Zurich, to me, is the following wonderful things:

• Sprungli chocolates. Just Sprungli, like the tour guide warned, because Lindt & Sprungli is the mass producer. Get the Luxemburglis, she said, they are like little hamburgers. Hamburgers? Yes, they are like an event in your mouth, she said. We laughed, but somehow that phrase stuck, even when a few hours later my friends and I finally tasted the chocolates... an event for sure!
• Free bicycles. FREE. Put down 20 francs as a deposit, take it as long as you like until 21.30 the same day, get your money back. A local told us this, in broken English, and we couldn't believe it at first. Two days after that, my friends and I took advantage of this luxury. We biked from the hotel to the lake, not quite around because that would take the whole day.
• Water fountains. They are typically beautiful, with spouts jutting out so that you could fill up your water bottle with cold, fresh, yummy tasting water. They are all over the city. I made it a personal goal to stop at each one I saw. What. A. Treat.
  
• Gump&Drahtesel. This Bern-based operation impresses us so much. They take used or abandoned bikes, repair them, teach unemployed people to repair them using tools, machines, carpentry skills, etc. (and even encourage them to think of creative ways to recycle bicycle parts), and then ship these bikes at a very low cost to their partners in a few African countries, who then sell them lower than or at par with market price, so that they could hire people to do these things. The bikes, of course, end up empowering people by increasing their travel range, increasing their mobility to work. When asked, Paolo and the crew care more about the unemployed at home; Bikes for Africa was more of a result that came out of trying to empower their own. Their office and workshop showed Paolo's desire for his colleagues to enjoy their time at work. Paolo advises us to figure out what it is that we want to do. He trained as a social worker and bike repairing/recycling was his hobby. G&D is an expression of his life.
• A whole bunch of people over 60, dancing, twisting, swinging, laughing, enjoying themselves, shaming me and my friends, who cannot do half the stuff they do on the dance floor. We watched and laughed, inspired by their skills and their jolly. The beauty of this scene? We ran into it accidentally -- it looked like a fun outdoor venue from across the river and thought we should join the afternoon revelerie.

So that's a few reasons why Zurich is one of my favorite cities ever. Since then, I was in Milan for a few days and today was my first day in Rome. It continues...