Zurich - The Good Life

Bauschaenzli Opens for Summer 2015!

The first few days back, although filled with some admin, were nevertheless like a holiday. My good luck continued and the weather remained warm and sunny. Even the Bauschaenzli , a seasonal open-air casual restaurant, which occasionally has a band playing traditional oom-pah-pah type German music, opened the day I arrived. I like it for its chicken and chips and the wonderful view, so I sat and had my meal while watching with some fascination at a pair of swans mating (I’ve seen it before, the male holds the female’s head underwater while it’s all happening, Maybe that’s too much information).

The river boats were now operating again – summer must be approaching! – so I had a ride on one of them. Again, I was lucky, as I got the last seat. Zurich moves on even when I’m not there, so there were a lot of works and a temporary bridge over the road by Buerkliplatz – some major works on the tram lines, I read.

I registered with the gym near my home and my workplace. What can I say? It was amazing. Plenty of space, sparkling clean, loads of equipment. It has a large spa pool at 32 degrees with little massage jets (so I’ve been told, I haven’t actually managed to fathom out how they work), and bubbly resting places for you just to lie in the water.

The women’s spa zone is beautifully designed; the sauna has a hint of forest in it with three fake tree trunks rising up (maybe covering pipes?). There are two huge areas with hammocks and beds for relaxing, and a samovar for tea.

What most impressed me was the way it was so well designed. There’s a little lobby before you go into the spa, so there’s no chance of anyone unintentionally seeing you naked while you are in the spa area. The steam room has little mats sitting in detergent for you to take (there’s a hose for you to wash away the soap), so you don’t have to sit where someone else has just had their sweaty bum. Staff walk round the gym at regular intervals to monitor which pieces of equipment are used, presumably so that they can change the proportions if some machines are used more than others. Everything was spotless and cleaned regularly. Sterile wipes were there for everyone to clean their machine afterwards. There’s a water fountain for you to refill your bottle.

After Egypt, where things aren’t always quite thought through, and where sometimes cleanliness is not fully understood, the gym was like a new world to me.

The supermarket below was also remarkably spacious. I was somehow impressed and fascinated by the clean glass doors, floor to ceiling, for the cooling cabinets. The fruit and vegetables all looked perfect. Meat was packaged in various cuts and laid out nicely. And there were loads of discounted Swiss chocolate Easter bunnies absolutely everywhere. Heaven.

I’m not really sure why I’m quite so intrigued by the supermarkets on my return to Switzerland. Spinneys is brilliant, it has a good choice, I have no complaints about the meats or the variety (given that there is no pork, of course). Of course, there’s no alcohol in Egyptian supermarkets, so I admit that part of my fascination was with the alcohol sections at Denner and Coop – I couldn’t resist buying a 37.5 cl bottle of Gewuerztraminer and a 0.5 l bottle of Fendant.

I’ve never ever noticed Spinney’s being dirty despite the birds flying about in the shop, but maybe it made an impact subconsciously.

I keep on thinking prices are cheap because the denominations in Swiss francs are small compared to the Egyptian pound (where 11 EGP equals 1 GBP), so I need to get my head round that. I’m constantly surprised at how much money I’m spending when I feel the prices are low. Big mistake!

Having said that, a 2.29 GBP packet of Shreddies costs 55 EGP in Spinneys, so imported items in Egypt are expensive. Perhaps my fascination is with the fact that I can now buy branded items at a relatively fair price for a change.

Now I’ve been in Egypt for quite some time, I find myself stopping to stare whenever I see a particularly posh car or a car that I don’t think I’ve seen before. The number of expensive cars wasn’t something I’d noticed particularly when I moved to Switzerland before, although several people told me it was something that struck them when they first arrived in Zurich.

I’ve also been surprised at how many cars now have their lights on during the day; given that it can still be hard in Egypt to get drivers to use their lights even at night. Also, this time round, I’m much more conscious of the wealth that’s on display, whether it’s the cars, people’s clothes, the shops, the transport system, the general cleanliness, or even the prevalent sense of well-being.

Last time, when I moved from the UK, I was struck by how thin the Swiss were (or maybe I should say by Switzerland’s lack of an obvious obesity problem). This didn’t hit me so much this time, because the Egyptians are a thin race as well, although I did bring it up at our Friday cakes session at work, when we discussed diet and the gym.

Although I’m not so much of a big shopper, I’m hopelessly fascinated by all the stores. I wander in and out of them, looking at all their wares, and I feel completely absorbed. I tried to work out why this was, and I think it’s because it’s all so easy. You just walk down the road and there is nice shop after nice shop, all with beautifully-presented windows.

In Egypt, the good shops are miles apart, so you have to walk for ages along a road of sand under the heat of the sun to get from one to the other. For the most part, shops have their items stacked any old how, you can’t really browse in a shop for fear of getting the shopkeeper’s hopes up, the roads are dirty and the pavements steep, and you take your life in your hands if you want to cross the road in Hurghada. I always think twice about whether I really need to go across to the other side. I’m sure all this has an effect on my shopping habits.

In some ways, coming to Switzerland felt like entering an entirely different world. And I suppose, in some ways, it is.