Feldbach is a small village on the northern shore of Lake Zurich, and a very Swiss kind of calm hangs over it. It belongs to the municipality of Hombrechtikon and lies on the sunny stretch locals call the Gold Coast, where steep vineyards and orchards slope down to the water and the houses cost more than most people care to say aloud. The village has a lakeside park with big old trees, a small harbour and a place to swim in summer, and across the water the opposite shore climbs toward the Albis hills.
Rapperswil, just two and a half kilometres away, is the town to know. It is a medieval walled town on a spit of land that reaches into the lake, with a castle on a hill, a rose garden that is famous in June and a long wooden footbridge across to Hurden that follows a line pilgrims have used for centuries. The town used to be called the town of roses and has a long tradition as a stopover on the pilgrim road to Einsiedeln. The castle holds a Polish museum that dates back to the nineteenth century, when Polish exiles gathered here. Rapperswil is also where you will find fuel, supermarkets and a train station, with a population of about 35,000.
For riders, the roads around this end of the lake are a mixed bag. The lakeside road through Feldbach and Wolfhausen is slow and busy, especially on summer weekends, when walkers and cyclists dominate. Better riding lies up behind the shore, over the Pfannenstiel ridge or towards the Zürcher Oberland, where lanes run through farmland and woods with views of the Alps on clear days. Morning is the time for quiet roads, and in winter the lake can be shrouded in fog while the hills above are bright.
Take your time at the water. The lake is clean enough to swim in, and the little harbour at Feldbach is a pleasant place for a coffee and a look at the boats. If you are heading to Zurich, the Enge Alpenquai on the other side of the lake is the next stop, about 40 minutes by road with traffic. Keep an eye on the speed cameras along the main roads, and remember that Swiss fines are not small. A vignette is required for the motorways, but the lake roads do not need one.