Switzerland, Zurich – A free open air concert

Discovery awaits adventurous wanderers! Just bumbling around Zurich old city aimlessly but happily, we suddenly heard music flowing out a little street. We followed it up, up and around the corner only to come upon a whole orchestra complete with brass instruments sitting out in the open, just playing merrily away. This was in Glockengasse – Bell Street – in front of the Taverna Catalana, a place in Zurich famous for its Spanish cuisine.

People had already gathered to hear the lovely sound of music floating gently upwards and outwards in all directions, beckoning to all lovers of fine tune to dance right by. Business was bustling in the Tavern, as people found good musical accompaniment in a peck of tapas and a swig of beer. Thankfully for the tired feet, chairs which had floated beyond tables were available to catch a tired discoverer.

A flag was being swirled back and forth, bearing the banner, “Schützen-Spiel UOG Zürich”. A kind gentleman told me that the crowd, local music lovers, had all read about the event in the newspapers and had turned up for the pure enjoyment of sound, free sound.


Brass instruments in Bell Street

Street sound - and not by your normal buskers!

A word on the players:

Schützen-Spiel UOG Zürich started life as a Zurich army battalion band in 1935. Due to this, for normal events they play in Swiss Army uniform. On special occasions, they don the original and historical uniform of the Zurich troops dating back to the year 1861. Band/orchestra membership is open to all hobby musicians.  

As testimony to that, the cook of the Taverna Catalana (seen in photo) who was still as a statue, watching in total rapture suddenly took over the conductor’s podium still sporting his apron. We were treated to a sight fit for a new Ratatouille motto – ‘Anyone can play music’.

If you are in Zurich and want to catch an open air concert, their list of the concert venues for 2011 can be found at this link: Schützen-Spiel UOG Zürich - Concert Dates & Venues.

Switzerland – Lake Zurich, Cactus Patch & View

Looking like a sundial, less mobile than Maman the giant spider but still as unexpected, this cactus square near the Bürkliplatz is eye catching for plant lovers. It’s dedicated to the citizens and dwellers of Zurich city from both a jewellery shop, Beyer Uhren & Juwelen and a state-sponsored body, Grün Stadt Zurich.

Cactus Square of Lake Zurich

On a cloudy, blustery summer day, the Lake Zurich is quiet, devoid of the sun basking throngs, the lakeside buskers, even the swans are a disinterested lot. There’s no food to be had for them at the moment. But don’t be misled! An eyrar of swans suddenly crowded round my dangling legs as I perched on the lake bench eating. I don’t know that a swan’s diet includes pizza, but there they were, apparated in from all directions. There’s no photo of that as I was all oiled up with my pizza slice. However, if anyone wants a nice cheap pizza takeaway, you can get it from Bellevue-Platz tram stop for CHF 6.50 upwards.  

All’s chill by the lakeside

Here’s a shot of Lake Zurich from Bürkliplatz on a sunny clear day. You can see the township of Horgen in the distance and the snow capped alpine mountains towering over the horizon. The sparkling white and spanking clean ferry you see here will take you to all townships along the lake for a fee. It's free for ZurichCARD holders (CHF 20 for 24 hours or CHF 40 for 72 hours, click here for more info: ZurichCARD), and for those on a day pass. Do note that the regular day pass is limited by the number of zones you have paid for. If you are opting for a day pass, I highly recommend the ZVV-9-o' clock pass. For only CHF 24, this pass allows you to travel all the zones, but you have to start at 9 am. For more information, click this link: ZVV-9-o'clock pass

Summer sun, Zurich lake, alps n’ snow

Now we’re off to bumble around the town…

Switzerland – Lake Zurich & Gi-mongous Spider

An enormous spider, looking slightly grotesque and out of place is the last thing I would ever imagine as part of any lake scenery. Least of all in Zurich. However, here it is!

Spider of Bürkliplatz

From Middle-Earth (bronze and steel), Shelob’s kinder sister chose not to go after Frodo Baggins but to tower over humans instead…

Back in the human world, I asked random Zurich-dweller-looking people passing by with prams about the grace which brought a giant spider this place of honour. One of them gave me this fantastic story… Once upon a time in medieval Zurich, everyone was afraid of the Black Death – today known as the bubonic plague – and they blamed the black spiders for carrying it! Now, I haven’t seen any spiders at all in Zurich. Indeed it is so clean I doubt that even a web of spider silk can be found anywhere at all. So maybe the medieval mass extermination of spiders must be the reason for this. Anyway, I digress… It was told me, as a wrap up of a charmingly woven story, that the giant Zurich Lake spider is a monument to those who died of the Black Death. Now that I've just sold this story to you guys, how many of you would be takers for it?

It actually turns out that the spider is called Maman, and Maman is on tour! Standing at 33 feet high with 26 marble eggs in her belly (for whoever can see it), it is a very well travelled spider and one of the most popular pieces of contemporary art the Homo sapiens have. I guess just as many people must have gone Woeeeuuuwwww….. Wow for the size and eeeuuuwwww….. for the turban-like spider body. Her creator of note is Louise Bourgeois who created the spider in honour of her mother… Wow! I’ll never look at my mom the same way again after this. And it turns out that I am lucky to cross this way on this day because Maman will be off again soon!

For anyone who is interested in a bit more Maman, here’s a link to the English translation of the German newspaper article: http://www.worldcrunch.com/giant-spider-weaves-its-way-around-world/3322

Switzerland - Zurich City Rambles

We arrived in Zurich just in time for the summer sale. Instead of ambling the length of Zurich’s famous shopping mile, the Bahnhofstrasse, which literally means Train Station Street - it does actually lead to the main train station of Zurich if you start from the lakeside end of it - we opted to take tram number 13 to Sihlcity. This more affordable shopping and leisure center is just a few minutes away from the heart of Zurich. I just loved the writing on the wall there, which said “Alles fürs Leben. Jetzt im Ausverkauf” , literally, “Everything for your life, now on sale”. However, the press of people shopping was at mega low volume as the inhabitants of Zurich city had flooded out to the riverside in droves to catch some sun colour. The greater number of them however were, I guess, pulling their hair out inside the office blocks while looking at the streaming rays of sun outside.

As for us, I think that a walk along lake Zurich will be next on the cards...

A Start...

Hello! It's nice to meet you here.

You must be wondering about the title Vipassana Traveller. So let me indulge you in a little explanation.

Vipassana is actually a meditation technique that I learnt years ago from S.N. Goenka. You can find out more about it by clicking on this link here: www.dhamma.org. When I first started my meditation on the grounds of a course center in Switzerland, there were not that many centers worldwide which were specifically dedicated to Vipassana meditation à la Goenka. Today however, you can go to almost any country to attend a free ten day Vipassana course (paid for through donations by jokers like me - also called 'old students'... wheeze... cough... where's my walking stick...).

After having travelled around the world to a few course centers, I decided that travelling around my host country before, or after meditating would be cool. After a few more thinks, the next thought was to share my travels with anyone interested in meditation, and travelling.

This blog here will include a bit about my journey in meditation as well as the experiences of all the interesting and varied people who lingered at the same Vipassana centers along the way. It will also include photos, and write-ups about travel with or without meditation. So stay tuned....