A perfect Saturday in Zurich
A few people asked me how I spend my weekends since I'm alone in Zurich. The truth is, mostly working.
This weekend, however, my office was closed, so I figured, why not go on an adventure and share what the perfect day in Zurich would be like?
Preparation (day before)
There is not much preparation needed. If you want to avoid stopping at HB, I’d get the Alnatura branded cream cheese in advance. Just remember to take it. Otherwise, the necessities are:
backpack or a tote bag
sanitising wipes or a disinfectant gel
re-usable utensils
This Saturday, I woke up bright and early. Usually, I’d use this time to go swimming, but my local pool is closed so I slept in and proceeded directly to the farmer’s market, killing time by photographing pigeons.
Stop 1: farmers’ market
Depending on where you’re located, a farmers market might be a bit of a luxury, but I found that there is one ten minutes away by bike from almost any place in Zurich. This is where you want to stock on your fresh fruit, vegetables or other breakfast material.
Stop 2: HB
If you’re not a piss-poor planer like me, you should stop at Alnatura beforehand. Since I’m hopeless, I just go out to HB as it’s the only store working. This is where you’re getting your cream cheese. For you vegans out there, New Roots is legitimately one of the best vegan options available, and for the rest of us, there is Alnatura-branded frichkase. This is one of the few cream cheeses that can hold a candle to the undisputed king of cream cheeses — the ABC sir. A walk to Helvetia Platz is also a nice way to develop your appetite.
If you’re a piss-poor planner like me, you’re going to end up at HB buying necessary ingredients. That’s ok.
Stop 3.1 (first breakfast): Helvetia Platz — John Baker
If you’re going to do a truly hedonistic Saturday, you get the best bread on this side of the French border. For a traditional spin, dinkelzopfli is a staple that must be tried. Don’t overdo it if you’re planning on a second breakfast though. In the perfect world, you’d find a spot in front of it. Otherwise, one of the stone slabs of Helvetiaplatz can do you nicely (avoid my mistake and don’t sit next to inconspicuous public toilets though).
Dinkelzopfli, Alnatura cream cheese and fresh blackberries from the farmers market. A solid hunt.
(optional) step: flea market
Just meters from you, there is a flea market every Saturday. Feel free to browse a bit before your next stop.
Step 3.2: (second breakfast) Omnia Coffee
There are not that many places in Zurich that serve good coffee, but luck will have it that all of them are within spitting distance of one another. If you frequent cafes, I’d suggest going to Omnia. It’s not the best coffee in Zurich*, but it’s certainly the one with the most character. Alina and Martin (owners) lived in Indonesia before moving here and they brought a little bit of it back with them. All coffees are grown by people they know personally and roasted locally in Zurich. For more info, read my review of it here.
If you’re still hungry (and/or are just a pig like I am) get Alina’s excellent mango sticky rice. I don’t know where or how they get their mangos, but they are nothing short of spectacular. Easily the best ones since I’ve been to the Mayan Riviera.
Step 4: now that you’ve been a pig, walk it off
From here onwards, go for a walk. I’d go by the river, and hit Bahnhof Strasse, all the way down to the lake. There are a few flea markets there that should allow for some entertainment along the way. Window shopping and people-watching are the name of the game. Pro-tip is to get lost in some of the smaller streets over there.
Walking here can take anywhere from 45 mins to 2 hrs, depending on how fast/slow you go and how much you’re distracted.
You’ll end up by the lake, where I’ve spent the rest of my day. I worked at the bar by the lake, went for a “swim”, and worked some more until the rain chased me away.
Finally, I called it a day reasonably early (about 1730), as it was prime time to do some household chores.
I hate doing chores, but love the feeling of accomplishment afterwards…
