Zürich, maybe transport is key

We have now been in Zürich for two months. So maybe I can say that I am getting a feel for the city. We will be here til mid summer, so my thoughts and feelings are sure to change.

A few observations:

OK, lets get to the meat of the situation. Zürich is boring.

Now that we are past that, what is going on here? A city of half-million. Situated on a large natural lake on the Limmats river which is the drain from the lake (fed by snowmelt) this seems somehow unique to me, but all old europe cities had to have some sort of water reason for being, I guess.

Dead smack in the center of Europe, but not a part of the EU. Seperate currency completely surrounded by the EU. The trains here go everywhere. I guess the planes go everywhere, but I have yet to leave by air, so I don't know yet.

Seems to be a population boom going on here. Little fuckers everywhere. And it is not just because I have a little fucker of my own. There are a lot of em here. Not sure the demographic reasons at this time, but my unscientific poll tells me that the Zürichers are feeling comfortable enough about their lives to have a population positive amount of screamers to bundle up and trundle out into the snow.

My wife, Jill, is studying at the major technical university here. Lots of foreigners, and they all seem to be hustling for some angle to stay. Many of them, it seems, are being actively tossed out by the very effecient swiss border patrol, or whatever long german word that department is. Why? Why do they want to stay so?

The weather sucks. Day after day of grey, snow mixed with rain. The valley that defines Zürich also creates a very low ceiling. Mitigates the worst of winter, but seriously socks you into the grey. For many of the same reasons, plus being in the center of industrialized Europe, the air quality is nothing to write home about either.

Maybe it is because the public transit system is to die for.

When I first got here, I looked at the transit map: http://www.zvv.ch/fahrplan_liniennetzplan1.asp

And saw noodles. A complex difficult system. Now that I have been here, I see that it is an insanely dense system built on an old, old plan that can get you around town with staggering swiftness.

Ok, whatever you say, how does this affect you in your everyday life. so this is a quick description of an afternoon of a Hausmann:

I take my daughter to Kinderkrippe. I step out of the house at 1:40pm. I walk 7 minutes to Bucheggplatz. Wait 4 minutes and catch the 69 to Milchbuch, I am lucky, this bus is the bomb, it is the latest by Neoplan http://www.man-mn.de/en/Coaches/ProductsSolutions/City_buses/Lions_City/Entry.jsp
and now that I traveling with this kid carriage called a stroller, three steps into a bus are a total pain in the ass. This new bus rocks. Boom and boom, I am into or out of the bus in a flash. The bus makes a 3 minute trip to Milchbuch, and I walk a path to the kinderkrippe.

5 more minutes, and I am free, drop the kid off at the kinderkrippe, and away I go.

I am back to catch either the 72 or the 69 back to bucheggplatz. I go back to the crib. Take care of laundry, and email, go shopping right down the street and come back with nearly 200chf of stuff. It is the xmas season, so I am gonna buy some food. On the way, I recycle three colors of glass and a few PET bottles, all conviently located near the the bus stop.

So now it is 4:50pm. I have to pick up Sofia at or before 5:55 or there is hell to pay at Swiss daycare. I don't know what exactly would happen, but my knees tremble at the thought of being there after 5:55. The Swiss have no problem telling you when you fuck up. Reticence to bitch doesn't seem to be a part of the culture.

So I take a chance. Leave the flat, walk two blocks, catch the 46 to a totally different part of town, boom, go to a wine merchant and buy a case of wine that I know is good. On the way there, see a bike shop and stop in to buy a bottle of oil... lose 4 minutes. Now it is 5:13. Catch the 46 back, when I am back at the Bahnhof Wipkingin, stop in at the local store to get some plants. Hustle up the street and drop the wine and plants in the laundry room to avoid the three story climb to the flat. Now it is 5:32

Walk back to Bucheggplatz, hop on the 69 and I am back to pick up Sofia by 5:50pm.

Zürich rocks. In less than an hour I moved all over town, took care of all kinds of stuff and did not piss off the kinderkrippe.

Maybe transport is one of the keys to civilized life. In addition, I have lost nearly 10kilos in the past two months.