Day 66 - Another Three Country Day - Austria, Switzerland and France

There had been clear blue skies in Feldkirch over the weekend, but things had changed suddenly overnight with the rain clouds appearing and the temperature dropping by about ten degrees. It was therefore a very grey train ride from Feldkirch to Zurich, but I did still enjoy the views of Lake Zurich for the final miles of the journey.

On arrival in Zurich, the first thing that struck me is that the train station is huge and very busy - it took me a while to find the luggage lockers to store my rucksack for the day. I had about four hours in Zurich before my next train, so I had planned a walking route to take in lots of the key sights of the city.

I started to walk down the right side of the river, stopping for a cuppa on my way, and doing various AdLabs as I went. I walked down Bahnhofstrasse, which is the big (and seemingly rather expensive!) shopping street, but my first significant stop was Lindenhof Hill, where there is a park and views over the city.

Not far from Lindenhof is one of the most famous churches in the city, Fraumunster church. I got the audio tour of the church and enjoyed learning about the reformation in Switzerland in particular, even if the guide might have gone into a bit too much detail in some places! The stained glass windows were very cool though.

I then continued my walk down to Lake Zurich. The low cloud gave it a slightly eerie vibe, but the rain held off enough for me to enjoy a sandwich lunch by the water’s edge.

I then crossed the river and walked back up the other side, stopping briefly at Grossmunster church, although I decided that I did not really have time to go in.

I continued my walk back up to the station and eventually managed to navigate rescuing my rucksack and finding the platform. It was about an hour across Switzerland to Basel, and I had the company of a slightly odd elderly gentleman next to me for that time. He seemed to rather like oranges, and peeled and ate a couple during the journey, insisting on leaving the peel on the table for the smell!

I was pleased that I had nearly 30 minutes in Basel before my connecting train to Strasbourg, as the international tracks were a bit separate from the others. I found my train though and it was a straightforward trip north into France.

By the time I arrived in Strasbourg, it was raining heavily. My hotel is only about 250m from the station, but that was more than enough for me to get wet feet! I am just drying out now before heading back out for some food. Hopefully the weather might be a bit kinder for exploring the city tomorrow.