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.