Switzerland
Zurich

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    • Day 3

      Day 3 - Too Much Reliance on my SatNav?

      March 1 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

      Woke up early despite not finishing my blog until 1.00am. I started reading through the social media and realised that I had made a mistake in my blog for Day 2, because NMA did play ’Deserters’. Videos of 3 songs, ‘Deserters’, ‘Idumea’ and ‘States Radio’ had already been uploaded to YouTube from last nights gig. I couldn’t add any video to my blog because any uploaded videos to Penguin can’t be longer than 2 minutes. Noted for next time.

      I checked out of the hotel around 10.30am & bumped into a German also checking out in his NMA hoodie. The lightweight admitted his next gig was not until in his home town at the end of the year. I listed off my itinerary until his eyes started to glaze over.

      I headed out of the city faithfully following my SatNav which I had set to arrive at the Green Marmot Capsule Hotel in Zurich on the ‘Windiest Route’ setting again. In the outskirts, I found a huge U supermarket, so I parked up for breakfast. In the cafe area my eyes were bigger than my belly & I ordered an enormous poulet curry roll & a cafe au lait. Sadly the roll was too soft and sweet for my taste, so I picked out the filling out & ate just some of the base. To console myself I bought a 3 litre box of Cab Sav (to avoid paying Swiss prices) and a couple of packs of biscuits and sweets.

      With the panniers now heaving at the seams, I continued my journey only for less than 30 minutes later my fuel gauge told me that I needed to stop for petrol. After filling up, I went up to the cashier & in my best French accent I announced “Pumpf six’. She looked at me rather strangely and asked “Do you mean Pump Six?” I was slightly taken aback but I told her “I did”. After paying up & feeling a little miffed I returned to the forecourt to discover that all the cars were German and I was now in fact back in Germany. I had no idea.

      I continued south following my SatNav & it took me into alpine country. All the buildings were chalet like and the route took me through valleys alongside rock strewn fat flowing rivers. All was going well until the SatNav decided I had had it too easy. It directed up mountain roads that got narrower, bumpier, steeper and of course windiester!!

      The road got so narrow and bumpy with a steep unbarriered drop on my side that I prayed I didn’t meet a car coming towards me at any sort of speed. Luckily I only met one car coming the other way & he was kind enough to stop to let me pass. I was starting to curse my decision to do windiest route on my SatNav.

      Finally I arrived back on a wider road, but at the top of a cold mountain where all the signposts were for ski lifts. Luckily the now wide smooth roads had me racing towards Zurich and I was making good time. Unfortunately this didn’t last long, my route tried to take me along a road that was closed.

      I chose an alternative road which after several miles came to a muddy dead end. I then chose a 2nd road which took me on a 5 mile loop back to the road closure. By now very frustrated, I took a 3rd road in the opposite direction to the road closure, hoping that the SatNav would find an alternative route. After an approximate 10 mile loop, I again ended up back at the same bloody road closure.

      In the end I set my SatNav back to Fastest Route’, re traced my route all the way back to a major road, then turned east on to it until the SatNav finally gave in and properly rerouted me. As it happens the remainder of the journey was a pleasant experience. The border into Switzerland was almost non existent & if you had blinked you would have missed it.

      I finally arrived & parked up free of charge outside my Green Marmot Capsule Hotel at 4.45pm. The capsules were a bit of a shock to me. They were MDF boxes with a large single bed inside, but only a privacy curtain for a door. I was forced into paying nearly £10 a night for a large locker. The hotel is divided into men’s and women’s areas. At the end of our corridor is a changing room similar to in a shop, but the bathrooms are well catered with shower cubicles, toilets and basins. They even provide free towels!!

      I got changed then headed straight out for a walk around the city. I 1st crossed the Quaibrucke Bridge over Lake Zurich & followed the footpath around the lake. As I walked and looked out across the lake I saw what appeared to be a naked man on a pontoon jump into the lake. As I got nearer, I discovered that it was an obviously gay sauna establishment, where a whole load of naked men were flouncing about in and out of the water on the end of the pontoon. My mate, Alka, would have loved it there. Surprisingly, none of the other pedestrians took a blind bit of notice.

