Two things high on our list of things to do while in Zurich for 46 hours was to get ourselves some swiss fondue and taste some swiss chocolate.

First up, the chocolate…

Sprungli‘s flagship store on the Bahnhofstrasse is a sight to behold. We visited on a Saturday and it was wall-to-wall people. Thankfully, we gathered our wits enough to get two pieces of luxemburgerli, their signature treat, two flavored meringue cookies with a chocolate center. We tried to go back for more on Sunday, but the place was closed… so, while significantly less glamorous, we bought more at the airport shop instead.

We also popped into Coop, a huge department store, to score some chocolate bars for gifts. Considering these were also closed on Sunday (it turned out), I’m thankful we made the time!

We saved the fondue experience for our last night and we picked the most well-known fondue place in town, Adler’s Swiss Chuchi. As soon as we entered the place the smell accosted us. I can’t say it was bad, necessarily, I love cheese and all… but, it was, well, definitely overwhelming. Thankfully, we got used to the strong fragrance of the place and quickly found ourselves wedged between two other couples surrounded by hot implements. (I quickly wondered how I would look stripping down to a tank top in the middle of February.)

Eric ordered the traditional fondue and I went for the raclette, a do-it-yourself project with melted swiss cheese, a sack of boiled potatoes, and tiny mushrooms that squeaked on the hot grill. After sneaking peeks at the couple next to us, I finally got the hang of seasoning and putting all the ingredients together. Meanwhile Eric was in a delighted cheese fog with a huge smile on his face.

Needless to say, we were very impressed with the quality of the swiss cheese and chocolate.