Zurich - KFC Opens at the Airport

Opening Day at the Airport

In Sahl Hasheesh, the opening of a local supermarket was a major event for me. Here in Zurich, it’s the opening of a KFC! Switzerland is way behind Egypt in this respect. In Hurghada alone there are three KFCs; in the whole of Switzerland there was none. For those of you who are unaware, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is my favorite food. I do try not to over-indulge.

Years ago, before I came to Switzerland, I believe, KFC opened up first in Zurich and failed and then again in Geneva and Lausanne and failed. I heard that it failed because it didn’t use Swiss chicken, but I’m not sure of the truth of that rumour.

Anyway, over the last year, they’ve suddenly started to open up branches in Switzerland (using Swiss chicken, I think) where previously there was none. I think the first three went in Geneva, Bern and Zurich, although the Zurich one ended up in Volketswil, which isn’t so easy to get to. Apparently it’s done very well, but I haven’t managed to get there.

However, the big event that I’m talking about – one which will change my life here in Switzerland – was the installation of a KFC in Zurich Airport. That’s just a 6-minute bus ride from where I live. They couldn’t have been kinder to me (my hope of having one in Glattbrugg was unrealistic, even I will admit that).

It opened just a couple of weeks ago and I went there for the opening night – with some trepidation as I heard that in Volketswil there had been large queues. When I got there, the KFC management team were having an apero in a red-carpeted area, while the customers queued at the counters. I did think about sneaking in and gatecrashing to get an apero myself (surely they could have offered their customers a part of the celebrations!), but I noticed that everyone had an official KFC badge.

There were gold balloons up spelling out KFC; there were queues, but actually it wasn’t too bad. I was there as they reached what seemed to be their 1000th customer, but there was no celebration of that, although maybe the numbers weren’t really per customer (you order and pay, then you wait for your number to be called). Or perhaps now KFC being present in Switzerland is just becoming the norm!

A professional photographer was hanging around and I saw him take a photo of someone who seemed to be a Colonel Sanders lookalike standing with two other KFC staff. I was sorely tempted to take a photo myself but they were looking at me watching from the sidelines so I didn’t dare.

I have to say, the chicken was extremely delicious; the best tasting KFC that I’ve had for a while. My 3 box menu came with three sides, so I ended up with large fries and some corn on the cob since I didn’t want coleslaw. Their milkshakes looked tempting, but I couldn’t swap it for my soft drink, but maybe it’s just as well as I guess it would have been a lot of extra calories.

I thought I’d do a cost of living exercise on KFC like they do with McDonalds (comparison of the cost of a burger in various countries). So, I was charged 22 CHF (around 18 GBP!!) for my 3-piece chicken box at the airport; in Egypt this costs me about 95 LE (around 4.50 GBP), and I see in the UK it costs around 5.20 GBP. However, in Egypt, the deal includes 1 extra side vs UK and the chicken is Halal; in Switzerland, the box provides 2 extra sides vs UK, so the three prices are not a direct comparison. But, needless to say, however you look at it, the Swiss version is considerably more expensive. Fortunately, when I’m on a Swiss salary, this isn’t a problem, but might be if I were a mere tourist or if the prices were like that in Egypt. I remember when I used to sit with my Starbucks in the Swissotel in Oerlikon and I’d invariably hear Americans discussing the price of the McDonalds across the road with utter disbelief at how much it cost. That’s Switzerland!

Zurich - 25,000 Page Views

Zurich Festival Lake View - Now My Own Celebration!

I wrote a blog on my blog statistics when I reached 10,000 page views; now that I’ve reached over 25.000 it seems like time for an update.

Before I begin, I’ll just put the provisos that I wrote before – namely, I don’t really trust the statistics and even google says they are not to be expected to be accurate. I think the numbers change over time as hits by bots are deleted from the totals. In any case, the stats across various ways of counting (by country, by day, etc) don’t add up. Still, it’s fun to look. Also, I believe that those who receive my blog by email (and I don’t get to see how many subscribe by email, which is a shame, but could also be depressing if I had a sudden exodus) are not included in the totals.

