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 - Spring has mostly arrived. This week was warm (mostly 15-20 Celsius) and sunny. I say "mostly" because winter is not going out quietly: next week, the forecast predicts snow. But generally speaking, the temperatures are up, the sun is out, and the flowers are blooming. People in the streets The spring weather has brought people out of their cramped apartments and onto the streets. Literally. Regular readers may recall from a post I wrote about a year ago that our neighborhood is famous for the cherry blossoms. This draws in a number of blossom-gawkers, some of whom position themselves in the middle of the street in various poses while confused drivers try to navigate there way around them. Today, we saw two girls set up a tripod in a crosswalk and then sit (not stand) in the middle of the street while the phone took photographs. This was not appreciated by the passing Swiss drivers, one of whom even had the temerity to lightly tap his horn (scandal!).  ...

Zurich, Switzerland - In our two winters in Zurich, we've experienced two extremes. Last winter was historically warm and mild, with perhaps one day of snow that didn't stick (to my recollection). In stark contrast, this year has seen record snowfall. On January 14-15, heavy snow blanketed much of Switzerland. In Zurich, we received about a foot of snow in twenty-four hours, which was the most city had seen in fifty years. For H and me, this was surprising, since we sort of imagined the snowfall here would be more like Boston, but apparently the weather is tamer than we thought.  The recent snow storm was significant enough to shut down Zurich's mass transit system, which is remarkable given how much the city prides itself in the system and relies on it. That did not stop intrepid Zurichers from getting around, however. The citizenry was observed getting around by skis , sleds , and bicycles. Regarding the latter, I must say folks here are impressively committed to their tw...