My trip in Switzerland was highlighted with cheese, cars, HM, and family. We drove to Zug, a city in Switzerland, from Germany, and we immediately were whisked away to the opening of my mom’s cousins, (Miriam) fashion atelier. As I said family, and the family part didn’t end there. We met my mom’s aunt and another cousin, (Alexander) there as well. That evening we all went to eat at a touristic, but delicious, cheese fondue restaurant. There you go, cheese just like I said! Later in the week, my dad and I went to go visit Zurich. I saw 5 HM’s, on one street!!! Not to mention the watches that cost 280,000 dollars or more! I also ate at a vegetarian restaurant called Hiltl. Which you pay by the weight of your food. It’s quirky interior and the delicious food made the restaurant shoot up all the way to my list of top five of all time! All of this was amazing, from seeing a designer at work at her own atelier to ogling watches that cost a fortune. But the most memorable of our time in Switzerland was on our second day. We started of the day by going to eat brunch at Alexanders place. There we were met by him, his wife, Miriam, her boyfriend, and Helga, Alexander and Miriam’s mother. After a heartwarming meal my family and Alexander went to go look at his car’s. You might be thinking, “What is so special about his cars”. Under the misconception that he has one or two. But actually in all he has 8 cars! All antique cars, except for his Tesla and his wife’s car. My brothers and I joined him in his Tesla, and we drove to his garage where he keeps all his cars.
Citroën DS 21 Pallas, built in 1966, this was the last model year with single headlamps. After 1967 the DS got new designed headlamps with the famous “turning lights” in order to see around corners at night. Also, the thing that made this car one of my favorites, was that the cushions in the car were like clouds. You sunk into the red velvet seats, and I swear I immediately felt tired.
Volkswagen Käfer (German word for the Beetle) 1200 Export, built in 1964. The Beetle was initially developed during World War 2. It was meant to be a cheap, and easy to produce car for the masses. At the time it only cost 86 pounds, that is 3,500 dollars in todays money. You guys may know Ferdinand Porsche, from the company Porsche, but he was actually the head of the design team for the Beetle! He and his team only had 10 months to finish the design! In the end the final design was not made by Porsche but by an Austrian engineer. But the patent still went to Porsche.
Tesla P85D, built in 2015. You guys might be wondering what P85D means, and so did I! So the P stands for Performance, because of its 691 horsepower and a top speed of 155 miles per hour! Thats fast… The 85 stands for the 85kWh battery that has an operational life span of 275 miles! The D stands for dual motor because there are two motors in the vehicle, one located right above the rear axle, that provides 470 horsepower, and one above the front axle that provides 221 horsepower. Having two motors allows the vehicle to drive in all-wheel drive that is amazing considering most high performance vehicles can only drive in front wheel or rear wheel.
And Alexander’s favorite: the Porsche 911 2.0 Targa, built in 1969!
-The car was originally named Porsche 901, and 82 cars were built as 901s. But then, the car company Peugeot objected because in France it had proprietary rights to all car names with three numbers and a zero in the middle. Like the Peugeot 208, or the Peugeot 505. But Mr. Porsche decided not to sell the new model with another name in France, but to change the name to 911.
-Each 911 has about 5,000 welds!!
And last but not least
-A customs Porsche 911, fully equipped with police gear, is actually being used by the Australian police force in Sydney. You might think the use it for car chases because of the cars incredible speeds. But they prefer to drive to community events around the city to engage with young car enthusiasts.