Zurich: most expensive city for a date

I’m so glad I’m not ‘on the market’ here in Switzerland as its banking hub has been ranked the most expensive location to date the girl or guy of your dreams.

For at least the second year running, Zurich has taken top place for the most expensive city for a date – cab rides, dinner for two at a pub, soft drinks, two movie tickets and a couple of beers  – according to Deutsche Bank’s special report ‘Mapping the World’s Prices 2017’.

In the city home to both UBS and Credit Suisse, an average night out costs the equivalent of £151.40 – 147% more than seventh-ranked New York.

The aim of the research is to provide insight into whether or not exchange rates do actually adjust to correct large price differentials across countries and time, as conventional economic theory suggests they should – all else being equal. 

However, what this research ignores is the fact that everyone gets paid so much more than they do in other countries – and this leads me onto the blindingly obvious point that the best place to bag your prince charming is in Zurich – a heaving wallet (and usually very respectful outlooks) should suggest a substantial amount of future happiness.

Join Zurich Children's Libraries for free

@PBZ Sihlcity

My 10-year-old daughter is a prolific reader, in English and German, which I am keen to encourage for as long as I can. However, she much prefers to read in English so we are constantly hunting down ways to get hold of new books she can devour. We love libraries, which thankfully still seem to be very popular here in Switzerland. Poppy has read her way through the local village library and the library at Winterthur so we needed to head somewhere new.

I thought, where will the biggest collection of books be? Surely Zurich’s main library. Boy, was I wrong. Yesterday, we visited said library – on Muhlegasse, just off Neiderdorfstrasse – which was in a beautiful old building. As we made our way in we were stopped at the door by a security lady (who was really sweet and apologetic) and told we had to put our bags in a locker downstairs, which you needed a 2fr for (fortunately there was a change machine) Then my daughters decided they needed the toilet. So after half an hour of faffing around we eventually got inside the library – to find there were no books - immediately evident anyway. There were lots of people reading and studying but the books seemed to be an afterthought. We hunted around a little, climbing many stairs up to the top floor – where we eventually found some books. However by then I felt far too conspicuous with the only two children in the library alongside me and by now we were getting a few slightly irritated looks, so I gave up and sheepishly slinked out again, with two very fed up daughters in tow, muttering about a completely wasted hour. Fortunately I spotted the information desk and asked about children’s books, to be met with an amused smile and told that perhaps the ‘Pestalozzi Bibliothek’ 200 metres down the road would be more suitable.  

So we began another half-hearted hunt – and then up popped the Pestalozzi – formally the PBZ - which is actually a library dedicated to children! And get this - it’s free to join for all children up to the age of 16. (I think there is also an adult section and adults can join for 40fr) The library was down some gorgeous wooden stairs tucked away in a corner, making it feel very secret – and then you arrive in a brightly lit, spacious underground grotto full of books, comics, CDs and films. My daughters LOVE this place. There were books galore – and if there is a particular item that you would like to borrow, you can make a purchase suggestion and the library will consider buying the item - double whammy. There are lots of events taking place throughout the year, including those I have mentioned below.

And best of all – it is one of 14 dotted around the city, including at Sihlcity and Oerlikon – and you can return your books to any one of them. This works out nicely for us as we often visit the cinema at Sihlcity. I highly recommend this place – the English language book section was small but had a good, diverse selection – and of course there are plenty of other libraries we are now able to explore. Happy reading!

Up and coming events at PBZ libraries:

Easter Story, PBZ Sihlcity Mall, Erdgeschoss

For children from 4 years

Date: 15.04.2017

Time: 14.30 und 15.30

Reading in Riesbachs Garten, PBZ Riesbach

12 – to 16 authors can present their own short stories.

Date: 24.06.2017

Time: 2 pm

Parent-Child Coding Course, PBZ Affoltern

Children, together with an adult companion can playfully discover the digital world, creating their own computer or programming a dance figure.

