Today we took the boat from Zurich a couple of hours up-lake to the quaint town of Rapperswil. It was a beautiful sunny day, warm and dry with a cool breeze; perfect for sitting on a passenger ferry and enjoying the scenery roll by. It’s cool that the ZSG boats are part of the same Zurich transportation system as the trains, so our all-zone passes allowed us to take the boat up the lake and just jump on a train back to Zurich later.
The other people on the boat seemed out for the same purpose – a pleasant Saturday morning on the lake, with tea and croissants in the on-board restaurant. The boat stopped every 10-20 minutes at one of the small villages along the lake, eventually reaching the old town Rapperswil at the foot of its 13th-century castle. We and the other tourists spilled off the boat to stroll the cobblestone streets of old-town Rapperswil, passing the many cafes and swanky shops that lure tourists.
Unlike those tourists, though, we picked a quiet Indian restaurant in the modern section of town. The only customers – the Sri Lankan owner explained to us that most of his customers are locals who come for dinner or on weekdays, not like us odd American tourists with a hankering for Indian food.
A delightful outing. More photos in the gallery.
David Kotz 