Thursday, May 31, 2007

saftlade


This cheerful looking take-away stand called Saftlade serves up delicious freshly squeezed fruit juices, sandwiches, as well as a daily vegeterian menu option. I was initially drawn to this place by its brightly-painted facade and the food turned out to be quite good.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

gartensitzplatz


Wouldn't you just love to sit in this lovely garden/patio overlooking the Lindenhof?






Tuesday, May 29, 2007

reithalle bar reflected


Pictured here is the bar of the Restaurant Reithalle, which was originally built as a stable for horses.

Monday, May 28, 2007

violins

I spotted these violins hanging in the window of a music store in the old town. You may have seen this same store here.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

UFO


Alien stencil found on Universitatstrasse.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

quack


Was grilling by the lake when this friendly duck came by to say hello and enjoy some breadcrumbs.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Pier West

The city's lakeside and riverside swimming areas, called "badis," have officially opened for the summer. By night they turn into cool outdoor bars. Pictured here is "Pier West" on the Limmat.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me


Was on my way home and just bumped into a bit of shameless promotion for the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, which is opening everywhere tonight. Not the greatest picture, I know....There were at least two other guys at Central tram stop also dressed up as pirates tonight, but I was unable to get a picture of them.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

lunchtime stroll



I thought I'd try to be all artsy, and was just about to take a picture of these brightly colored table and chairs, well-- just because they're brightly colored, when this gentleman on his after-lunch stroll unwittingly walked right into my shot. I then decided it was a much more interesting picture with him in it.



Tuesday, May 22, 2007

cinderella/o?


I wonder how this person lost his or her sneaker--running to catch the tram, perhaps?

Monday, May 21, 2007

zürich archeology





Another advantage of working in Old Town Zürich near the Grossmünster: walk outside for lunch, and stumble upon an archeological dig--simply amazing. I almost walked right past this scene behind the Grossmünster, thinking that it was yet another one of the many construction sites around town. But then I noticed the small crowd, a TV camera, photographers and radio reporters and thought something was up and had to check it out.
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One of the archeologists was explaining their findings to the journalists, and oh, how I wish I could understand more Swiss German! Two people were kind enough to translate a few things for me, so special thanks to those two, whoever they are...
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Here's a brief summary of what I understood: About three weeks ago, the city started digging a pit near the church in order to install an underground waste disposal bin, when they found a mass grave with human bones--they don't know how many yet, because they don't know how deep the grave is. The archeologists already knew that during the middle ages there used to be a cemetery in the area surrounding the church. Once the cemetery was full, 'bone storage houses' were built in order to store some of the human remains. Some of the skulls and long bones were left on display so that people could continue to mourn the dead. During the Zwingli Protestant Reformation in the early 1500's, these bone houses were destroyed and the bones were dumped in mass graves. The archeologists believe that what they found came from one of the destroyed bone houses (as opposed to the cemetery itself) because there is very little earth in between all remains, indicating that they were dumped, rather than buried one by one. Though the bone houses date back to at least the 15th-16th century, the human remains are probably much older than that, possibly dating back to the 11th or 12th century. I was told that once the archeologists finish excavating the bones, they will be turned over to the 'cemetery services' (??? don't know if there is a name for the city authority that handles human remains & burial services...???) and the remains will be given a proper burial in the presence of a priest.
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Now I feel like I really should: 1) learn more German and 2) take a course on the history of Zürich.








I actually took a bunch more pictures, but am quite busy today. I'll try to post some of the other shots on my 2nd page after I get home--so check back later tonight.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

work in progress


Seen at the Oberer Letten, at a designated legal graffiti/street art spot. You've seen this part of town before here.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

eat your veggies!



A few days ago I had dinner at Tibits, a popular vegetarian buffet-style restaurant in the trendy Seefeld district. The place is always packed and the food there is so tasty that even meat lovers like myself don't miss the meat.



Friday, May 18, 2007

spying...


...on the neighbors across the street from my office again...this window is hardly ever open, and the bright red lampshade and the flowers caught my eye.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

dolls on display

Another interesting window display--at a hair salon, of all places. They're cute, though they have this evil gleam in their eyes...

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

top hat

These days, people just don't wear top hats anymore--except for this girl (oh yeah, and this guy).
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I really think this picture deserves a better caption--so I'm opening this up for ZDP's first 'name that caption' contest. You have until this weekend to come up with something funny...

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

next door neighbor

This kitty belongs to the house next door to our office, but it likes to hang out in our parking lot.

Monday, May 14, 2007

presidential lipo?


