraumunster cathedral
Pic 2 (bottom): Dwarfed - Liz & midget suannie (the pic is quite deceiving - I'm MUCH SHORTER!!!) @ Limmat River

Guten tag my fellow biatches! I’m back from Zurich – nice, relaxing holiday but I had to work some, which was a pain in the ar*e. I went with my mate Liz (I know now, what a dwarf feels like – check out the pic) whom I hadn’t really seen in the last year since she started working for a bank (bankers!!! What are they like – I bet you worst than accountants!). We had good fun touring the rather small city – it’s basically divided into two – the north of Limmat River (which is the old part of the town, ie the ‘soul’ of the city) and the south of the Limmat River (which is basically the financial district, ie the ‘engine’ of the city). The Limmat River runs into Lake Zurich, which apparently is the third largest in Switzerland, or Europe ( I didn’t pay much attention during the tour!).



Cafe Odeon -Legendary Bohemian landmark that's had countless eccentric artists and intellectuals in its red leather banquettes - not to mention the odd fascist. Mussolini apparently knocked them back in here before the Second World War. (And Lenin did before the first.) It's a cosy, classy, intimate café that does great lunches and fine cocktails Style is turn-of-the century art nouveau; there are cute banquettes to sit in; a curved wooden bar to order at, and pavement tables outside for summer sun.


Shopping in the old part of the town - cobblestoned pavements and all...

The city is small, and with that comes less pollution, better air to breathe and drink-able water from taps. We thought we got quite a bargain – 4 days for £300 inclusive of flight & accommodation, BUT we didn’t factor in the cost of living there – 0.5 litre of Evian bottled water costs CHF3.40 which is c.£1.60 which is around US$2.80 which is around RM10.30. On average, our meals cost about £30 (US$54/RM 200) per person (fuh fuh fuh CRAZY!!!!) All the translations are for the benefit of you lot who are all over the place. Sorry I didn’t include Aussie dollars or HK dollars – too much maths for me!!! (Hey J, are you still working on the suduko puzzles??? Let me know when you’ve run out & I’ll get you more! Eheheee)


Fresh water from the Alps....

All in all, we had a great time – money well spent. We got our relaxing girly-girl holiday, and the freshest air to breathe for 4 whole days!!! No rich old men/private bankers in sight (they were pretty discreet if they were there!!), but then again, it was the Easter weekend - they must be splurging in Milan or NY or some exciting place. So no nice catches for both Liz and I. Sigh. Maybe another time.

x suannie