TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

For the art and architecture enthusiasts out there visiting Zurich, you cannot leave the city without passing by at the stunning Giacometti Hall of the Zurich Police Station! Giacometti Hall at the Zurich Police Station. Picture courtesy of Zurich.com . No other police station in the world has a hallway as artistic and stunning like this. Zurich Police Station on Bahnhofquai. You read it right. The beautiful work of art by Swiss artist, Augusto Giacometti can be found at the city police station (stadtpolizei) of Zurich on Bahnhofquai. It is FREE and is open daily between 9:00-11:00 and 14:00-16:00. You will need to leave a valid ID such as a passport at the front desk of the police station before being allowed to enter and view the hall inside. One valid ID for a group is good enough. You only have 10 minutes viewing time. The taking of pictures and/or videos is strictly prohibited. The police station however sells promotional items about this hall and the artist, even bo...

When I think of Zurich, I think about lakes in general, which I similarly think about Geneva as well. Both cities are situated on the mouth of very important bodies of water, Lake Limmat and Lake Leman. Now the ladies and I planned for a dining on or beside the water for our dinner, which was originally an idea of mine. Luckily the ladies were game enough to go along. We, or rather I, was eyeing this particular restaurant on the lake which I have read great reviews about. However, when we called, we were given the bad news that they were fully booked for the evening. Bummer. I was already so psyched up about the cool ambiance of this waterfront restaurant! So we reverted to Plan B – the Lake Side restaurant   which has good reviews and great pictures on their website. This restaurant is located outside the city centre, in Seefeld neighbourhood in the district of Reisbach and you would need to take a tram to get here. I guess one of the positive sides with this decision is ...

I guess every city has its own main shopping thoroughfare. In Zurich it is Bahnhofstrasse which is very easy to find. It is the street that connects Bahnhofplatz where Zurich Hauptbahnhof   (main train station) is located and Burkliplatz. The big monument on Bahnhofplatz, the statue of Switzerland’s modern founder, Alfred Escher is facing directly Bahnhofstrasse. I have a somewhat love and hate relationship with shopping, and with this I mean dry goods shopping. In general, I dislike the hunting, choosing, queuing up for the dressing room, then trying on, only to repeat this again by going through racks of clothes, assortiments, what nots and more stores in the shopping agenda pipeline. I have no patience, unless of course I am browsing a food market. I would however do this shopping activity only when I am on a mission, such as finding a new pair of pants because the rest of my pants died on me or I cannot fit into them anymore. Now this is what I call a real need for shopp...

The girls and I actually discovered this place by accident. We were at Jules Verne Panorama Bar when we saw the chic rooftop bar, and because it was full at Jules Verne, which by the way bids stunning views of Zurich City, we had a valid excuse to leave. The entrance of ooo Bar is via the Modissa shop on Bahnhofstrasse, a luxury fashion store carrying many designer labels in its collection. As we went inside the shop, I remember that it wasn’t very clear where we should navigate, so we asked the sales ladies for assistance and they directed us to the lift. The bar is located on the roof deck of the building, and luckily it was a great September day with lovely sunny weather. It was one of those exceptional “outdoor terrace weather days”. But little did we know that this is one of those most coveted bars in the city. Because all the tables in the outdoor terrace were either taken or reserved! Really, really bummer. There were not a lot of options available so we took our se...