      I then headed inland to take in the FIFA Museum, Paradeplatz, several impressive churches & bridges that I will revisit in the morning in the light. I also came across an impromptu shrine for Alexei Navalny where people were leaving flowers, lighting candles and saying prayers for him. It was his funeral in Moscow earlier today.

      Before returning to my capsule, I bought a litre of orange juice (for some much needed vitamin c) and some Fairtrade Madagascan dark bitter chocolate.

      I returned to the capsule that soon became nice and cosy. I had a chat with Jackie as she walked home after her work shift, then settled down to several cups of red wine, all the Twiglets, half a packet of Biscotti biscuits & some faux liquorice allsorts.

      Song of the Day - Motor Bikin’ by Chris Spedding.
      NMA - Song of the Day - Aimless Desire by New Model Army.
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    • Day 4

      Day 4 - Endless Art in Zurich

      March 2 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      I woke up around 5.30am in my cosy Capsule 37 having had a deep undisturbed sleep. I watched Netflix until I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to get back to sleep. After using the perfectly adequate shower facilities, I treated myself to a fresh set of clothes (Yes, I know…….minging).

      (Morning to Angela & Pam, I see you are both following & liking my blog. I hope you are both keeping well & that Chris & Tony are also well. It seems strange being away on my own. I haven’t got Jackie to take the mickey out of or blame if things go wrong!)

      It was 9.30am, when I locked all my belongings away in my expensive locker and headed out for the day. I was keen to see if it was possible to get a cheap coffee in Zurich. It wasn’t. I headed first along Theaterstrasse passing Mascotte, the venue for tonight’s gig, just a 6 minute walk away, then on to Zurich’s Opera House. Outside the Opera House, was a large open space with numerous pairs of chairs presumably to relax in. The place was deserted.

      I crossed Quai Bridge and found myself up on Bahnhofstrasse, where I saw a super busy bakery which also sold coffee. I bit the bullet and bought myself a small Americano, costing 5 Swiss francs, nearly £5. I sat outside in the sun next to the random rhinoceros metal statue & ate half a packet of biscuits with my coffee. I got out my DK Eyewitness Travel 2008 guidebook & planned my route for the day.

      As I set off, I realised that I had actually chosen the most expensive street to buy a coffee on, because the street was just designer shop after design shop, including every high end Swiss watch makers. Along Bahnhofstrasse, I had to avoid a little old man handing out leaflets under a gazebo with the words ‘Jesus Sucht Dich’. I hope it’s not what it sounds like and I’m not sure googling it would be a good idea!

      My first stop was Fraumunster, the history of which dates back to 853ad. I took some photos from the outside & from Munster Bridge, where wedding couples where having their photos taken. I then moved on to St Peter’s Church with its large clockface, measuring 28ft in diameter, the largest in Europe. Next was Augustinerkirche, a 13th century Gothic church.

      I continued back along Bahnhofstrasse, past the monument to Alfred Escher on Bahnhofplatz, and on to Bahnhof, described as Zürich’s monumental Neo-Renaissance train station & one of the city’s greatest icons, built in 1871. It was virtually empty inside.

      I continued north to Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, the Swiss National Museum for history and culture. It was housed in a very impressive building, but I wasn’t enticed in. I continued through the park known as Platzspitz, then crossed the Limmat River. I followed the river back to Wasserkirche, meaning Water Church, where Felix and Regula were martyred in Roman Times.

      Next was Grossmunster, with its twin towers that dominate Zurich’s skyline. It was not open & in any event an admission fee required. I then wandered through the narrow cobbled streets of Niederdor to Rathaus, Zurich’s town hall.

      Within Niederdor, I found the 13th century church, Predigerkirche It was open and I was able to go in free of charge!

      On the way to the Kunsthaus, I saw signs for the Cabaret Voltaire which I followed to a beige coloured building, which was the birthplace of the Dada Movement which started in Zurich in 1916. I was more interested, because I assumed it was the inspiration for the Sheffield band of the same name.

      At 12.30pm having already walked 5.7 miles, I arrived at the Kunsthaus, which my guidebook tells me is Switzerland’s greatest art gallery. It cost 24 Swiss francs to enter and I felt that it was worth every franc. There was artwork from Monet, Manet, Picasso, Cezannre, Van Gogh, Munch, Warhol, Hockney, Miro & Rodin to name just a few. I studied & then memorised the artist & title for each and every piece of artwork on display. It included Claude Monet’s Winter.

