She seeks a balance between urban and rural. And picks the best of both.

This week’s story is about living in Switzerland.

ONE DAY, FOUR SEASONS

I think they would be in the top 3, the seasons. If the Swiss had to list what they missed the most after a long stay abroad. It’s pretty cool that we have spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And we experience the whole range here: from frozen toes to sunburn. Spread over the year, I think it’s a great thing. For my taste, however, it shouldn’t be the case that we experience all the seasons in one day, as we do at the moment. I get confused every morning. T-shirt or sweater? a jacket or not? High or low socks? Umbrella, sunglasses, both?? Most of the time I leave the house in the morning fully dressed. But what is right at 8 a.m. can be completely wrong at 11 a.m. Of course, I know the onion principle; put on as many layers as possible, which you can then get rid of one after the other. However, after peeling, you throw the onion skins in the compost. I carry my jacket around with me for hours afterward. One can no longer rely on anything; neither on the weather report nor on the wealth of experience from the previous day. It was cloudless yesterday, 20 degrees, and you were sitting on the terrace in your t-shirt? Nice for you, but today Petrus blessed us with Rain and Hail. For the past 30 days, I’ve left the house in both a winter coat and a tank top. I’ve been undressed, dressed, sweaty, and frozen. It was raining, it was blinding, it was hailing, it was burning, and it was windy. I know we have to be flexible. Digitization, pandemic, climate change, we have to adapt, again and again, always new. But I long for stability. At least for one spring day.

😁

CITY, COUNTRY, STUTZ

There isn’t much that everyone in Zurich agrees on. But “AG” on the license plate stands for “Achtung Gefahr” (Canton Aargau), “Warning, Danger”. Fathers impress this on their sons while they are still fidgeting in the child seat in the back. As soon as locals can decipher the two fateful letters on the vehicle in front of them, they try to somehow get to safety by overtaking them hastily or desperately honking their horns.

As a native of Aargau myself, I don’t take that personally. Honestly, I’m overwhelmed every time I have to drive into town. Here a tram, there a cyclist, the GPS screams left, I can only go right, is that a one-way? Fuck! And then it’s not just about driving without hurting yourself or others. No, you should also find the destination. But god forbid you to slow down a little because Google Maps haven’t updated yet and you don’t know if you have to turn right now. But then the honking starts at the back. That’s why I’m in favor of 30 km/h in all cities. Nationwide. That would give us a lot of time – to orientate, to think, to pause.

Tempo 30 is known to be more of a concern for the left. In the past, as a local editor, I was there when representatives of the local SVP could argue the whole evening against a 30 zone by the school buildings. But here I would definitely have them on my side. We from the countryside come back from the trip to the city so stressed that even the ringing of the ball bells reminds us of the angry honking of the angry Mercedes driver. I am against traumatization and for more relaxed driving in the city. More Zen, less rush – more Z, less H. (The license plate in Zurich is “ZH”)

Published in the Migros Journal March 2022