There are certain trips abroad that you need to steel yourself for. Journeys to cities such as Oslo, Reykjavik, Hong Kong or Paris. Not because of danger, or travel stress, or extremes of temperature or culture shock, but because people will drive you to distraction telling you how expensive everything will be.
“Oh, it’s very dear,” was the refrain when I travelled to Norway for a short break a few years ago. “Nine euro for a beer. Maybe 11, even,” because there is nothing more Irish than spiking our cortisol levels over the price of a pint. Often, these warnings are followed by truisms about excellent public services and high wages, and more recently with dire comparisons to living in Dublin.
Coming up to a recent work-related trip to Zurich, I received the usual barrage of “very dear” warnings. And with good reason. Switzerland’s largest is regularly named as the most expensive city in the world. Food, healthcare and housing costs are through the roof, though our Zurich host explained that wages are high to meet those costs.
She sympathised, unprompted, with us over the less favourable situation back in Dublin, also one of the most expensive cities in the world.
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I kept a running list of things we could learn from Zurich:
- Zurich is clean in a way that isn’t startling or sterile. It’s beautifully maintained in a manner that feels respectful and sustainable. We took a 90-minute boat cruise on Lake Zurich and I’m not exaggerating when I say I didn’t spot one piece of rubbish floating in the water. The streets were pristine, the infrastructure was considered, and despite a plethora of well-behaved dogs, there was not one grim little bag of shite hanging from the branch of a tree.
- Speaking of dogs, they’re allowed in all restaurants and on all public transport. We spent our Saturday night dinner trying to resist crawling under a nearby table to cuddle a very aloof Shiba Inu. Puppy and young dog training is currently mandatory for larger dogs in Zurich – a minimum of 14 sessions – with this expanding to all dogs in 2025. Crucially, there’s also a theory exam for owners. We’ve all seen someone being dragged down the street by a tank of a dog and thought both could benefit from a bit of schooling.
- My trust in Dublin bus services has dipped so low that I’m frankly surprised when a bus does show up when it’s supposed to. The trams in Zurich are so punctual and well networked that it was almost dizzying. Our lake cruise took off on the dot of 1.30pm, with the captain paying no heed to people sauntering down the dock 30 seconds late. He simply put-putted away as they broke into an incredulous jog.
- Speaking of Swiss precision, I was in Zurich with my Complete Aisling co-author Sarah Breen to speak at a Swiss Centre of Irish Studies event at the James Joyce Foundation (Joyce loved Zurich way more than he loved Dublin. He even died there). The event was supposed to kick off at 5pm but we were apologetically asked would we mind terribly if it started five minutes late. In Ireland you’d be dragging them to their seats at quarter past.
- Lake Zurich was bursting not only with beauty but with excellent amenities. Beautifully maintained and cordoned-off swimming areas, slides into the water, little beaches and waterside green areas. Imagine the children of inner-city Dublin didn’t have to fling themselves into filthy canal water every summer or be scorned by the suggestion of a preposterous white water rafting tourist facility.
It wasn’t all “Zurich good, Dublin bad” though. Here’s a few lessons we have for the Swiss:
- We were horrified to be denied the experience of an open-top bus tour around Zurich. Is there anything better than sailing around for two hours, taking in every sight possible from the comfort of your seat with your crackly earphones? Zurich really doesn’t seem to do “touristy”, but there must be a tasteful double decker out there somewhere.
- Smoking is still all the rage in Zurich – and noticeably so. It was difficult to take a gulp of the famous Swiss Alpine air without also getting a lungful of someone else’s ciggie exhalations. The huge tobacco lobby in the country is likely to blame.
- Embrace the clothes line! My laundry-obsessed travel companion pointed out that there was little evidence of clothes drying outside despite the beautiful weather. We learned that clothes are dried indoors in Zurich using blow heaters or tumble driers. Such a waste of the great drying!
