Sprüngli!!

I would probably be doing Switzerland a huge disservice if I failed to add a special note about the Confiserie Sprüngli =). Most likely my most favourite part of Zurich, aside from the possibly spectacular panoramic view of Zurich I never got to see =(

New Year's Eve in Zurich

The last day of 2010!  To start the day off, I figured I'd give Uetliberg, a mountain near Zurich, a try to get a panoramic view of the city and of Lake Zurich. There is a train that takes you almost to the peak and takes about half an hour.  That day, the train was pretty empty as I'm sure most people had better things to do on New Year's Eve. This is a picture of the station with some Christmas decorations.

End of 2010 in Zurich

Having left Strasbourg  in the morning, I got to Zurich in the afternoon after switching trains at Basel. The trams in Zurich are pretty long and pretty comfortable and took me straight from the Zurich Hbf (train station) all the way to my airport hotel. Having dropped things off there, I took the tram back into the city to explore.

Novotel Zurich Airport Messe

The last stop of the Christmas trip to Europe was Zurich.  Given that it was the Christmas holiday season, hotel prices were far cheaper than usual as there were fewer tourists at this time of year.  Having monitored the prices for a little while, I snagged a pretty amazing deal at the Novotel Zurich Airport for just 49 euros a night for two nights!  Not sure if people are generally acquainted with the Novotel chain as it is primarily based in Europe but it is part of the Accor Hotels portfolio (similar to Hilton or Marriott), and Novotel generally targets the mid-scale market (think Four-Points Sheraton).  Here's a shot of the lobby/lounge where you can get free wifi access.  There is also a hidden US adapter (the Swiss have their own electrical outlets - different from the rest of Europe) on the floor so you can recharge your laptop there as well.