Work, work, work....

I'm going to break my rules again - hey, I made them up! - and so write a single post for today and yesterday.  That's because today I attended an important software conference where my friend Phillip gave a talk, and yesterday I spent much of the day with helping him to prepare it.  Therefore, I don't have a lot to relate for this blog, except that the talk was well-received and we made some very interesting contacts.  One of these was from New York, and I'll be following up when I return home.

The Zurich Kunsthaus

The Zurich Kunsthaus has always been a favorite of mine.  The intimate classical style of the buildings reminds me of the good old Chicago Art Institute of the 1960s and 1970s, where I spent a good deal of time in my formative years.



This style works perfectly for 'modern' art - that stuff that is now about 100 years old :-). Since then, however, art has become a much bigger business, and, in particular, there is a trend in 'contemporary' art towards ever-bigger 'installation' pieces that don't fit so well into those kind of spaces.  Ditto for the 'blockbuster' traveling shows that every major museum is now obligated to show.

One can certainly decry these trends, but that certainly won't make them go away. So, the Kunsthaus is now poised (pending an upcoming spending referendum) to go down the road of so many museums and build a huge (by Swiss standards) expansion building that will allow.  Fortunately, the design does not impinge directly on the existing buildings other than allow for a creative rearrangement of the collections.  It will certainly provide a lot more room and state-of-the-art facilities for what is the pre-eminent art institution in a very art-conscious town. You can read more about it here.



With all this in mind, today we went to the Kunsthaus to see for ourselves the plans and dreams associated with the new expansion building.  As part of its drive to get the upcoming referendum passes, the Kunsthaus itself has created a rather extensive exhibit (within the existing visit) that tries to help you visualize what the 'user experience' will be in the new building.  To make this more impressive, the Kunsthaus has included some of its existing iconic pieces, and also borrowed a number of additional 'blockbuster' pieces from other Swiss art museums and private collectors.  This certainly made for a pleasant afternoon.

Afterwards, we headed off to Zurich's (relatively) new Markthalle in the new 'Viadukt' shopping area.  This development cleverly turns an old railway viaduct into a giant shopping mall, attractively framing the various shops under the viaduct arches.





We went to the Markthalle again primarily to meet up with our friend Christian and his girlfriend Ozlem.  We know Christian from our last visit to Zurich, when we stayed for two months in an apartment in the University area.  Christian lived upstairs and befriended us.  Since then, he has had some bad breaks, including falling down a flight of stairs, which resulted in his being seriously laid-up with injuries for six months or so.  He's recovering pretty well now, and his new relationship with Ozlem, now about 6 months old, seems to be doing him a world of good.  No wonder - Ozlem is a charming and very intelligent young lady with a doctorate in architecture. We enjoyed seeing them - and meeting her - a lot.

Our favorite sport - window shopping!

A week has passed since Lynnie and I went to Burliplatz fleamarket, right across from the lake in downtown Zurich, one of her favorites.  If you recall, last week I got sick and we had to go home early - fortunately nothing serious. So this week we went back so Lynnie could get her fill.  After an hour or two, Lynnie was ready for our next adventure, which was an art fair, Art International, that is going on this weekend very close to Burliplatz.  You can see much better pictures than I was able to take on their website.

Afterwards we went home for lunch and a nap, and then headed out again to wander around more of our old haunts in downtown.  We especially love to windowshop, whether its pastries or hats or teddy bears :-) :

The day after ,,,,,

Lynnie returned from returned from Florence yesterday, full of ideas for conquering Zurich this weekend.  We already have tickets for Art International Zurich, a relatively small but prestigious art fair going on all weekend in downtown Zurich just off the lake.  However, since it was raining again today, I suggested we go instead to the Hurlimann Spa.

I spent last Sunday at the spa after Lynnie left for Florence, so she hadn't been there yet.  Also, on Sunday it is typically jammed with families and young couples.  I enjoyed it anyway, but a Friday morning seemed a bit more promising.  Finally, I wanted to try the Irish-Roman Ritual, a special add-on that sounded interesting.

Unfortunately, we slept in more than planned (although Lynnie probably really needed it), so there was already a waiting list for the Irish-Roman Ritual by the time we got there, about 11a.  Furthermore, since the Ritual included towels and bathrobes, I hadn't brought anything like that along.  So, we ended up renting two towels and just doing the normal spa.

It was fun anyway.  Lynnie tried out - and liked - all the various bathing basins, plus we spent time in their very nice steam room, which I hadn't tried before.  We even decided to take a break and get a snack in the on-site cafe, before plunging back for a finale in the pool.

By the time we got out, the weather was starting to improve, and we considered another excursion into the city.  But the spa experience tends to make one rather sleepy, so our afternoon was spent napping instead, leaving me little to report, but far more rested as a result :-). Good thing, too, as our friends Florian and Bea invited us to their apartment for dinner, a very pleasant event that lasted nearly until midnight.

