Swiss movement
ZURICH | City merits superior marks for precision, efficiency -- and chocolate
ZURICH -- Walking down the cobblestone streets of this Swiss city's historic Old Town, I stumbled on a familiar but unexpected site: a cow.
A big, blue fiberglass cow -- just like the eye-catching bovines that were all the rage during Chicago's popular Cows on Parade display in 1999.
(Courtesy)
I smugly smiled to myself, silently congratulating my hometown for starting a public art trend that spread across the Atlantic.
A subsequent Google search wiped that self-satisfied smirk right off my face. Turns out we were indeed the Second City when it came to the cow craze. Zurich's display pre-dated Chicago's by a year.
And it was this feeling of inferiority that pretty much became the theme of a recent trip to Zurich. I don't mean this in a bad way. The Swiss are far too polite to intentionally make their visitors feel like losers. I just mean that Zurich comes across as a city where everything is a little smarter, a little more efficient, a little, well, better. It's like Zurichers have it all figured out, and the rest of the world is playing catch up. (I don't even know if Zuricher is a word, but I bet the Swiss do.)
Just look at their water. You can drink it straight out of the decorative fountains. And with more than 1,200 of these fonts scattered around the city, you never have to worry about dehydration.
And get this: People swim in the river. The only reason I'd dive into the Chicago River is to save a drowning baby. And the baby had better be cute. But in Zurich, business folks flock to the pristine River Limmat during the summer for an after-work swim. Then they spend the evening lounging around these waterfront lidos, enjoying concerts and cocktails.
With all due respect to Sun-Times readers in suburban Lake Zurich, the Swiss version has you beat. The snow-capped Swiss Alps linger in the background of this sprawling body of water, where swans glide alongside sailboats. Joggers share the picturesque shoreline with cyclists, which leads me to another reason to pat Zurich on the back: free bikes. From May to October, you can help yourself to one of 300 city bikes from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. All you need is a valid ID and a refundable deposit of 20 Swiss francs.
It's little wonder that for six years running, Zurich's quality of life has snagged first place among 215 cities around the world, according to the British human resources firm Mercer. The company compiles its ranking based on safety, cultural offerings, cleanliness, recreation and other criteria.
I'm pretty sure chocolate isn't one of the categories. But if it were, chalk up another win for Z-town. I challenge anyone with functioning taste buds to walk down Bahnhofstrasse and resist the siren song of Teuscher's dark chocolate truffles or Sprungli's melt-in-your-mouth Luxemburgerli macaroons. (Chicago has a Teuscher at 900 N. Michigan, but the candy gets shipped here from Zurich. Any self-respecting chocolate snob will tell you the sooner is better when it comes to eating these preservative-free confections.)
I got my first taste of Zurich's efficiency as soon as I stepped off my Swiss Air plane. Getting out of the international airport was a stress-free breeze. A bellman from hotel Baur au Lac met me and my luggage before I got out of customs, and I didn't even need to get my passport stamped.
The trains? They're the anti-Amtrak. They ran like a Swiss watch.
Partly because Switzerland's largest city is so well-organized and well-run, it's had a reputation for being on the robotic and sterile side.
My tour guide, Oliver Guggisberg, had another word for it.
"Boring," he said. "The reputation of Zurich was banking, boring, gray -- necktie financial types carrying their briefcases down Bahnhofstrasse.
"In the last few years, a lot has changed. We still have our banking, of course. But the city is getting younger, more international, hipper."
The city can't be too buttoned up if it hosts the summer Street Parade, a huge al fresco rave that has become one of the world's biggest house and techno parties.
Zurich is really more like that lovable haircut, the mullet: all business in front, party in the back.
And the party will be going strong in June thanks to the European Soccer Championships, EURO 2008. This event is to soccer fans what a Hannah Montana concert is to pre-teen girls. The much-anticipated tournament will take place in Switzerland and Austria, with three of the games being held in Zurich on June 9, 13 and 17. Giant screens will be set up on and around Lake Zurich so thousands of fans can watch the action outdoors. (Check out the helpful Web site http:// euro.zuerich.com/en.cfm)
"For three weeks it will be one big party," Guggisberg said. And he said it in flawless English, something I heard a lot of in Zurich even though it isn't one of Switzerland's four official languages: Swiss German, French, Italian and Romansch, a derivative of Latin.
There's that familiar feeling of inferiority again.
* Dolder Grand: After being closed since 2004 for a $400 million overhaul, the Dolder Grand hotel reopened earlier this month with two modern wings attached to the historic main building. Perched high above the city, this castle-like property includes 173 rooms, a large spa, five clay tennis courts and a nine-hole golf course. Rooms start at $461 a night. (800) 745-8883 or Thedoldergrand.com.
Hotel Adler: You won't forget you're in the heart of Old Town at this modern hotel, where murals depicting the historic part of the city are painted on the walls of guest rooms, which begin at $160, Hotel-adler.ch.