All posts by Cecily

A 26 year old female Irish Architect moves from Paris to Zurich here are the results and observations.
Zurich Going Out

Annual Wine Expo Anchors In Zurich

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Avast Mateys, ye annual wine expo has recently Anchor’d at Zurich, with over 4000 different kinds o’ swill from over 165 merchants on 12 different  galleys.  Ye Expo only be in town for a limited time only the 3 – 17th o’ Novembarrr.

For those mateys that be waitin’ t’set sail on this quest of wine discovery, a ticket will set ye back 20 gold doubloons. However, if ye wait around the port entrance thar usually be a gaggle o’ land lubbers trying to sell ye their spare tickets at a cut throat rate. Make sure you pick up your treasure map (guide booklet) on the way in as otherwise the grog merchants will think that ye be just there t’be plunderin’ thar goods and not for actual tradin’.

When ye finally board the deck o’ the ships you have a pretty fine range o’ different merchants, none o’ which seem to be organised in a coherent way or region. One o’ the first rookie mistakes ye can make is just asking for any swill from the first stall thar be. This is where yar treasure map be worthy o’ consultation, locate the page in the map for the merchant in question (an easy way to do this is to look for thar page number badge all the stalls have on their back wall) and then study the different swill that they offer on the list. This is an important part of letting the merchant know that ye be half way serious about their swill on offer.

After having a few samples from, it be recommended t’be changing port unless ye be wishin’ to talk trade with the stall captain. The decks are awash with stalls an it be reccommended t’be tryin’ many different typs o’ swill that take yar fancy. Grub also be on offer for mateys who be needin’ t’take a break from the swill.

Me and me mateys walked the plank near 22 o’clock, and it be advised t’be boardin’ on a day that most mateys be swabbin’ the decks and t’be arriving in advance  o’ 17 o’clock, as the galleys be swamped with landlubbers and difficult to navigate later in the evenin’s.

This be indeed a fruitful quest worthy o’ 20 doubloons, and I be givin’ it me full Arrrrrproval.

Featured, Get Started, Popular Posts, Zurich Living, Zurich Money

Best Value Prepaid Mobile Phones In Switzerland?

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With a seemingly large selection of operators to choose from in Switzerland, I’ve decided to do a little research into what the costs and extras are. Now while there are some tips and advice available on-line none seem to be very clear as to which network is the best and I suppose that is because everyone requires something different from their phone provider.

So keeping this in mind I have decided to compare the providers based on my requirements. 

I am a 26 year old, who only uses her phone for texts and calls, I’m not interested in a new phone and as I am unsure as to how long I’m going to be staying in Zurich I want to get a prepaid phone.

The three Mobile Network Operators (MNO) in Switzerland are swisscom, sunrise and orange. Their networks are used by a number of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO). I have provided the list below that details which reseller is running on which network.

swisscom – www.swisscom.ch 

sunrise – www.sunrise.ch 

orange – www.orange.ch

So having found this list of providers on-line, I proceeded to investigate their websites to see which network would suit my needs best.

Some of the websites are very clear and some of them are not, and these are the result of some extensive trawling through all their websites.

While all the information is some times not clear, available and will probably be soon out of date. I felt that it might be helpful for people to be able to more quickly compare prices.

While I have neglected to include the initial cost of the sim card it should be mentioned that this basic cost is personally somewhat irrelevant compared to what you will be paying later down the line.

a table of costs of prepaid Swiss mobile phone companies  

Disclaimer – All the information provided in the table was compiled by me  on the 30th of August and was subject to my understanding of the website, so should in no way be taken as the guaranteed costs, only a guide. If your interested in a particular network consult their website personally before hand or get in touch with them directly.

As for my personal choice of mobile phone operator? Well I ended up going with Orange. The sim card cost 10 CHF and had 5 CHF credit included, the main deciding factor was the fact that the people I am going to be calling the most are also on the same network, and Orange allow you to choose 3 friends to call for free on the same network (T&C obviously apply).

Also since they are one of the larger service providers I can be assured that if I have a problem is I can speak directly to a human being in a shop and that they probably have a half decent help line.

So while I also heard good reports about migros-budget and yallo being cheap from friends; swisscom and sunrise having good coverage but being expensive, other less mainstream networks I searched seemed not to have many reviews (well in English anyway).

So if you are looking to get a Swiss number keep the following things in mind

    • who are you going to be calling (network, country)?
    • when are you going to be calling them?
    • how much do you want to spend per month?
    • do you need internet access?
    • are you sending more texts than calls?
  • do you want to be able to talk to someone face to face if you have a problem?

However compared to some other European countries Switzerland seems overall quite cheap and well serviced by prepaid phone options.

 

Zurich Going Out, Zurich Kids, Zurich Living

Swimming In The Limmat

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The recent hot weather phenomenon has not only brought about a plethora of roof terrace “grill parties” but also seen almost everyone Zurich take to the water.

The wonderful thing about Zurich, which seems to contrast with nearly every other inland European city, is that it has a high quality of water and this means that you are able to actually swim in its rivers and lakes. The result is a huge success and nowhere can this be more clearly seen than by the banks of the Limmat or more specifically at Oberer Letten (called the Letten by locals).

For those of you unaware of the Limmat it is the river which flows into and out of Lake Zurich, part of this river is a shallow stony basin and another part transforms into a canal, originally for industrial purposes, but which seems to have a much higher popularity with the local bathers during the warm summer months.

Located on the north bank of the river just 10 minutes north of the hauptbahnhof, Letten is an integral part of the summer social scene and on sunny days the river side is packed with people sunbathing rotisserie style inbetween frequent dips, as well as volleyball players, people barbecuing and lots of just general sitting down and hanging out. The laid back beach atmosphere will nearly have you believing that you’re at the Costa del sol but without the annoying sand.

The best thing about the Limmat though is that local businesses have managed to develop along the banks of the river and beer, drinks and food are available for not an overly unreasonable cost (by Zurich standards), as well as some deck chairs, tables, grassy areas and even for the brave, bridges for some high adrenaline jumping. The bridges as yet remain a personal goal left unchecked for me.

If you don’t feel like paying out for food at the bars however you can always bring your own or nip over the more northern bridge to the conveniently placed Migros supermarket. Here you can pick up some food from the deli, or snacks and drinks from the very large supermarket located underneath. Sun cream is also an important factor (factor 30) for those of you considering a longer afternoon by the Limmat and while the sun here is not as strong as in the south of Spain for example it still has a good effect, especially on those of us not used to being frequently exposed to anything more than rain.

I personally go to swim, relax and read a book, so if this is what you are also after, here are just a few tips when finding somewhere to sit;

 

    • Don’t sit near the ladders that come out of the water – everyone climbing out gets the deck and you really wet

 

    • arrive early – these days it choc-a-bloc so the earlier the better, saying that small groups will usually find a place

 

    • Avoid larger groups and standing people – especially if these people are playing annoying music and talking loudly

 

    • try and avoid the bins – they don’t seem to smell too much but people will be constantly walking over you to put stuff in

 

    • if you’re going to sit on the grass bring a blanket

 

So with the good weather set to continue into the weekend, get your swim suit out, jump in and enjoy.