Zurich

One of the great parts about spending 6 weeks based in one place is the chance to breathe and rest between the overnight trips, I like to look at it as living here. I have to admit we have been pretty lazy on those days, we wake up in time to eat with and see CF off to work and then we hang out for a while more. Eventually, we get going. Zurich has an amazing tram system that works seamlessly with the Swiss rail system. Our stop is about 3 houses down the street and has two lines that stop there, conveniently they each travel down different sides of town, with big hub just two stops away. I bought a month long pass when I arrived and I definitely have gotten my use out of it. Since it has been so cold, walking is not always the best option though we are only 10 minutes from central Zurich. And on those days when I do brave the cold and go for long walks, I will sometimes hop on a tram and travel a few stops just to warm up. I have also used them to explore the city; I will get to a stop, take the first one that comes by and ride it until I reach an interesting looking area and spend some time walking around there.

Of course, there have been planned outings. MW and I went up to Uetliburg, the mountain overlooking Zurich. From there we had a view of the lake, the cities, the nearby villages and the Alps. We went walking in a giant park, that is more like a forest, near to the house. That is were I discovered one of my favorite phrases: wanderweg. A wanderweg is a planned walk with signposts, I have seen them traversing forests and through cities. We have followed a few and they always have the nearest tram stop or train station listed so that you can leave the trail whenever you need to.

I have also spent a fair bit of time wandering throughout downtown Zurich. The city core is not that large, even though this is the biggest city in Switzerland. It is centered on the Limmat River which divides it in two, the Niederdorf, an area of winding streets and small shops runs along the east bank, while the Bahnhofstrasse, is the heart of the expensive shopping district on the west bank. Both areas are fun to walk through and cross back and forth between using one of the many bridges crossing the river. We headed downtown on New Years Eve to see the fireworks out over the lake. A few hours before midnight it started snowing heavily but stopped just before 11 pm, however, the new snow made it more interesting. Down along the river there were thousands of people, drinking, shooting off personal fireworks and generally celebrating the moment. We eventually trekked to the lake but because the air was so still, just a few fireworks created a thick smoke and from then on all you could see was the smoke changing colors reflecting the obscured pyrotechnics. The best part was watching all the people out, this was definitely a side of Zurich I had yet to see. After we walked both sides for the river, we caught a tram home, forgoing further celebration in order to prepare for our early departure for Germany the next morning.

Thanks for Reading.