Date: 06.05.2017 to 10.06.2017 (on five Saturdays)

Time: 9am until 10.30am

PBZ library website

Silvesterlauf magic

Due to a last minute Christmas shopping trip to London this week, I am a little delayed in posting about my Big Run  - the Zuri Silvesterlauf - on Sunday. I am sure you have been waiting in suspense for the gory details ;) Well, I haven't actually got any! It was fantastic. In fact, it was quite magical, running in the dark around Zurich's streets, with the Christmas lights twinkling where-ever I looked. The run was lined with people and children shouting out our names (what a lovely idea to have your first name printed on the number pinned to your shirt) with their hands out waiting to high five runners. It gave me a real high. Ok, I took 1.06 to complete and was placed 612 - but I really didn't care! I did it! If you ever get the chance, do take part. (Don't forget you need to register in August)

www.silvesterlauf.ch

Zurich family club offers 'time out' for mums

It's always difficult when you move to a city to find like-minded people to mingle with as there is no easy central point for your community.

However, in Zurich, Wild Tiere Family Club aims to bridge that communal gap by providing a gorgeously designed place for the kiddies to play and for mums to bond over a coffee or glass of wine.

The club has recently been launched by Stephanie, from England, and Irene from Zurich. They are very enthusiastic about their venture and keen to create a home from home for families with as many services as they can under one roof. With German classes and creche facilities available, it is especially helpful for English speaking mums who have just moved to the city with their tots (the club caters for babies and children up to 5 years) and need help getting to grips with their new lives.

The central location (on the No. 6 'Zurich Zoo' tramline, right next to Kirche Fluntern stop but there is plenty of room for parking nearby) means costs are high for the owners so members will need to pay an annual membership fee of Chf 1,200 (Chf100 per month)

This brings unlimited access to the club which is open every day - even on Sundays from 10am to 2pm - and discounts on a variety of services, such as hair cuts for kids (with Pingu on TV!) manicures, pedicures, waxing and massage, Pilates, in specially dedicated rooms. There is a free kids disco on Wednesday afternoons and kids ballet and yoga sessions and lots of special events throughout the year – next up is an Easter Brunch & Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Monday.

In addition, the stylish cafe provides locally sourced healthy food and a wide selection of tea, coffee and wine.

And you get to try it all out for free! To book your day's trial call Stephanie on: 078 740 0337 (email stephanie@wilde-tiere.com) or Irene on: 076 564 4936 (irene@wilde-tiere.com)

www.wilde-tiere.com

Get set for Oktoberfest!

One of the (many) things I love about the Swiss is the way they adopt the things they love from other countries and cultures and make them their own. They do it with the language - big time, and there there is green cake (an amazing concoction of sponge, cream and green marzipan which originally comes from Sweden) and of course they do it with festivals (and the Swiss LOVE their festivals)

So at this time of year, the stores are suddenly packed to the rafters with dirndls – the amazing traditional dress with built in cleavage (well, you will also need to wear your best push-up bra of course ;) Because it's Oktoberfest time and there will be events taking place all across Switzerland, with much beer, much cleavage, lots of swaying and a bundle of great traditional Swiss/German music.

The ambiance is jovial and total strangers sing well-known songs together as if they have known each other for years. The Oktoberfest – the original of which is held every year in Munich and opens with the famous words, “O'zapft is!” (it’s tapped!) – is becoming increasingly popular here. Every year, Oktoberfest hosts invent new specialties to treat their guests to an unforgettable Oktoberfest experience.

Tomorrow, (Friday, 2^nd Oct) there will be a Children's Oktoberfest for the kiddies to enjoy at Zurich HB between 1pm and 4pm, with clowns, magicians, a cotton candy and a carousel ride for free!

And in Winterthur's big event, which has now being taking place for 17 years, will happen on 22^nd October in the grand Oktoberfest Barn, with further events across the city right up until 7^th November – more details here.

For details of Oktoberfest activities throughout the canton of Zurich, visit here.

Kiefer Sutherland and Mike Leigh in town for Zurich Film Festival

Zurich Film Festival kicks off on Thursday (24^th September) with a visit from no less than Kiefer Sutherland and Mike Leigh who will be in town to collect special awards.