Homecoming for Lynnie

Lynnie's back in Zurich!  She had a slightly harrowing trip back from Florence via Milano.  The part from Florence to Milano was fine.  But the train from Milano was mobbed, and also required some kind of train change at the border in Chiasso, which was not on the schedule.  Everyone had to go through a narrow chute into Swiss customs, but nobody was apparently stopped.  The net effect was a delay of an hour, while I waited patiently for her at the Zurich Hauptbahnhof (main station).

She was tired but otherwise no worse for the unexpected wear and tear of the crazy train ride.  She had a great few days exploring Florence, and also catching up with her old friend Sean, an NYU professor who is currently on assignment there.  She'll fill me in some more tomorrow after a night of good Swiss sleep. :-)

Otherwise today was another long and very productive work day, with meetings starting at 9a and ending at 7pm.  Somehow I'm starting to get used to this pace, which I found a little off-putting during my first week here.  It also helped that the weather cleared, so I could finally see the sun and get in some walking.

Should be some more exciting stuff to report this weekend.  Ciao for now - need to spend some quality time with Lynnie.

Taking the tram

Normally I've been walking to work, a pleasant hike of about 20 minutes.  However, it was raining so hard this morning that I was almost tempted not to go to the office.  Then, at just the right time, the rain slackened a bit, so I trudged off the office after all.  But, given the continuing rain, I took the #9 tram instead:

I love the trams here, and also the buses and trains.  In fact, the public transport system in Zurich - and indeed across Switzerland - is pretty much without equal.  Besides being modern, clean, fast, frequent, ubiquitous and phenomenally on-time, it's also unbelievably cheap.  That's because anyone can by a monthly city (Zone 10) pass for less than $100 - just $3/day to use as much of the system as often as you like.  That's particularly great for me, because I use it extensively to explore all the nooks and crannies of the city.  Here's a picture of my closest and most constant companion in Zurich, my Zone 10 Netzpass:

With my Netzpass in hand, there are no end such nooks and crannies to explore, and that's without leaving Zurich! :-)  A whole other world awaits those willing to take in a few more transport zones.  In fact, if you are willing to forego traveling before 9a on weekdays, you can get a monthly pass -  for the same price as Zone 10 alone - that covers a very big extended area.  This even covers most of Lake Zurich, including the many public ferries that regularly ply its waters, stopping at any number of cute lakeside villages along the way.  On a nice day, with Netzpass in pocket, it is completely free to take a cruise across about 2/3rds of the lake - the whole lake with a moderately priced additional zone extension.  You can also head up to the Uetliberg, Zurich's highest peak, for a breathtaking view of the city and the lake and, in the other direction, into the surrounding fields and forests. 

Moreover, for shorter stays in Zurich, a similar pass is available for one, two or three days, and also includes admission to many museums and other attractions.  The three-day version is just $30, a fantastic bargain.  This certainly doesn't jibe with most people's perception that Zurich is an expensive place to visit.  In fact, a lot of things are this way - that is, the 'list price' is high, but those in the know can get great bargains.  That's one of the reasons I keep coming back to this wonderful place.

Anyway, after a day at work, I also took the tram back home. Once I got home, my friend Christophe informed me that some mail had arrived for Lynnie at his address. Once again, I got to exploit my Netzpass, grabbing the tram across town to Christophe's office, and then back again to the apartment. Quick, easy, and no tickets to buy.

By the way, the whole thing works on the honor system or, as the Swiss call it 'Selbstkontrol' - literally self-control.  That is, you are responsible for making sure you have a valid pass or ticket when you take public transport.  The transit authority then makes spot checks, and levies high fines (minimum $100) if you are caught without a ticket/pass.  Repeat offenders get worse fines and potentially jail-time.  It seems to work, and it means that you just get on and off anywhere or anytime you please without having to go through turnstiles.  And, if you have a pass, you never even have to buy a ticket. What a great system!

Well, tomorrow Lynnie returns, and life gets back to 'normal', whatever that is :-)

Working 'round the clock

I certainly didn't intend to do so, but today I truly ended up working all day.  It was a very dreary weather day as well, raining most of the day, and Lynnie has been away in Florence, so maybe working wasn't such a bad idea.  Here's my Impressionist photo of dreary, rainy Zurich through my front window:

The problem with working all day is that it doesn't leave me much else to report.  After some tool training in the morning, I went to lunch with Marc and Maxi, which we spent discussing business strategy.  Then I went home to work so more.  About 4pm, I got a call from Philipp telling me he wanted to get together for an early dinner.  So, I rushed around to clean up the apartment and prepare a nice repast, but Philipp ended up getting delayed for more than three hours!  By the time he arrived it was after 8pm and I was almost falling asleep.  However, I revived enough to spend another two hours chatting about business while we chowed down on my dinner of salad and chicken stew.  Actually, it turned out to be a very nice way to end the day.

One final note: Lynnie has decided definitely to return on Thursday evening - yeah!!  I've missed her a lot, although I'm glad she got to enjoy Florence, and especially the much better weather she's been having there.....