The Neutral Zone

Zurich, Switzerland - After over a week straight of phenomenal weather, I'm prepared to say that spring is here. The weather here has been a balmy 20ish degrees (Celsius). The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. The flowers are blooming and the trees are verdant. It is gorgeous! And that's a problem: Social distancing works well in crappy weather, and not so well in great weather. Hannah and I have observed people venturing out and hanging out more and more. We see folks picnicking and barbecuing by the rivers, enjoying wine in the plazas, playing basketball and soccer in the school yards. And when we go to the grocery store, there's a group of rotund older gentlemen hanging out on the benches, throwing back cheap Swiss beers, pontificating and gesticulating. Most folks are trying to keep modestly apart - no one shaking hands or sitting right up against the person next to them - but their guard is clearly down. I can't say H and I are immune from the spring flin...

Zurich, Switzerland - Switzerland is home to a remarkable number of enclaves and exclaves. The mountainous territory has left various peoples stranded from their cultural mainland and these folk are, by nature, independently minded and unwilling to assimilate. Switzerland, to its credit, has accommodated the nationalist and sub-nationalist predilections of these groups by creating various bizarre geographic carve-outs for them. Below are some examples. Büsingen am Hochrhein Büsingen am Hochrhein  (population: 1,450) is a German town surrounded entirely by Switzerland. According to Wikipedia, it has, since the early 19th century, been separated from the rest of Germany by the Swiss village of Dörflingen - at its shortest, a distance of approximately 680 meters. Going back several centuries, the town was historically part of Austria. Austria stubbornly held onto it even after selling the nearby villages of Dörflingen and Ramsen to Zurich in 1770. After the congress of Vi...

Zurich, Switzerland - Hiking is one of the few outdoor activities you can do in the time of coronavirus while being compliant with social distancing. So, on a recent weekend, H and I hiked up the Uetliberg. The Uetliberg is a mountain that rises up on the west side of Zurich and provides panoramic views of Zurich, lake Zurich, and the municipalities in the neighboring valley.  This being Switzerland, the mountain is very accessible and accommodates a variety of activities. There are numerous walking paths providing access to the summit, as well as a train (the  Uetlibergbahn ) . The mountain includes a variety of water fountains and camping stops for barbecuing sausages and the like. There is a downhill  mountain bike track  and in the winter, the hiking trails are converted into  sledding runs . At the top, you'll find the  Uto Kulm , a four-star hotel and restaurant. Sadly, H and I didn't get a chance to step inside the Uto Kulm because it's closed due ...

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. ...