I can’t believe my last trip to Europe was already five years ago! It’s crazy how time has flown and I had been itching to get back for a while now. The stars aligned for this trip when we got planning in April. The main purpose was obviously to go for the Eras Tour, but there were lots of blanks left to be filled before we actually departed in July. It’s amazing how we got everything organized and meticulously planned out before we left. It’s even more amazing none of us killed each other on this trip. =P

We were flying out of Pearson for our red-eye flight to Zurich. Zurich actually wasn’t high on our list of places to visit, but after going through our schedules and figuring out which cities had the highest chance for tickets, it ended up being the one that worked the best for us.

As a little treat before we flew out, we all put in a bid upgrade to see if we could get business class seats on our flight to Zurich. A typical seat would have cost around $5K, so after paying our base fare, we each decided on how much we wanted to put in for our bids (although there is a minimum requirement), then kept our fingers crossed until two days before we were due to fly out. By some miracle, all our bids got accepted and we were off to Zurich flying business!

After work on Friday, the three of us got dropped off at the airport, then we breezed through security with our priority access. We were able to enjoy the Maple Leaf lounge, although it was a bit crowded during the dinner rush. By the time our boarding rolled around, we were pretty excited getting led to our seats. It’s been a while since I’ve flown business, especially on a long haul flight, so we definitely took our share of photos before we buckled in. 

If there’s only one downside to flying business, I would say it’s the amount of food you’re served during meal service. While I was pretty happy with the selection I had to choose from, the entire meal service probably lasted a good 90 minutes. We had cocktails to start, then the appetizer followed by the main course. Then it was cheese and fruit, with dessert to end your meal.

By the time I was done eating, I was eagerly waiting for them to clear everything so I could properly use my lie-flat seat to take a nap! While we did manage to get some sleep on the flight, I feel like in hindsight I could have asked them to skip a course so I could have slept longer. But overall I had no complaints and I would totally try another bid upgrade in the future! 

Once we made it to Zurich, we collected our luggage then it was off to our hotel to check in. We didn’t have anything planned for the day except our dinner reservations, and since we were still full from the flight, we took our time to freshen up once we got to the hotel. 

By around 5pm, we headed back out to the central area and explored the streets before arriving at Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten, where we had reservations for their open air fondue. Fondue was the one meal we thought we would splurge on, as food in Switzerland is quite expensive and we weren’t that keen to try other things. However, it came as a huge letdown as it wasn’t what we expected, especially at that price point. It was served with diced bread, potatoes and pickled gherkins, but it had so much alcohol in it that the taste was overwhelming. We were not impressed to say the least. 

After a lacklustre dinner, we were going to head back to the hotel by public transit when it started pouring out. Needless to say, our night wasn’t going to get any better, so we cut our losses and took an Uber back. While our first official day in Zurich was a bit of a dud, we were still hopeful that it was going to get better as the trip went along.