Sunday, August 14, 2011

Summer travels - part I, Zürich

It has been a summer of travelling here at heliospheric HQ.

First up was a lovely week in Zürich. The toll sticker was purchased and duly stuck on the windscreen and we were off, hurtling down the autobahn to Switzerland.

I played tourist, while R caught up with colleagues at ETH and enjoyed some well-lubricated scientific discourse (which sounds dodgy now that I've written it down). Moving right along...

Zürich riverside

Apart from an unfortunate and somewhat unsettling encounter with a random gentleman who thought it appropriate to slap me on the arse as I walked by, Zürich held true to its reputation for cleanliness, punctuality and high prices.

Random highlights of Zürich include:

Bürkliplatz Flohmarkt

Where else can you buy a chandelier, a cowbell and a ukulele all within a 5m radius (and possibly at the same stall)? This flea market is definitely not a bargain hunters paradise, but it has a great buzz and lots of fun things to look at. Those looking for a bargain should check out the Flohmarkt at Helvetiaplatz.

Bürkliplatz Flohmarkt - cows

Kunsthaus Zürich
Zürich even offered up a rainy day, so I could spend an entire day wandering around the gallery being astonished at the size and quality of the collection. It blew my mind.




Lake Zürich
Wandering around the shore of Lake Zürich is tres pleasant on a sunny day. Sailing boats, people swimming, swans swanning - what's not to like?

Swan on Lake Zürich

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

WTF? It's not December yet. You're confusing me with this profusion of posts...

Helen said...

I know! I've gone MAD. It must have been the promise of a free feed.

Rute said...

Last year I was in the ETH for a conference, amazing place with very interesting people working there. May i ask in which area "R." works?

Lovely pictures :)

Helen said...

Hi Rute - R works with rocks. ETH is certainly amazing.

Anonymous said...

Are you sure you have the correct spelling for "random"?

Helen said...

jb - do you think it shoud be spelt with a 'y'instead of 'om'?

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Hi Helen, nice to see you post again. I remember that first shot view of Z. There is a large park "above" Zurich where we hiked the better part of a day and climbed the fire tower for a panoramic view.

Hope to see you posting again before December... hehehe.

Bises,
Genie

Kate said...

Well, I had almost given up on you, and here you are again! Can't wait for installment II...

PS. The spice rolls (oops, hot cross buns) were delicious!

Helen said...

@Genie - thanks for stopping by. Zürich is indeed picturesque (and has no shortage of hills).

@Kate - thanks for not giving up on me. I'm glad you enjoyed the hot cross buns.