The flight kept getting delayed because of a faulty potentiometer in the centerfold. The captain came over and actually explained what the potentiometer does—basically, it amplifies the steering controls. Delhi’s humidity had caused it to get clogged with moisture. I got stuck in the middle seat between an old Indian lady and an old British man. Somehow, the man got praised for knowing some obscure coffee blend. I got a SIM card, we got our luggage, and immigration was a breeze. They just asked for the name of my school, and the woman happily let me into the country.
But the real grind started then. We had a total of 15 bags, 11 of them trolley bags, weighing around 230+ kg altogether. We struggled our way through the trains and reached Eschlikon station, but the door didn’t open, so we had to continue to the next station. Once there, we hauled our 230+ kg of luggage to the opposite platform and returned to Eschlikon.
Then we hit another wall: the only bus to our Airbnb was 1.5 hours away with no cab hailing services. So, we talked to some locals, got on the wrong bus, and ended up back at Eschlikon station. The driver didn’t charge us, and everyone on the bus was amused by our luggage struggles. After that, we dragged our 230+ kg of bags for 2 km on foot. My back is aching now—I hate getting old.
We finally made it, barely squeezing our luggage into the flat. We cooked paneer and phulkas from pre-made ingredients, everyone fell asleep, and I took a bath before going for a walk. The roads were scenic, and the light drizzle made it enjoyable. When I got back, I started writing this note. The Airbnb owner called to give me a bicycle, but the rear wheel valve was busted. It turns out he works at a compressor factory that also has a service center in Pune. Too many mechanical things happening around me today. I’m thinking of making some hot chocolate. Let's see.
Zurich sightseeing
Writing this as we head to Winterthur. I was too tired last night to log everything. We started the day early, making breakfast with pre-made upma mix. The Airbnb owner saw us and kindly offered to drop us at the railway station. He also gave us tips on where to buy cheap groceries and showed me the valve he bought to replace on the bike. I’m so excited to ride a bicycle on these roads!
We took the train to Winterthur, then on to Zurich. Walked around the station and popped into a random H&M to compare prices. Visited a church and strolled through the city, eventually finding ourselves at ETH, where we accidentally explored their campus. Found a burger place called "Holy Cow"—the burgers were just okay, but the fries with guacamole were amazing! Got a student discount, thanks to a Tamil friend who chatted up the cashier, who was also Sri Lankan Tamil.
Afterward, we walked toward the lake, stopping by a second-hand shop that turned out to be ridiculously expensive. Reached the lake and saw a Hare Krishna group doing their thing. Took a pedal boat out on Lake Zurich, which was super fun and relaxing—definitely the busiest area in the city. We shopped at Aldi on the way back and made dinner: tomato sauce pasta, heated up a frozen pizza, and enjoyed it with some port wine. Overall, it was an exhausting day. My legs are aching from all the pedaling—I need to rest ASAP!
Rhine falls
Feeling kinda tired today. Had muesli and scrambled eggs for breakfast, but we ran out of groceries that we thought would last a week. Made sandwiches—both veg and non-veg—using zucchini (cooked just the way I like it) and some pork salami.
Today’s supposed to be pretty chill. We’re going to visit some viewpoints. I just got back from the most satisfying bike ride of my life. The roads were empty, the scenery was beautiful, and the temperature was perfect. I took a ton of videos—it’s the closest I’ve ever felt to living in The Legend of Zelda in real life.
Rhine Falls was amazing too. We arrived at the station, which is right next to the castle. The castle itself wasn’t that impressive, but the falls were breathtaking—truly mesmerizing to look at. We stopped by Aldi again on the way back to grab more groceries. I’m planning to make aloo ki sabji today. I spotted the bicycle with the fixed valve, dumped the groceries, and went for a quick ride. Now I’m sipping some orange juice and jotting all this down.
Zhaw Winterthur
First day of the college, was quite impressed by the semicircular arc of the building & robotic automation everywhere. Collected my ID cards, with my name in wrong order & tried to socialize. They provided us with too many kinds of bread, some drink in wine bottles & apples and pears. Also some way too sweet waffles arrived later that no-one could finish. More socializing, more orientation, and then to a bar where we got more food and beer. Met people from way too many countries. Had made sandwiches in the morning but got too much of free food so ate it for dinner.
Zhaw Winterthur
Orientation day again, but we went to the St. Gallen first to register ourselves for a resident permit. wandered around Winterthur after orientation, church gelato, saw a armored infantry vehicle through train. Went to st. Gallen to get our resident permit registration but that went southwards.
Zhaw Winterthur - Zurich Museum
I woke up and barely made it to the main gate in time, no breakfast no bath. Was too tired to actually run to the railway station for 15 mins and catch a train so decided to stay back and join after sessions. Also a Indian IT giant made my life over a job offer for 1 hour. Bloody IT noobs cant make a website work properly. Made breakfast dosas, tried adding onions to the dough. I hate to cook with induction too finicky, gets hot slowly and then cools slowly. Made sandwiches and cycled to the station, missed the train by 30 secs. Why these swiss people are so punctual? Made to the Zhaw and grabbed free beer+hot dogs. Also discovered these amazing chocolate biscuits that have changed my life. Nothing more tasty, perfect chocolate combined with perfect biscuit. Collected our free food bags and went to the
Went to attend sessions in the morning, saw library, visited decathelon, aldi, few other places in search of a jacket. Cooked carbonara pasta. Got invited into dungeon by airbnb host. Made chavali
Hike in the morning, party at night. made cooked dal
September 14, 2024 Cycling Eschlikon to Sirnach Aldi
Came around 4 am and slept, woke up and started making rajma chawal. Was too hungry so make instant poha to start the day. It took us a while to make and eat. All of us were tired anyways from yesterday’s party.
Mount Titlis & Luzern
I was supposed to wake up early this morning but ended up partying too much with the Airbnb hosts last night. Finally left around 8 a.m. Made instant poha and ate it on the way to the station. My legs were hurting for no apparent reason while walking—probably a combination of knee-length socks and trekking shoes. We had made sandwiches before going to bed, grabbed the train just in time, and made it to Lausanne with two transfers. The train had a restaurant on board, and the coffee helped get me through the day, also got a heart shaped biscuit, an apple and a croissant.
There wasn’t time to explore Lausanne, so I rushed to Engelberg on a panoramic train. The train was decent, but the views were stunning. Titlis had snow, and we met a Polish couple with a dog on the cable car ride. Some parts of the Titlis experience were closed, and there were too many Indians wandering around. It was my first time in the snow, and I suffered a bit due to the lack of gloves, but I loved the scarf. I’ve been fascinated by the Himalayas for a long time, and this was my first time 3 km above sea level in snow-covered mountains. The views were breathtaking, but the winds were icy cold. I also learned that ice is a lot more slippery than it looks.
We ate our sandwiches, which had gone a bit mushy, and headed back. We stopped in Lausanne, where I created a 20-minute walking itinerary in five minutes by squeezing in all the relevant spots. I kept thinking about how the Swiss seem free to indulge in their passions, and now I want a room full of NAS, a 3D printer, and other fun toys. Lausanne was okay—Zurich felt more amazing . Every city is starting to feel similar to Zurich, but rural Switzerland remains my favorite.
My legs really hurt now, which is odd since I cycled for two hours yesterday without any issues. Heading back now, with a mountain of dishes waiting to be cleaned. I’ve abandoned the biryani plan—maybe I’ll cook it on Tuesday.