Switzerland's largest city sparkles with summer pleasures

Locals－and some tourists－enjoy a cooling dip during a recent heat wave in Zurich. Provided to China Daily

No one is yodeling, but I live in hopemy trip to Switzerland has barely begun.

A new German friend sees me type this and snorts.

"This is not The Sound of Music," he says.

It's Day 2 in Zurich, and so far the country is pretty much everything one expects.

Cheese is amazing, including those fresh-milk types we can rarely enjoy in China.

Chocolate is luscious and, like cheese, never far from reach.

Trains are on time1,600 of them leave the immense Zurich station daily, we're told.

Our time in the country's largest city, however, is more than a demonstration of quiet efficiency in this German-speaking area of the country. Culture here is never far away, whether you're strolling past a centuries-old church or a modern bar.

After exploring the old town's architecture, we've found our way to the historic Kronenhalle bar, a hangout during World War II for impoverished artists like Miro and Picasso, who would barter paintings for food and drink.

"Everybody comes here," says our guide for the morning, food writer Myriam Zumbuehl.

Avoid the cocktail-hour crush, she advises.

"If I've had a crazy morning, I like to slip in for lunch or just some wine and cheese, have a little quiet time or maybe do a little writing."

Sometimes, no one else is there that early. One time, she says, one other customer was thereTina Turner.

We're eager to follow Myriam's lead. We've had a morning walking tour of the city's architecture and enjoyed crusty loaves studded with tart olives and sweet walnuts at John Baker, the artisanal bread shop run by a commandingly tall Swiss, whose actual name is Jens Jung.

Now we take refuge from the midday heat in the plush coolness of the bar's black-and-gold marble and mahogany paneling. We try to match the serenity of our surroundings, sipping chic cocktails and snapping selfies in front of the honest-to-God Miro above our banquette seats.

Then, we head out for some afternoon shopping and a lakeside stroll before dinner.

With afternoon temperatures ticking 35 C, many locals are having a relaxing swim. We couldn't resist peeling off our shoes and plopping our feet in the water.

Dinner is at the original Swissotel, a brand which currently offers five-star hospitality in Beijing, Shanghai, Kunshan and Foshanand will open next year in Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu.

Everything here is about Swissness. A long side table in the dining room explodes with local produce, including at least a dozen different kinds of tomatoes. Another table sports an immense array of cheeses, all proudly local.

Switzerland boasts three nationalitiesGerman, French and Italianand a fourth official language, English. But the country is Swiss first and finds little need to import French or German cheeses, however delicious, when domestic varieties like the hard Emmenthal and briny soft Reblochon are so rich and plentiful.

Wines from neighboring counties are included in sophisticated wine lists here and around town. But the featured vintages are Swiss and excellent. So are artisan breads, cured meats, jams and honeys, presented by the culinary craftspeople who create them.

The spaand our bathroomsfeature essential-oil based Purovel products made with organically grown herbs harvested 90 minutes away, at a co-op of small farms that have been in the same hands for generations.

The final stop on our tour highlights Swiss design.

The boutique fashion house EnSoie produces fabrics and ceramics inspired by the "Protestant" colors of Zurich architecture and surrounding mountain landscapesrich and earthy but not flashy, says founder Monique Meier. The company celebrates Zurich's heritage as a silk center, which was fueled by traders from the East as long ago as the 12th century.

"For the Swiss, design is important but functionality always comes first," says Meier.

The clothing, furnishings and even food that results can be deceptively simple, but attention to detail and quality keep it all in the Swiss family.