Half the reason Nathaniel and I go on vacation is to eat interesting food - we try to be as adventurous as possible and to try regional foods as much as possible. We may have only had one day in Munich and two in Zurich, but we made the most of it!

After getting (sort of) settled after our flight, we had a brunchy meal at Rischart Cafe am Marienplatz, where we sat outside right next to the Glockenspiel! Nathaniel and I shared a pancake-ish thing that had applesauce and raisins, eggs and bacon. We also got coffee and orange juice. The service wasn’t super fast, but at least we had a pretty view, and the food did hit the spot once we got it.

After exploring a bit and walking though the Englischer Garten, we got a liter of beer and lemon soda at the Chinesischer Turm, which was nice and refreshing. Also very heavy!

We ended up having dinner at Ratskeller, where we got Wiener Schnitzel and Schnapps Bratwurst Zipflburger (small spicy bratwursts between potato pancakes), and a couple German beers.

After not quite enough sleep, we went back to Marienplatz to grab breakfast - and it was surprisingly dead! We had been hoping for another outdoor table to enjoy the plaza, but had to settle for taking our coffee and pastries to go from Rischart Cafe. I got a breakfast almond pretzel, and Nathaniel got an apple pastry of some sort.

Our least glamorous meal of the trip came in the form of chicken nuggets and fries from a German McDonalds because we were driving, groggy and hungry, and it was easy. At least you know what you’re getting if you go to a McDonalds! They also had a curry dipping sauce, which was new to us Americans.

Once we made it to Zurich and got settled we decided to get fondue for dinner. We went to Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten, which was delicious (not to mention the building’s facade is super cute). The fondue came with bread and fingerling potatoes, and we also ordered some pears to dip. To drink, we got Aperol Spritzes because we saw everyone drinking them at the outdoor tables while we walked to dinner, and it is now my favorite drink ever.

After wandering around the river a bit, we ended our evening with a nightcap at Cafe Odeon. We went here because when I was Googling places to eat/drink, a website mentioned that Albert Einstein went here! I don’t have actual historical proof for this, but why would someone make that up?? 😉 Be careful, though. We asked for gin and tonics with gin that’s not crappy, and the bartender ended up making us two 20 Franc (more than $20) drinks! Oof!

Our first meal the next day was lunch after some shopping/exploring. We ended up at Restaurant Swiss Chuchi at the Hotel Adler, where they have a mascot: Heidi, the blue cow. There we shared some white wine, chilled tomato soup, and raclette. With raclette, you get a little grill on your table where you griddle your cheese and the other fixings that accompany it, which (at least here) included mushrooms, potatoes, pickles, onions, sausage, pear and baby corn. While we were eating on the sidewalk, we heard a girl walking past saying only tourists order fondue and raclette in the summer heat, and while she might be right, I literally don’t know the next time I’ll be here, so you bet I’m getting all the cheese!

We also grabbed gelato at Chocolat Dieter Meier and chocolate and drinks at Café & Confiserie 1842 while we were out. You didn’t think I was going to miss out on Swiss chocolate, did you??

That evening, we went to dinner at Cicchetteria Da Rosa. We figured that Italian food would be fine because we didn’t go to Italy on this trip, and Swiss cuisine seems to be a hybrid of German, French and Italian food. We got a bottle of wine, Piccata Milanese with saffron risotto and spaghetti carbonara. I’d eat here again, especially the risotto 😋

The next morning we went back to Café & Confiserie 1842 for a breakfast of pastries and swiss “oatmeal”, which is more like yogurt with granola, but was very yummy. They also have delicious hot chocolate that you can get espresso in, which is the perfect way to start any day.