What’s been most noticeable just looking at it casually each week as I update my blog was a sudden increase in (alleged) readers from Germany. Having not featured previously as a prominent country at 10,000 views, this time it’s at the top of my readership. Not only that, there are almost twice as many German readers as any other country. I can’t really understand why this should be, and the hits are so many, I am frankly suspicious that there’s some mega-bot in Germany that’s managed to foil Google’s bot-detector. Huge apologies if there are lots of you reading my blog in Germany – I’m very flattered if it is true and do keep reading! I’m just a bit stunned.

After Germany, there’s the UK and Switzerland, numbers of readers halving each time, and then the totals start to level out as Russia comes fourth, quite close in numbers to Switzerland. Egypt slips in at 9th.

To my surprise, it’s more recent posts in 2018 and 2019 that have been read more than the earlier posts (which have been up longer and therefore had more chance of being read). I’m not sure why this is and I can only think it is tied in with the sudden influx of readers from Germany.

There are only 41 extra hits between the most-read post (El Andalous – Dangers of Swimming (4th Feb 2019)) and the 10th most-read (El Andalous – My Mohammed is Different (10th Dec, 2018)). In fact, three of the most-read blogs have the word “swimming” in the title (Zurich – End of Swimming Lessons and El Andalous – Swimming Frustrations were the other two); ‘swimming’ doesn’t appear as a search term, though. I’m quite pleased that these blogs seem to be relatively popular because sometimes I wonder if this is more of a swimming blog than anything else, but at least my obsession doesn’t seem to stop people from reading.

Two of the most-read blogs were about my holidays (Colonia San Jordi and St Petersburg); again, I could quite happily think that these were more popular due to searches on the internet by those seeking holidays in these destinations but, again, these did not feature as search terms leading to the blog (in fact, no search terms other than the obvious [eg, “searching the dream”] were listed).

I don’t think there’s been much change in browsers used (Chrome is the most popular with 55%, followed by Safari (18%), Internet Explorer (15%), and FireFox (6%)). Similarly, operating systems used were predominantly Windows (71%), IPhone (11%), Macintosh (7%), and iPad (4%). Personally, I’m pleased to see that Chrome and Windows feature highly as it might encourage sports watch manufacturers to continue making platforms that can be used via a laptop rather than just via a mobile phone (which seems to be an increasing trend).

So, that’s how things stand as of 25,000 page views. Thank you everyone for reading.

Zurich - Zueri Faescht

ZuriFest - wandering chicken, Peruvian food, brass band, flags, traditional band, air display, fair

Zurich is a great place to live as there are always festivals on somewhere, not to mention the lake, the museums, the cinema, the theatre…

But every three years the Zueri Faescht (Swiss German for Zurich Festival) takes place; it’s the biggest festival in Switzerland and it happened last weekend. It lasts three days and the whole area around the lake becomes taken over by fairground rides, food stalls, street vendors, musicians playing, etc. In the evening, fireworks light up the sky and, for the first time this year, a lighted drone display was also shown.

I’m not a fan of big crowds, so my intention had been to stay away. However, Badi Enge was still open despite the festivities, so I went for my swim in the lake. It turned out to be most entertaining. I saw a helicopter display as they manoeuvred across the sky, going backwards, forwards, hovering, coming down vertically.

At another point, I watched a display of planes circling in the sky, crossing over, flying in formation. And I didn’t even have to be among the crowds. In the background, I could hear the music from a nearby stand, which formed a great festive background as I sat in the sun and dried off after my swim. Some ducks had come up and made themselves comfortable on the bathing platform, so I wondered what they thought of it all; somehow they managed to sleep.

I’d intended to go straight home after my swim, but actually I got totally sidetracked looking at everything, since I had to walk past it all anyway. There was a series of tents advertising holidays in Germany, another tent for Swiss Air, a stall providing make up for children, plus a whole host of food stalls from around the world. The Australian burger stall was very popular, but I ended up having a Peruvian dish of beef strips in tomato, sweet pepper, chips, and spices – partly because there was no queue and partly because it was something different.

I popped in and listened to a brass band playing in a tent, then, as I moved onwards, there was a group offering more modern music from on top of one of the other stands. Just a bit further along, some men were performing traditional Swiss music. There was something there for everyone.

