The Neutral Zone

Zurich, Switzerland - Switzerland is - let's say - vaguely famous for its cherry blossoms. Perhaps not so famous as Washington DC or Japan, but an honorable mention, at least. The blossoms here received notoriety in Luxury Travel magazine and the official Switzerland tourism website. Zurich is not the hot spot for cherry blossom viewing in Switzerland - the countryside is more famous - but, it does have some lovely spots. Including the street we live on! H and I live on the corner of Aemtlerstrasse and Bertastrasse. Bertastrasse, and the general Idaplatz neighborhood are (vaguely) famous for cherry blossoms - they feature prominently on the Zurich tourism website (at least, on the page dedicated to cherry blossoms), and various travel blogs like The Neutral Zone ( example , example ). Bertastrasse is lined on both sides with lovely pink blossoms, which Hannah and I can peer out onto from our 4th story window. As you proceed north and west along Bertastrasse from here it is inters...

Paris, France - Dear reader, I am filing this report two weeks late. Please forgive my tardiness. H and I were in Paris the weekend of March 7. Before you scold us too harshly for travelling in the midst of coronavirus, keep in mind that the pandemic was not in full blossom at that time. H had traveled to NYC a week prior for work and, months ago, we decided that it would be more fun (and cheaper) if she flew from NYC to Paris, where we could spend the weekend traipsing in the City of Light. In any case, we seem to have avoided contracting coronavirus during these travels. The Flood In keeping with the general zeitgeist of catastrophe, the Siene was flooding while we there, though this was clearly not the most pressing crisis the government was dealing with at the time. The river had flooded over a lower roadway that runs along the bank and forced its closure, though it had fortunately not risen to the level of the upper bank and started flooding the city proper. Seine river. ...

London, England - Hannah and I went to London this weekend. Hannah had work there and will stay on longer. I came to enjoy the weekend with her.  We arrived later Friday and passed out in our hotel, the Hoxton, which has a trendy hipster vibe. It was conveniently located for our purposes in southwark, near the Tate. The Hoxton has clean, new, comfortable accommodations that are on the snug side.  The Mother Tongue There is a certain measure of relief that comes when you return from a country that doesn't speak your native tongue to one that does. In Switzerland most people speak English, but I always prepare my crappy German for the unlikely eventuality that someone does not. When entering shops, I think carefully about what I want and how I would ask for that using the most boneheadedly simple grammatical phrase that matches the limitations of my German. Even if the salesperson speaks English, there's a decent chance it's a rough English, so I'll have to simplify...