      Photos from the Kunsthaus I will upload as a separate footprint.

      I left the Kunsthaus at 4.00pm exactly & then marched along the busy lakeside promenade to the Henry Moore sculpture, just another 1 mile away. It was a pleasant sunny walk.

      Back at my Green Marmot capsule hotel, I sat on the balcony in the setting sun & drank 3 plastic cups of red wine accompanied by just a packet of imitation Jaffa cakes. From my balcony I espied 2 obvious NMA fans.

      At 7.00pm I hurried out from my capsule balcony, for the 6 minute walk to Mascotte. I found the couple I had seen & I introduced myself to them. I found out they were German and they had spotted me on my balcony. We had several chats throughout the evening.

      The ground floor seemed tiny and I took advantage of the Swiss politeness to get myself a spot right at the front, next to Ceri Monger’s drums. I was not moving from this spot.

      The support band, Anger Management, were ok, but not worthy of a playlist on Spotify. Very annoyingly a security guard insisted that he had to stand at the front of the stage. With the kind assistance of a fellow NMA fans, we got him to agree to ‘work with us’ during the performance. It wasn’t perfect, but I took the opportunity to record pretty much the whole performance in less than 2 minute chunks.

      At the end of the gig, my German friends, told me they were disappointed that the gig had only lasted an hour and 35 minutes. They were used to NMA playing a double bill concert (of which I have experienced).

      The gig finished at 10.10pm local time & at the end I hunted out the NMA stalwart, Steve Clarke. I found him near the bar & I introduced myself as a fellow Magic Bus traveller. He asked me to call him ‘Red’ & told me that he and Jack were driving the Magic Buses. We agreed that we would meet in Bern & he disappeared into a throng of fans near the stage. One of his mates/companions handed me a bottle of beer which went down a treat, but not worth the £10 it probably cost,

      I returned to the Green Marmot Capsule Hotel to download my photos and videos. I necked the remainder of my 3 litre box of red wine.

      Song of the Day - Endless Art by A House.

      NMA Song of the Day - Winter by New Model Army
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    • Day 1

      Jour 1 - L’equipe au complet !

      July 22, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

      Ce matin, Félix, Cloclo et Tim sont partis de Strasbourg en train direction Zurich.
      Après deux TER nous sommes arrivés dans la capitale économique suisse aux alentours de midi.

      Nous nous sommes baladés à vélo le long du lac de Zurich puis, nous nous sommes assoupis le temps d’une sieste, sous l’ombre d’un arbre, bercés par le clapotis de l’eau 🏝️

      De son côté Hugo a rejoint Zurich dans l’après-midi après 109km de vélo.

      Nous nous sommes retrouvés au Airbnb où nous passerons les deux prochaines nuits.
      La team Vélocity est maintenant au complet, l’aventure peut commencer ! 😋

      Au programme de demain: visite de Zurich 😎
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    • Day 25

      Zurich

      September 6, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      Spent the day in Zurich- lovely old city- it is amazing wandering around streets made of cobblestone, seeing buildings older than when our country was "discovered", there is so much history in each place!
      Art gallery was interesting- always a puzzle as what ends up being art.
      Shopped up a storm on Banhofstr Street - Not!
      Security guards on the did kind of stop you from wanting to go in. 🤣😂
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    • Day 57

      No time to zzz in Zurich

      April 18, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      We only have one day in Zurich, so caught the train to the city this morning. This was our first lesson in what an expensive city this is - return train tickets were $22 each (for a 24 hour pass anywhere around the city).

      We walked across the many bridges in the city, up and down the funicular to the university, and around the old town streets, stopping for lunch and a few caches on the way. (Lunch from a street caravan was a burger, pesto pasta and 2 cappuccinos... $57. Ouch!)

      We noticed plenty of Lamborghinis, Bentleys and Maserati's in the streets, and had a quick look in the Tesla dealership in the heart of the city.

