Summer in zee City

Remember how June started with below-freezing temperatures in Zurich? I miss that. I really do. As far as I am concerned, we could skip the rest of summer and go straight to ski season right now. But, alas, I don’t control the seasons (at least not yet), so I continue to suffer along in heat … Read more

A Day in Basel

To further my goal of getting to know every corner of Switzerland, I recently rounded up a few friends and took a day trip to Basel, which is about an hour away from Zurich by train (as I’ve said before – one of the big benefits of living in Zurich is all of the cool … Read more

Zurich’s more colorful side

For anyone who’s a bit bored with Zurich’s uniform cleanliness, peace, and order, a stroll down Langstrasse could be just what you need. Although still uncharacteristically clean for a street half-filled with head shops, dollar stores, and strip clubs, this neighborhood feels completely different from the city center, so much so that you may forget … Read more

I love love love Berlin

We spent Easter weekend in Berlin with Kesha and her giant husband (who, by the way, looked quite reasonably-sized among the Germans). I lived in Berlin for the summer of 1997, and hadn’t been back to the city since 1999, so I was eager to revisit my favorite parts and see how the place had … Read more

In search of a decent margarita

Ah, the age of globalization. It means you can get peanut butter in Berlin, Dunkin Donuts in Prague, and fresh mozzarella in Chattanooga, Tennessee. So you’d think it wouldn’t be asking too much to expect to be able to enjoy a decent margarita in the extremely international city of Zurich. I know there are Mexicans … Read more

Worst idea for a bar ever. (Or so I thought.)

Are you one of the millions of people who fly just for the privilege of squishing your body into a tiny and inappropriate space for hours on end? And have you often wondered where you could get that seatback-in-the-upright-and-locked-position feeling without having to actually leave your hometown? Me, too! That’s why I dragged a friend … Read more