Free gifts were given out (I missed them, but sunglasses were apparently on offer). It was strange to see all the streets, usually so busy with traffic and trams, now taken over by the people. The crowds weren’t as horrific as I thought they would be, possibly because there was just so much of it that there was no need for everyone to be in just one place.

Fairground rides were dotted all over the place and, of course, the stalls that go with them (candy floss, hook the duck, etc). The atmosphere was relaxed and happy.

At the edge of the lake, they gave a demonstration of a helicopter rescue display.

I didn’t go in for the evening fireworks, which I hear lasted an hour and were repeated each day on several occasions and were a sight to behold. I almost wish I’d gone in, but I didn’t feel like being among so many people. The drones were a novelty, providing a different display at night.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed what I did see and am glad that I took part in my own little way.

Zurich - Lake Crossing Swim

Go, go, go!

During the summer months, there are various organized events where you can swim across the lake (Lake Zurich). There’s even one that’s for swimming the length (rather than width) of the lake and is the distance of a marathon. Believe it or not, each year the marathon swim is booked out; I looked at the criteria for selection, and it’s in order of how many times you’ve not managed to get a ticket before, so those who have applied four times and never got entry have priority over those who have been rejected only once before. It’s a whole different world from me and my swimming!

Anyway, the main popular lake crossing swim is just 1.5km and is hugely popular. Numbers are limited to 9000 people; it used to be unlimited with over 10,000 people taking part and starting the swim whenever they liked, but recently they’ve changed it and now you have to apply for a specific starting time as well.

There are usually three prespecified dates - two in July and one in August. The swim only takes place on one of these dates, but the lake has to be warm enough (21 degrees in the middle; it used to be 19 degrees, if I recall correctly) and there have to be no storms, so there are three chances each year that it can take place.

This year conditions were good on the first available date – I can’t remember when this last happened. My memory is that it almost always ends up taking place in August. If all dates are bad for some reason, then it’s cancelled for that year.

This is Switzerland, so it’s very well organized. You check in with your ticket and then get a swimming cap and a luggage tag with your number on it. You attach your tag to your bag and then leave it in your allocated luggage group. Wearing the swimming cap is compulsory.

They transport the luggage across the lake while you swim. Each group starts on a countdown at their allocated time. It’s a bit of a free-for-all at first as everyone jostles for space in the water, but after a while it settles down. Fast swimmers used to have their own lane, but that’s not provided any more.

The route is marked out with buoys. Boats are positioned at regular intervals to pick up anyone who needs to give up or is injured or becomes unwell, etc. You aren’t allowed to use swimming aids. It’s a fun swim and not a competition, so you aren’t officially timed and there’s no ranking.

I’ve done it before, but only using breast stroke; this year I was trying it for the first time using crawl. I felt a bit nervous and unsure of myself, but it turned out that I did it easily and without even feeling tired at the end. At the beginning I panicked that the stress of all the people around me would use up all my energy, but that soon dissipated. The water was a wonderful 25 degrees, so it was absolutely perfect. I had no problem getting in the water at all.

On arriving at the other end, you get a cup of soup (you keep the cup, which is branded with the swimming year; it used to be glass but now it’s plastic) and the luggage is set out in numbered groupings on the grass. You change in one of the tents. To get out of the area, you have to show your swimming cap and your luggage tag, the numbers on which have to match in order for you to be allowed to exit. The luggage tag then serves as a food token that entitles you to some risotto and a bottle of water. See what I mean – super organization!

It really was a fabulous swim this year; I was proud of myself that I found it so easy and am now looking for a longer swim later in the summer, either across Lake Zurich or some other lake in Switzerland. I will miss this when I leave!

Zurich - Doh!

At Least the Bee had Success

I had one of those days this week where my brain just never seems to get into gear. I don’t really know why this happens every now and then, but it does, and I’m sure (well, maybe “I hope” is more accurate than “I’m sure”) it’s not just me who experiences this.

Friday was supposed to be a good day. It’s Friday, after all. I woke up at a reasonable time (maybe that was the mistake?) in contrast to the rest of the week where I’ve struggled to get up before 10am. So that should have augured well.

