During a weekend visit to Zurich a few weeks ago, my cousin made a comment about how green the city is: trees, flowers, potted plants, grassy lawns, woods, and yes, even the occasional weed, overlooked by the city’s diligent gardeners.

She also pointed out the fact that even on one of Zurich’s most famous and busiest streets, the Bahnhofstrasse, you can find large trees providing shade for the throngs of shoppers, tourists and bankers that march up and down the road each and every day. (more…)

A blue and white “Cobra” tram slowly goes by my window, causing the ground to shake ever so slightly.

At least five passengers have their iPhones out in the hopes of catching up on the latest gossip posted on their friends’ facebook pages. (more…)

If you happened to be in Oerlikon last week, you could have witnessed an entire three-story building weighing 6,200 metric tons moving down the street.

That’s right; a small army of engineers and technicians picked up a house, put it on rollers and very slowly pushed it - at the snail’s pace of three metres and 20 centimetres per hour - sixty metres down the street. (more…)

I’ve got to say, when it comes to summer weather prediction, the Swiss have got it right.

I mean, who wants to rely on a wimpy groundhog seeing its shadow (like they do in the U.S.) when you can call a snowman the “Böögg“, burn him at the stake while prancing around on horseback wearing tights, and use this as a reason to take the afternoon off from work?

(more…)

Zurich is expensive.

Research from the Economist Intelligence Unit confirms this, recently naming Zurich the most expensive place to live in the world. (more…)

A labyrinth is not a maze. I found this out during a serendipitous afternoon in Zurich, where I am spending the period “between the years”. The difference is technical and, for lack of a better word, spiritual.

A maze has dead ends and nerve-wracking loop paths. The labyrinth has a defined entrance, an exit and a centre. In a maze, you get lost. In a labyrinth, you find yourself. (more…)