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Our street is famous!

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 intersected first by Zurlindenstrasse and next by Zentralstrasse both of which have stunning white blossoms. 

Of course, this means our street attracts a large number of Instagrammers in the early spring. The best shots are taken from the middle of the street, where the two parallel rows of trees flanking either side of the street fade into the background and provide lovely symmetry and perspective. Unfortunately, cars and cyclists are also trying to use the street at the same time to, you know, go places. This can sometimes lead to chaotic scenes as our intrepid social media photographers dart out into the middle of the street, quickly strike a pose - typically, looking tranquil and serene as the peer upward at the blossoms through the dappled sunlight trickling through the trees - and then dart out of the way to avoid being run down by a truck zipping by.









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