Zurich: A Conference, a Cultural Shock & Dinner in the Clouds

Zurich was, honestly, the city that gave us our first proper cultural shock of the trip — the moment we realised Europeans were quietly enjoying life on a level we hadn't quite seen anywhere we'd grown up. But Zurich on this leg wasn't a leisurely city break. It was the working part of the trip. Harshit had a conference at the Marriott, and Zurich was our base for two days — except we weren't really in Zurich. We were in Dietikon, a quieter suburb a short train ride out, sharing an apartment with our friends Kapil and Sam, who'd come up from Germany to meet us.

So this is less a sightseeing diary and more an honest little record of two days squeezed between presentations, lake-side wandering, one disappointing chocolate factory, and one very memorable dinner on top of the only skyscraper in the city.

Day 1
FlixBus Arrival, Marriott Registration & the Lindt Disappointment

We rolled in on the FlixBus from Bercy Seine after a hard goodbye to Paris — two bus changes to even get to the bus station, a long ride packed with Indians living in both cities, and a hungry, heavy-hearted arrival. We linked up with Kapil and Sam, and our first stop wasn't even the apartment — it was the Marriott, to complete Harshit's conference registration. The Marriott washroom was great. The Marriott's pricing was less great: they told us I'd have to pay 75 euros separately if I wanted to attend the conference dinner. Noted.

The Zurich travel ticket I'd been counting on turned out to be useless for the routes we needed, so we had to drop our planned Rhinefalls and Limmat cruise right there. Instead, all four of us caught a train down to Kilchberg for the Lindt factory. We ate lots of chocolates. Lots. The next discovery was less sweet: Lindt chocolates are not cheaper in Switzerland than in India. We left with two small packets and a quiet sense of having been pranked by our own expectations.

We strolled the Zurich lakeside, ate lunch by the water, swapped stories — Kapil and Sam about Germany, us about Paris — and then headed back to Dietikon to rest. Two things went wrong on arrival: both Harshit and I had forgotten the exact building, and we'd taken the wrong bus. We eventually found the apartment, ate pav bhaji and pasta (Kapila helped cook and clean up), and they gifted us chocolates. We left to find dinner and stumbled on Doner on Kapil's phone internet — properly fulfilling, and I packed one for the next day's breakfast. Saw them off at Zurich HB, came back to Dietikon, and slept the heavy sleep of someone whose husband has a major presentation in the morning.

Day 2
Harshit's Presentation, a Long Afternoon Alone & Dinner at CLOUDS

17th August 2022 — Harshit's main day. He left early. I slept a bit more, then got ready and reached the conference hall ten minutes before his slot. Recorded the video. He presented well. After that, the sessions stopped making sense for me — it's been a while since I sat through a technical conference, but it had never happened before that I went completely blank. So I left.

I walked to Zurich lake — it's within walking distance of the Marriott — and sat there with a sandwich and a coke, watching the weather and the boats. Eventually I got a little bored and went back to the hotel, claimed a corner of the first-floor lobby, and that corner became my world from 12 pm to 6 pm. I wrote my Europe diary. I watched Netflix until my laptop battery died. I attended an "Innovation" session that, honestly, was boring. Then we got ready in the bathroom for the evening.

We took a tram up to CLOUDS for the conference dinner. It's the only skyscraper in Zurich and the restaurant is on top of it — 360-degree city light below, and the kind of dinner that makes 75 euros stop feeling like a number. Lots of Indians, a long group picture, food we actually enjoyed. We came back to Dietikon, packed for the next morning's train to Bern and Interlaken, and slept.

An Honest Take: Cultural Shock, Expensive City, Quieter Base

Zurich was our first city after landing into the German-Swiss leg, and writing this from the Marriott lobby that long afternoon, what kept hitting me was: "European people know how to celebrate life. They are not earning to enjoy life with family. They are enjoying life and earning to survive. Completely opposite to the mindset I have been raised in." I should not complain about my upbringing, but I do aspire to adopt some of that.

Practically — Zurich is expensive in a way that catches you off guard if you've been getting away with it in Prague or even Paris. The travel ticket trap cost us Rhinefalls. The Lindt pilgrimage was charming but not the bargain we'd imagined. Staying out in Dietikon with friends was the right call — quieter, cheaper, and turned the trip into a proper hangout instead of a hotel stay. If we ever come back, we'd come back for the lake, the Rhinefalls we missed, and one more dinner at CLOUDS.