      We caught the train back to our airport hotel late afternoon and went for a walk around the park behind the airport, home to the shortest funicular in Switzerland with a length of 78.5 metres and a rise of just 23 metres!
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    • Day 10

      Bi de Riiche lernt mä spaare 🇨🇭

      August 7 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

      Was ist da los?????
      Ich hatte vergessen am Abend den Wäscheständer reinzuholen.
      Und nun das. Es regnet. Es regnet dicke Tropfen. Die Wolken hängen in den Bäumen. Ein richtig nassgrauer Tag beginnt.

      Frische Brötchen werden dann heute umweltfreundlich mit dem sparsamen Diesel geholt. Geht auch.

      Nach dem Frühstück eiert der Tag so vor sich hin. Die Kids malen, Mama beliest sich, Papa schaut die Stafel im Mixed Gehen- NEIN, das darf nicht sein. Wir sind im Urlaub und schauen Gehen?
      Auf „gehts“ wird befohlen und alle sitzen kurz danach im Auto mit Ziel - ZÜRICH.

      Wir schleichen durch fetten Regen die Schmugglerwege in die Schweiz und meiden (was der Wagen echt verstanden hat) sämtliche Autobahnen. Also quer durchs Gemüse. Warum? Es gibt in der Schweiz mautpflichtige Autobahnen. So weit, so bekannt aus allen europäischen Ländern.
      Aus fast allen 🙄.

      Was es in der schönen Schweiz nicht gibt; Tages oder Wochenvignetten.
      Du kannst ne Jahresvignette für 40Franken kaufen oder eben keine Autobahn fahren. Und das ganze kannste auch ohne Vignette digital kaufen- brauchst nicht mal die Windschutzscheibe einsauen. Punkt.

      Die Herren Dobrindt, Scheuer und Wissing - was genau ist daran nicht kopierbar? Unfassbar.

      Wir schleichen also nach Zürich - dauert trotzdem nur ne Stunde.
      Ab ins Parkhaus - wir haben ja gespart.

      Ich hatte den Damen gesagt, ja versprochen, dass ich als Hobbymeteorologe spüre, dass wir im Trockenen ankommen werden und die Sonne kommt.
      Und sie kommt- vllt eine Viertelstunde zu spät- dafür aber richtig.
      Bestes Wetter um die Stadt zu erkunden. Das Kernzentrum mit den Gässchen und Plätzen ist echt so schön. Wasser ist auch da.
      Es gibt 2 Abflüsse des Zürichsees die sich durch die Stadt ziehen. Das verleiht gerade der historischen Altstadt nochmal ein besonderes Flair.

      Wir bummeln dann am Zürichsee entlang und als die Sonne dann so richtig Gas gibt entspannen wir auf einer Wiese am Wasser. Die Kids sind halb im Wasser unterwegs und die Eltern pfeifen sich 2 Flaschen Grauburgunder, welche wir gut gekühlt mitgebracht haben, rein. (es handelte sich um piccolo Flaschen)

      Anschließend hauen wir die gesparte Maut aus Versehen nochmal auf den Kopf denn wir kaufen nen Magneten und essen Eis. Was soll der Geiz.

      Dann schlendern wir ganz gemächlich zurück zum Parkhaus. Hier werden dann nochmal 16€ fällig - das geht schon. Also das Parkhaus ist auch schön 🙃

      Außerhalb der Kerncity hat Zürich auch komische Ecken. Sieht etwas verbaut aus das Ganze. Scheint sich aber zu verbessern - viele Neubauten zeugen von Weiterentwicklung.

      Über die alten Schmugglerpfade bahnen wir uns wieder den Weg nach Germanien und sind uns sicher- Zürich kann was.
      Was, das müsste man erleben und nicht besuchen.

      Vllt sollte Ella hier mal an der ETH studieren, zumindest ein Semester. Oder doch Wien 🤔
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    • Day 2

      From Zurich, sa pluie et ses 5 degrés

      March 14, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

      C’est parti pour le grand voyage !

      Après une arrivée sous la flotte à Zurich, on a trouvé une auberge de jeunesse ( et non pas de fortune vu le prix : 55€ la nuit par personne 🥵)

      On garde le sourire et on part pour une journée de promenade sous le magnifique temps pluvieux de Zurich avant notre départ.

      Bangkok nous voila !
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    • Day 53

      Cheese wonderland

      October 26, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      After a delicious included breakfast of toast again, we joined a free walking tour of the city and learned some of the history and found some fun spots in Zurich.

