The Neutral Zone

Zurich, Switzerland - In the last two weeks, we've started to get a bit more spring weather (in  between   pockets of cold). Last weekend we took a nice walk by the lake and in the old town, which were predictably teeming with many other people eager to be out in the warm weather. Many of these people were unmasked which is in-keeping with Swiss reluctance to aggressively confront COVID-19. This weekend, we made our way to Schwyz for a hike between the mountains and along a river where we happened to pass a shooting range which was actively in use. Shooting ranges, and guns generally, are common in Switzerland, though the country has very few gun-related homicides. Swiss regulation and management of firearms and coronavirus are an interesting contrast - one seemingly very competent and the other less so.  Hiking in Schwyz First, our hike in Schwyz this weekend. Schwyz is centrally located in Switzerland and it is among the three original cantons of Switzerland. As Swiss t...

Zurich, Switzerland - I hope the title of this post didn't raise your expectations too much, for the truth is somewhat more benign than I might have implied. In case you find yourself disappointed, I spiced things up with some data about COVID vaccinations in Switzerland and Europe, and I give you a run down of our mediocre rental car.  Hiking Under an Orange Sky Today we ventured to Brunni , a small ski town in Obwalden. From there, we made our way up a steep climb to the peak of the Furrgelenstock, which is about 1650m above sea level, and about 600m above Brunni.  I want to pause here to briefly note that "Furrgelenstock" is a deceptively difficult word to remember. Hannah and I (if I'm being honest, mostly Hannah) have been struggling to keep it straight for the last 48 hours. The "r's" seem to translocate themselves to various other interesting places and or disappear altogether, resulting in things like: "Fruigelenstock," and "Fugele...

Zurich, Switzerland - The title of this blog is both literal and figurative. The pandemic has been on a bit of a tear here in Europe. It seems many European countries, Switzerland included, got a little lax over the summer thinking the pandemic was behind them. The Swiss reopened bars, nightclubs , and even some large-scale events . The results were predictably not good, with cases spiking rather drastically in October and November. Tragically and also hilariously, a Swiss yodeling competition that attracted ~600 people was one of several superspreader events this fall. While case counts have settled down a bit recently, they are still about four times higher than they were at their previous peak in March. Indeed, the Swiss seem rather more cavalier with coronavirus than what I understand is happening in the US. Restaurants are routinely packed with customers. People wear masks indoors to shop and on mass transit, but rarely outside, even if city streets are crowded.  All th...