Züri Wiesn – Oktoberfest in Zurich

I thought there would be no more Bier, Bratwurst und Lederhosen for me this year, but I was wrong. I was in Zurich last weekend, and as I got off the train, I stepped right into the Züri Wiesn Oktoberfest at Zürich HB (central station). What better way to start my Zurich vacation?

You need tickets to go inside the big beer tent, but the line was so long that I decided to skip the tent and sit down at one of the restaurants outside instead. I had a Züri-Bratwurst and a Chiliwurst, and in the menu it said that the sausages came with a Bürli. I wondered what a Bürli could be. “Maybe it’s chocolate?” I thought, full of hope. Turned out it was a sourdough bread roll. I would have preferred an ordinary hot dog bun (or chocolate), but the Bürli tasted great with the Bratwurst.

I know I’ve been talking a lot about lederhosen lately, but I’m really fascinated by this strange piece of clothing. I just can’t take my eyes off the people wearing them, and I think I’m now able to distinguish between several different lederhosen styles. In Zurich, the brown suede ones seem to be most common, typically worn with a checked shirt, and many of the Zurich lederhosen also had embroidery. If there’s such a thing as lederhosen fashion, the Zurich style takes the prize. I spotted a pair at one of the department stores in the city, and they weren’t that expensive, so for a short while, I considered getting a pair.

Züri Wiesn, Zurich HB