      After the 2 hour walk we decided to have the only meal out for our Switzerland stay - a cheese fondue. The place we chose unbeknownst to us was actually the first fondue parlour in the old town of Zurich.

      We got 2 servings of cheese, so it ended up being around 500g, it came with a side of bread and we got potatoes, beef and pickles/onions added too. It was absolutely delicious, it also cost the same amount as a small car.

      After this we decided to go for a walk to try and digest the carb and dairy overload. We caught a funicular train cart up a hill to explore the top of the city and enjoy the views.

      On our way back to the accommodation we came across a parade of what we assume is soccer fans on their way to a game. There was Swiss riot police lined up, which is not something I expected to see while here!

      Once we made our way back to the accommodation we took the time to try and plan the Ireland portion of our trip, turns out finding vans is not as easy as expected!

      Step count: 19k

      Seeya in France
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    • Day 2

      Arrival in Switzerland

      July 9 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

      An 11am scheduled departure made for a low-stress morning. I snuck in a run since I'd be spending the next many hours completely stationary, and we completed final preparations / tended to the dogs before their grandparents came to pick them up.

      Laura thoroughly enjoyed watching the fighter planes take off from the airport, while I did my best to ignore the various conversations happening around me from Epic staff flying out to their customers.

      We sprung for premium plus seating for the extra leg room on the flight from Chicago to Zurich, and I traded a woman for the exit row seat for extra-extra leg room. Laura and Caty were a few rows behind me, and sound asleep well before takeoff.

      4,444 miles later (and 7 hours later due to the time zone change), we landed in Zurich. No one got a ton of sleep due to crying babies or a general inability to sleep in all but optimum conditions, but we had to power through until the hotel had a room available. And so we spent the morning walking around Zurich, winding through crisscrossed streets to look into the shops. After wandering aimlessly, we popped open a map to find some landmarks, and meandered over to the opera house, and then down to the Limmat to watch ducks and swans float down the river. We strolled down the boulevard until we encountered a local outdoor market and took in the smells of the flowers and local cheeses being hawked. The jet lag was hitting hard, but luckily a room opened up, so we crashed hard for an afternoon nap.

      After a late lunch, we hopped on the train to the main event for the day -- the Lindt Home of Chocolate. Laura and I both enjoyed the museum portion, but for Caty it was all about the samples. On the walk back to the train I came to regret the pre-flight run as our step count hit levels we only achieve on vacation.

      Dinner was at Zeughauskeller, an old armory converted into a beer hall which featured Wilhelm Tell's arbalest /crossbow on the wall. Caty and I devoured a plate full of sausages, and I knocked back the Haus beer and a dunkel for good measure. We trudged our way back to the hotel, hoping for a long deep sleep.
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    • Day 13

      Sunrise over the Swiss Alps

      December 29, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

      I made it to the lake in the early morning hours. The sun had not yet risen, and so I spent some time staring into the cold abyss that is Zurich Lake. When the first rays finally made it over the horizon, the sky was awash in red and yellow colors. Birds began to sing, and a cold wind came down the lake.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Zürich, Zurich, ዙሪክ, Zúrich, زيورخ, ܙܝܘܪܚ, زوريخ, Sürix, زوریخ, Zirich, Горад Цюрых, Цюрих, জুরিখ, Zuric, Sŭ-là̤-sié, Curych, Ζυρίχη, Zuriko, Tsurique, Zúric, ציריך, ज़्यूरिख़, Zirik, Ցյուրիխ, ZRH, Zurigo, チューリッヒ, ციურიხი, 취리히, Turicum, Zeurich, Zürigh, Ciurichas, Cīrihe, Цирих, സൂറിച്ച്, Цюрих хот, झ्युरिक, ဇူးရစ်ချ်မြို့, ਜ਼ਿਊਰਿਖ, Zurych, Zurigh, زیورچ, 8000, څوریخ, Zurique, Turitg, Zurìcu, Zyrihu, சூரிக்கு, ซูริก, Lungsod ng Zürich, Zürih, Tsürix, سيۇرىخ, زیورخ, Syurix, Cürih, 苏黎世, 蘇黎世

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