The film festival’s prestigious Golden Eye Award will be awarded to Kiefer on Friday (25^th Sep) at the Corso Cinema, near Zurich Opera House (nearest train station is Stadelhoffen) at 9.25pm.

And this year’s Zurich Film Festival A Tribute to... award goes to British film director Mike Leigh (I'm a big fan) one of the most significant exponents of New British Cinema. Mike Leigh will collect the Golden Eye in person during the Award Night ceremony at the Zurich Opera House on 3^rd October. A large number of Mike's films will be shown throughout the festival – my personal favourite being Secrets and Lies – pure genius.

Serving as the Festival’s most prestigious symbol of recognition, awarded in appreciation of the lifetime achievements of an actor or actress, the Golden Icon Award will be bestowed to Arnold Schwarzenegger on the evening of Wednesday, 30^th September at 9pm at the Corso Cinema.

And there are several movies being screened for children, with the particularly heart warming Kids Film - Landfill Harmonic – screened on 27^th September featuring a very special music teacher and a bunch of children from Paraguay using their rubbish to make instruments to form their own orchestra. Take a look at the dates, times, and trailer for the film here: https://zff.com/en/programme/movies/11743/landfill-harmonic/

ZFF for Kids legal age is 6 years old with a recommendation of 8 years and over. Links to the ZFF for Kids can be found here.

Tickets are on sale now for ZurichFilm Festival which runs between 24^th Sep and 4^th October: https://zff.com/en/festival-info/tickets/

It's Chibli time

It’s Knabenschiessen weekend! Knabenschiessen is one of Zurich’s oldest festivals  - officially held for the first time in 1889 – and is a traditional target shooting competition in Zürich held on the second weekend of September each year.

The competition is open to 13–17 year olds who either reside or are enrolled in a school in the canton of Zürich. Originally reserved for boys (Knaben), the competition has been open to female participants since 1991. The competition is held in the shooting range at Albisgütli to the south-west of the city centre on the slope of Üetliberg. It is surrounded by the Chilbli - a large fair.  (you can ride all of the rides for free from 11am to 11:30am on Knabenschiessen Monday)

Chilbli opening times

Saturday, September 12, at 10am - 1.30am

Sunday, September 13, 11am - 12.30am

Monday, September 14, 11am – 11pm

And this year, there is a giant slide to boot! The giant 200m long slide will travel through the city but there are a limited number of tickets available. The check-in tent opens at 11am and the slide opens from between 12pm until 8pm.

You need a ticket to access the slide. With your ticket you can slide as much as you want during a 2 hour slot. You have a choice between Action Tickets and Family Tickets (action time will be a bit more manic)

Children (6 – 16 years) CHF 18

Adults (from 16 years) CHF 20

Action ticket - from 16 years CHF 23

Children under the age of 6 are free if accompanied by an adult.

*Those under the age of 18 need to bring an exclusion of liability signed by their parent or guardian

•Bring your ID or passport

•Be at the check-in tent one hour before your time slot

•Do not wear jeans or any accessories that could be a security risk or damage the slide

www.slidemycity.ch

Zurich's big events and enochlophobia

I suffer from enochlophobia. What the hell is enochlophobia you ask? Well, I’ve only just found out myself  and I quite like it. Especially as it applies to me – and labels my irrational fear of large crowds.

Funnily enough, it is only since I moved to Zurich that I have realised this fear. It began when I first attended Sechseläuten. This very exciting event is held in April and involves the burning of a giant Snowman (the Böögg) whose head explodes in the centre of the city, letting people know what kind of summer is in store (depending on how long it takes – the quicker, the better - for the head to go BOOM)

A giant snowman’s head exploding, surrounding by galloping horses – this I must see, I thought. Except - despite being in the right place at the right time with my 6-year-old and 8-year-old daughters, I didn’t. That was because literally thousands of people were standing in front of me (and around me) to see the same spectacle.

