The Switzerland Traveler

The ETH is Zürich’s main technical university, home of some really smart professors, and inventors of whizzo computer technology.
They can also do light shows, as these two pictures show.

The first one looks pretty much like a Union Flag (Jack, if you prefer) and the second one looks like it’s been done by the Dutch.
Both photos were taken on the night that Spain beat Russia, so no need to show pictures of rioting Spaniards. Actually, it was pretty quiet last night, very few cars driving round beeping horns, which is the usual mediterranean way of celebrating.
So that’s it, Germany and Spain …read more

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Tuesday night was Italy against France in Zurich.
The clever money (ie mine) was on Holland fielding none of their best players and Romania beating them, which would mean the result of the big duel would actually be irrelevant. But The Dutch reserves were so good that that didn’t happen.
And so it was a straight fight between the two 2006 World Cup finalists. And like many big matches, it was dull.
Admittedly I was being plied with free beer and there was some very pleasant company, but the game was dull.

That didn’t stop the Italians celebrating though, driving through the city streets, …read more

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Just a few pics from L_K_M giving a bit of the party atmosphere. The first is looking out over the Fanzone at Sechsaläutenplatz.

The neatly lit Grossmunster in the background.

And a couple of nice shots of the bridge from Bürkliplatz to Bellevue.

Photos: Flickr – L_K_M

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I don’t know why, but I really like this. OK, the photoshopping could be a bit neater, but what the heck?
A classic work of art, with an EM interpretation.
I wonder if Rodin’s model was contemplating his country being knocked out of a major football tournament?
The conventional wisdom is that Rodin was depicting the poet Dante contemplating his fate in front of the gates of hell, but having seen some of the sad faces round here after the Turkey match, I’m not so sure.
Still, at least we did better than Austria, our co-hosts. That seems to be the main reaction now.

And …read more

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Walking back through the main station on Friday night, I saw some workemen putting the finishing touches to an amazing installation.
To celebrate (once more) the EM, there is a group of footballers in national kit huddled together. It’s difficult to work out what scale the players are modelled in but they are big. Really big!
You can see from the photo how large the players boots are.
 It’s an amazing piece of art to be able to walk around…
Photo Flickr – Dom Dada

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I’m feeling a bit moody, so a B&W shot today.
Bad Tiefenbrunnen is in fact, a jolly place. Located down at the end of the number 2 and 4 tram lines, it’s a very pleasant place to be in summer.
Open from 10 May to 15 September, usually to around 20:00, but that depends on the weather. If it’s warm enough to be there, it’ll be open, if not, it’ll close.
You’ll find places to grill your sausages, and please excuse me at this point for mentioning that there are naturist terraces too.
If you need it, there’s a shop to buy the sunscreen you …read more

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If you’re looking for an unusual hotel (although I don’t know why you would be!) in Zurich, why not try the Leoneck?
It has 78 rooms, all decorated by an allegedly famous local artist.
I think their website gives a good impression of the flavour of the place www.leoneck.ch so take a look and explore the wacky world of the crazy cow!
The hotel is well-situated, a double room will set you back around 160-240 CHF/night.
Other than that, you’re on your own.
Photo: Flickr – Diego

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 Zürich: Friday, 30 May 08 – Sunday, 1 June 08
Christopher Street in West Village, New York is one of the key places when it comes to Gay rights history in the US.
So it gets celebrated across the world, well at least in Berlin and Zurich, both of which also host highly successful love parades.
One thing about Zurich though, is that despite its banker image, there’s always an excuse for a party. And CSD is just that. 
One of the highlights is a parade through the city street party on Turbinen-Platz, which is located in the booming Zürich-West quarter.
  
Doesn’t stop there though.
After the street …read more

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I went into town last week to watch the final of the Champion’s League in a bar, and I have to admit, it’s now time to start mentioning the football.
The European Championships (which is essentially all the world class teams apart from the South American nations) is being held in Switzerland and Austria from 7-29 June.
So, to put it simply, if you’re planning to be in Switzerland over that time and haven’t already booked flights/hotels, do it now. On match days, the authorities haver even extended the allowed night-flying times, to allow more efficient handling of passengers.
 It’ll be a great event with …read more

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Seebad Enge is another option for summer night lounging in Zurich.
It’s amazing what can be done with a few coloured lights and some chilled out sounds. And the approach often seems to be to take an open-air swimming pool and turn it into a trendy late-night zone.
Well, hardly late-night, it closes at 24:00. We can’t have the locals being kept awake…
The restaurant serves the usual salads and grilled foods, washed down with beers and drinks from the bar.
The location is good too, out by the big jet d’eau-style fountain. Get there early, especially at weekends if you want to find …read more

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