When I saw this sign from the tram, I was laughing so hard I had to jump off at the next stop and backtrack up the hill just to get a picture. I don't know what possessed these people to name their cosmetic practice after the home of the U.S. president. I know that business owners around the world have always used American symbols and English words to name their businesses and products, thinking that it'll increase their 'coolness' factor or something. (There is even a hotel downtown called 'Hotel California'). But seriously, lipo & White House??? Just the combination of those two words makes me shudder, especially considering the current resident of the real White House back in Washington D.C.

The building itself has been built to look like the real thing, complete with a faux-neoclassical facade.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

garbage face

Someone decided to liven up this boring old trash can in the park in front of the Museum für Gestalltung. You may have seen this same park on the other Zurich Daily blog. Yup--Richard takes really nice pictures of art, while I take pictures of really random stuff.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

sheep piece


Whenever the weather is nice, little kids use this this lakeside sculpture by Henry Moore called "Sheep Piece," as their own giant jungle gym/slide.

Friday, May 11, 2007

house reflected


A few weeks ago, Z in Villigen posted a series of pictures showing the contrast of the old and the new in and around her village. Here's my version: and older, fancy house seen in the window of a modern apartment building in the pricey, hilly Zuriberg neighborhood.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

art-mobile


Before walking into the Kunsthaus Zürich, look straight up and you'll see this huge mobile hanging outside the musuem's entrance at Heimplatz. No idea who the arist is--will have to look into that. There is a museum cafe with outdoor seating directly below the mobile, and it is somewhat disconcerting to sit underneath it as it sways over your head casting shadows on your table!

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

creative sneaker storage

Found in the garden of one of the fancy houses in the hills. I wonder why the owners decided to keep their sneakers outdoors--perhaps they were smelly?

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

pop quiz - solution


Why, they're interactive, movable benches in Sihlcity, of course! So Dsole in Madrid and Elsa were both correct. But I think Lynn in Cheltenham takes the prize (perhaps a Frigor chocolate bar or two?) for the most creative response, especially because all of her suggestions could probably be applied. When people stand up, the benches pop right back up. So, if a really small person were to sit on the skinny end of the bench next to a larger person, and the larger one suddeny stood up, the small person could potentially be catapulted through the air, as Lynn suggested. You're also free to move the benches around the plaza at the mall entrance, and arrange them however you like--so you could turn it into a puzzle or team-building exercise if you really wanted to, which was another one of Lynn's guesses. Little kids can't get enough of these things--they keep knocking them down and then jumping out of the way when the benches bounce back up, simultaneously offering both exercise opportunities and self-defense training. The possiblities are endless...Apart from providing countless hours of people watching fun, can you think of any other uses for these 'benches'? There are also orange versions of these inside the mall.

Monday, May 7, 2007

pop quiz!


Can you guess what these lime green things are? (in the interest of fairness, Zürich residents can't play...)

Sunday, May 6, 2007

moooooo...

A very Swiss stencil. Found next to a tram stop near my house.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

sihlcity


It rained non-stop pretty much all day, so it was a good excuse to wander over to Sihlcity, Zürich's brand new shoppping/movie/dining/hotel complex that opened to great fanfare about one month ago. It is Zürich's only real 'mall' within the city proper (there are a few other malls in the outskirts). It also has a nightclub, as well as a non-denominational chapel (not quite sure what to think about that). As far as the shopping goes--nothing special. Most of the shops are major chain retailers such as H&M (which is everywhere) Zara, Esprit, etc..that can already be found downtown, a huge electronics store, and a Coop (one of Switzerland's two main grocery chains). Personally, I prefer shopping in the smaller, independent boutiques in the side streets of the Old Town, and some local designer shops in the Kreis 5. For me, the main advantage of Sihlcity is that it's open until 8 pm on Saturdays, when the rest of the city shuts down at 5. But I think I'll mostly be going back to Sihlcity to catch a movie in one of its 9 theatres, and perhaps a quick meal or drink afterwards.

Friday, May 4, 2007

lost models



Yesterday pink, purple today...It turned cold and rainy all of a sudden today, and I spotted this on the wet cobblestones. Looks like someone lost a page from a fashion catalog.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

bleeding hearts

I found these heart-shaped flowers on my street. Because I grew up in a concrete jungle, in a different climate, I had never seen them before and was intrigued. My 10-second google research revealed that they're called 'bleeding hearts,' which to me sounds hopelessly romantic and depressing at the same time. Whoever named these must have been seriously love-struck at the time. To see more of these little pink hearts hanging in neat little rows, go here.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

ups


UPS delivers to Zürich. So would anyone like to send me a care package...?

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

moon reflected

This evening, over the Limmat River.