We had actually got there half an hour before the event to bag a great view of the Böögg. But as the minutes ticked by, more and more and more – and more - people arrived around us. And then it began. Not the burning of the Böögg, but an extreme fear I have not experienced before. With 5 minutes to go, I was suddenly aware that we were tightly packed in among hundreds of other people and I panicked. Big time.  As thoughts of ‘I can’t move,’  ‘we can’t possibly get out of here’ and My daughters will be trampled to death,’ I started to sweat, my breath got short and I began palpitating. I grabbed the hands of my daughters and just managed to say’ ‘we’re going’ before charging head long through the crowds, quite rudely at times I’m ashamed to say - and kept my head down until I could breathe again. It actually took the entire time for the Böögg’s head burning and exploding – and the sound almost finished me off – to escape the crowd (about 20 minutes I think but to be honest I really didn’t care by then)

But face your fears, I have been told many times. And face my fears I did yesterday, heading into Zurich for the Street Parade. We arrived at Zurich HB just before the parade was due to start. It was so hot – Zurich HB was enschrouded with a blanket of oppressive heat. And bodies. Were. Eveywhere 'Oooo, why is the train station so busy mummy?' asked my 8-year-old.

'Because of Street Parade! Let's go!' I lisped through gritted teeth, fixing my face in a phoney smile and ploughing through the very loud, and in some cases, very drunk (it was lunchtime!) groups of youths and heading up Bahnhofstrasse. It was very exciting. My girls loved the outfits they saw. There was a lot of flesh on show – boobs, bums, giant inflatable willies... The buzz was tremendous. 

But with every yell from the tidal wave of people we were swept along with, I flinched. As we passed Globus (yes, I had already started to lose my nerve and sidestepped into a parallel street) there was a humungous crash at the doorway as the glass protection to the gold feather sculpture smashed (I don’t know how but a sheepish looking group moved quickly away) Then there was another crash. Then a firework. And my nerves had had it.

We reached Manor , bought wigs at the street stall outside…and went home. Mega fail. But we were there! And my poor children you ask? Disappointed again? Well, nothing that a little pack of fizzy sweets and a cool off in our local amazing outdoor pool couldn't dissolve. 

Next year I will try again. At least until Coop anyway.

Zurich Street Food Festival rocks

So we went along to Zurich Street Food Festival and had a ball - and lots of lovely food. My very favourite was a taco with a hit at Primo Tacos - look out for the blue cat. The guy makes the tacos fresh on the spot, putting in the main filling and you get to add your own toppings from a lovely little row along the front of the counter which includes a coriander plant!

We had some lovely nibbles of amazing meat on the first aisle and the Spanish stall in the middle was very popular with my 8-year-old as one of the very kind ladies was encouraging Poppy to try all sorts. After a two year food 'drought' Poppy has become very adventurous with food recently so I wanted to embrace that with this trip to the food festival. And she loved it. My only grumble would be that there wasn't enough tasters. So we unfortunately spent a fortune on giving her different tasters of our own.

But the buzz was there. With everyone really enjoying themselves. And then there was the absolute cream topping on the trifle that was the food fest - an amazing outdoor badi and its grounds to enjoy for free!! Complete with children's pool with a slide, a little playground and and even a cocktail bar! If you are feeling flash, the Wodka Cooler was incredible (vodka, lemon juice and ginger ale) but it's pricy at CHF 16.

We pretty much had the place to ourselves early on but when the sun came out it soon filled up.

And the best way to get there - the No.6 tram to the Zoo which passes Zurich HB - alight at the Zoo tram stop and its a 15 minute walk from there (where you ogle at the world's press camping like vultures outside the gate of the FIFA HQ in light of its recent scandal)

If you haven't yet been to Zurich Street Food Festival - go tomorrow (11am-7pm) - you will not regret it - even if it's just for a relax at the pool free of charge, inhaling the gorgeous aroma of glorious street food from around the world.

Nibbles galore at Zurich Street Food Festival

Get set for Zurich Street Food Festival throughout the weekend, which luckily coincides with ZVV's free day of transport on Sunday!