I put on my laptop at home first so that I could do my timesheet for the middle company. That was where it started to go wrong. I’d taken a spontaneous extra day’s holiday for my trip to London and I’d forgotten to put it on my timesheet, so I needed to log an extra holiday day this week to compensate and ensure that I was putting down all the holiday I’d taken. I got myself a bit confused, so I did it, then decided it was wrong and re-did it.

The weather was beautiful, so after that I went to work early, thinking I could finish earlier and spend the afternoon by the pool. As I sat and worked, including filling out my contracting company’s timesheet (another timesheet that I have to do), it suddenly dawned on me that actually I’d done my other timesheet wrong as I’d claimed the wrong day as holiday (it matters, because I do 4 hours on Fridays, and 5 hours on Mondays). So, when I’d “corrected” it earlier, I’d actually introduced error. How can I be so stupid.

I emailed my manager to let him know to reject my timesheet and I’d do it again later in the day from home (where my other laptop was). I needed to comfort eat, so I went in the kitchen and got the melon that I had in the fridge. I carefully scraped all the seeds into the bin, but made a bit of a mess of it because the hole at the top of the bin was so small. I could see the cleaner watching me and I began to feel a bit embarrassed about being so messy.

Some time later, when I returned to throw some other rubbish away and realized that there was ample room to fit the rubbish in, it dawned on me that I’d put the melon seeds into the bin reserved for paper only. Doh. No wonder the cleaner had stared at me like she did.

It wasn’t my day and I felt like giving up. I’d had lunch planned with Candice, so I thought I may as well get going early. It was at this point that I suddenly realized that I’d left my purse at home. The additional problem here is that the purse also contains my travel card. It’s psychologically fine when you travel without a ticket when you’re ignorant of it, but once you realize you don’t have one, it’s really stressful. I felt it would be just my luck to be caught by an inspector (they come in plain clothes on random inspections; 90% of the time you don’t get controlled, but sometimes you do), but I had no other option but to travel home on the bus without a ticket in order to get my purse. I studied every single person getting on to see if they looked like someone who could possibly be an inspector.

Fortunately, I wasn’t caught, and I got my purse OK. I had a good lunch with Candice and then went swimming afterwards. For some reason, even though the weather was beautiful and the pool wasn’t horribly crowded, I just wasn’t in the mood, so I gave up early, which really isn’t like me. The bus came almost immediately and I set off home.

Just before I reached my final stop, I suddenly realized that I’d left my purse in the locker at the pool. Really? Can you believe it? Twice in one day. Once again, I had to get on a bus without a ticket and hope that I wouldn’t be caught (and fortunately I wasn’t). What a lot of stress for a Friday.

Of course, my purse also contained my card to get into the swimming pool, so I had to queue and then explain what had happened to the guy at the desk so that I could re-enter; I had the locker key still on my arm, so at least he could see I was telling the truth.

I got back home, re-did my timesheet, then checked if I was behind on any of my SOPs. I saw that one was overdue and started doing it, only to realize later that actually it was due at the end of July and not the end of June. Similarly, I’d been struggling to get the form completed for terminating my employment (which includes making pension and insurance arrangements) on time for the last working day of the month, when I re-read the email I’d received and it was asking for it by my last working day, not the last working day of this month. Grrr.

Finally, it was the weekend, I put some chicken in to cook and sat down in front of the TV. After some time, I became aware of a loud sizzling and I realized that I’d totally forgotten that I was cooking my supper. The kitchen was full of smoke. I opened the door and the windows, my eyes watered and smoke billowed out. The bottom of the pan was black, as was the bottom of the chicken. A smell of burnt food pervaded the room. Fortunately, I wasn’t massively hungry, so I salvaged what I could (which didn’t taste very nice; even the meat tasted smoked) and just ate that. It wasn’t quite what I’d planned.

To top it all, when I looked at my share account later that evening, I discovered that they’d re-classified some of my shares in one company as a “worthless liquidation” for no apparent reason. Working hours were over and there was nothing I could do about it until the following week. At least this last one wasn’t my fault (I hope).

At that point, I went to bed.

I really hate days like this!