The 3^rd Zurich Street Food Festival takes place at the Dolder Ice Rink from today until Sunday (29^th - 31^st May)

More than 100 food stalls will be featuring delicacies from all over the world for visitors to try. All vendors are housed in creative food trucks and market booths.

Take note - there is no parking – so you will have to make your way by public transport, bike or foot (don't you just love the Swiss and their green ways?) And getting there by public transport is of course pretty easy from Zurich central:

• Take the Dolderbahn from Römerhof
• Take the No. 6 or No. 30 bus to the zoo
• Take Tram No. 5 to Kirche Fluntern
• Take bus No. 751 to Dreiwiesen

Zurich Street Food Festival takes place from 5-11pm today (Friday) 11am-11pm tomorrow (Saturday) and 11am until 7pm on Sunday.

En guete!

www.streetfoodfest.ch

Free travel across Zurich on 31st May

Fancy taking a trip to somewhere new? Then do it next Sunday, 31^st May, as travel is FREE on any ZVV transport right across Zurich. This amazing event forms part of ZVV's 25 year celebrations.

On May 27, 1990 at 4.58am the very first train of the Zurich S-Bahn left Rapperswil in the direction of Zurich, heralding a new era of public transport in the Zurich area. The Canton of Zurich had invested almost one billion francs in the first commuter train system in Switzerland which included two new underground tunnels from Zurich HB across the city, new double lane routes and almost 80 stations. The new S-Bahn a timetable was tighter, with new trains, more seats and and more efficient with an optimal link to the rest of the transport supply. (And this is what sets the Swiss travel system far apart from many countries – that confidence that you can disembark from a train and step onto a bus going home just 3 minutes later)

So whether it’s the train, the tram, the bus, the boat or even a cable car, you can travel for free on them all within the ZVV Zurich network from midnight on the morning of 31^st May until 5am on 1^st June. For journeys which go beyond the ZVV perimeters you will need a valid ticket or connection ticket (Anschlussbillet) from the last stop within Zurich.

www.zvv.ch

Inspiration Japan at Kunsthaus Zurich

I greatly enjoyed a recent trip to the latest exhibition at Zurich Kunsthaus - 'Inspiration Japan' which runs until 10th May. And indeed it was inspiring, featuring many pieces from the private Japanese art collections of Monet and his fellow painters. I made lots of sketches (a few posted below) which I hope to shape some of my own artwork.

It was amazing to see how the great artists of the 19th century - in particular Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Degas and Bonnard - were inspired by Japanese art. And Picasso - who is featured in an extraordinary culmination of the show with a comical, rather saucy and very explicit series of sketches by the great man - which I imagine are very rarely seen!

The focus of the exhibition examines the early phase of Japanese art's reception in France between 1860 and 1910, spawning the mania which formed the 'Japonisme' (the term of which was coined in 1872) art movement. At this time, Japan was emerging from more than 200 years of complete isolation and the craze in the West for Japanese Art was spurred by a wealth of imports presented at the world's fair exhibitions, in particular Vienna in 1873 and Paris in 1878.

Admission is 22chf or 27chf for admission to the gallery's entire collection.

http://www.kunsthaus.ch

The publicity artwork featuring Chrysanthemenbeet, Claude Monet, 1897

Sketch from Père Tanguy, Van Gogh, 1887. This very famous painting is the one you arrive at on entering the exhibition room. Père Tanguy ran the art shop in Paris where Van Gogh acquired most of his materials and they became great friends. Père wasn't too bothered about Japonisme himself but the background instead reveals Van Gogh's love of the artwork. Van Gogh's following piece of The Courtesan (1887) shows how he idealised the Japanese culture and way of life - in a letter saying: 'Isn't it almost a new religion that the Japanese teach us, as if they themselves were flowers? ...we wouldn't be able to study Japanese art without becoming happier and more cheerful...in a world of convention.'

My colour sketch of Chrysanthemum, Keisai Eisen, 1830 in pencil crayons. In Japanese culture the Chrysanthemum is a revered flower, symbolising long life and holding the allegorical representation of the imperial family and this was embraced by the Western artists, as in the marketing poster by Monet above. A few steps on from Eisen's Chrysanthemum is a beautifully delicate painting  - Chrysanthemums and Horsefly by Katsushika Hokusai which was a part of Monet's private collection.

Sketch from Sower with Setting Sun, Van Gogh, 1888

Sketch from La Paresse (Laziness) Felix Vallotton, 1896

Sketch from Inside Kameido Tenjin Shrine, Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857

Detail sketch from Mishima Pass in Kai Province, Hokusai, 1830-31 and bottom, detail of one of a series of Comparisons of the flower arrangements of beautiful women, Kitagawa Utamaro, which greatly influenced the domestic bathing works of Degas.

Sketch from The Tokaido, Utagawa Hiroschige, 1858

Detail sketch from 4' high porcelain vase, Fukagawa manufacture, c1878

Beautiful Japanese inspired bouquet at the Kunsthaus reception 

Zurich in pictures

I had a rare day off duty from looking after the kiddies so I took to the streets of Zurich with my trusty camera. It was a beautiful day, with the dappled sunshine filtering its way into the courtyards of the old city, giving them a magical charm. Aah, I love Zurich.

Enjoying the Chilbi funfair on Knabenschiessen

We enjoyed a lovely day off today to celebrate Knabenschiessen, which sounds rather rude for an English girl like me. Knabenschiessen is not actually an official holiday but schools take the Monday off and many businesses close for the afternoon.

The literal translation of Knabenschiessen, is 'boys shooting,' referring to an event harking back to the 17th century when competitions were held for the Schützenkönig (King of the Marksmen) with the aim of encouraging young boys to get excited about shooting and their future military service.

The event is now a weekend celebration and the actual shooting takes place at the shooting range in Albisgüetli in south-west Zurich. Knabenschiessen competitors (girls have been allowed to paricipate since 1991) must be between the ages of 13 and 17 years and live or go to school in the Canton of Zurich. For the entry fee of 12 Swiss Francs, competitors receive the right to participate, ammunition and a Bratwurst. Each year, 35'000 rounds are shot during Knabenschiessen.

Funnily enough Albisgüetli didn't feature on tram No.13 as expected when I leapt on it with my two daughters outside Zurich HB this morning. The destination was instead Laubegg where the 'Chilbi' fun fair was taking place to mark it. The rest of the tram line has been closed for the fair so I think the idea is that you walk along the tram line through the Chibli to the event at Albisgüetli, although we didn't get that far. We were too busy enjoying the fair.

And boy was it big and busy! We had a great time, consuming Bratwurst, Chnoblibrot (garlic bread) and supping slushies while enjoying a few rides and some weird and wonderful sights. Apparently there was a happy half hour at some point today where all the rides are free but I have no idea when that was – hopefully I'll be more clued up next time round. Happy Knabenschiessen!

I'm back!

Happy New 2014!

I have had a hectic couple of months since my last post and greatly neglected my blogging. But I will attempt to sum up my first Swiss Christmas in a nutshell: Gluwein, twinkly stars, angels and lights, Adventfenster, outdoor fires, sizzling sausages, snow, SamiClaus and Schmutzli (Santa's dark sidekick who throws naughty kids into his big sack and they are never seen again!)

And now I'm back, especially as my littlest has now started Kindergarten, freeing up a bit of time for blogging and a little creativity. While on this subject, I got a welcome reprieve from being mum recently and grabbed the last Friday of the Munch exhibition at the Kunsthaus in Zurich where I enjoyed almost six hours of drifting dreamily around great works of art and recording my feelings and findings in hugely inferior sketches. God did I enjoy myself! The Kunsthaus houses the most amazing collection of work from so many great artists - my highlights included a self portrait print of Munch, a beautifully tender sketch by Giovanni Giacometti and a magnificent portrait of a woman by Picasso. Wow.