Uetliberg

Read the entire post to see something weird!

Today was another iffy forecast, so I decided to hike on Uetliberg, which is Zurich's local mountain. There is a trail a few kilometers long along the ridge of the mountain which is also a scale model of how far the planets are from the sun. However, it turned out the weather really was iffy. On the twenty five minute ride from Zurich main station to the summit it was sunny and then pouring three times. We were lucky. When we got to the summit station and walked up to the overlook it was beautiful.

Uetliberg seems to have a deer theme, based on the street lamps and benches.

The weather started to turn bad, so we decided to take the train back to town rather than hike. It started to rain as we walked to the station, but by the time we got there it stopped.

It all cleared up again (for a little while, then it poured on us), and the kids played at the playground while we waited for the train. There was an awesome mini-chair ride! It was like something from Fisher Price Little People. I put in a franc, and away they went. Playgrounds here are so much better than at home! It's official! 

Okay here is the WEIRD THING! In Switzerland the warning signs telling people not to do things (like don't walk on the grass, don't smoke) are just a red circle with no slash line through it. That makes sense. That way the slash doesn't obscure the picture depicting what you shouldn't do. Well, this is the sign I saw today telling me what not to do on a train:

Weird! The wording just threatens criminal prosecution.

It's funny because the other night we were having dinner with E's colleague and discussing personal liability in Switzerland v. the US. The point was made that in Switzerland people take more responsibility for themselves. They don't need to be told not to let their babies play with plastic bags or that hot coffee will burn you.

But they do need to be told not to saw their train seat in half.

The other prohibited things were all things that might actually happen on a train.

It was actually a very good thing that we went to Uetliberg even though we couldn't take the long hike. It really demonstrated how different the temperature can be with just a little elevation and wind. The official temperature (on the mountain) was about 55, but it felt like less. T had on long sleeves and jeans, a softshell jacket, a windbreaker, and a wool hat and he was freezing.That is his freezing face. I gave him my wool and down jacket and he was still cold. We are very lucky that we learned this before we go away this weekend so I can be prepared. Based on this, though, I think I need to buy myself a medium weight jacket. My jacket is really just a glorified sweater.

We checked out the Zurich station market. It is awful for groceries, but looks awesome for lunch or dinner. There were Italian sandwiches, Thai food stands, Chinese food, even Nepalese food. I don't think you can beat it for price (twice US price), variety, and convenience. I picked up a couple of samosas for R.

All day long I felt just dragging, wondering why. Pushing the stroller uphill at Uetliberg felt like pushing a box full of lead. Then, when we got back to town and I had to push the stroller up our hill I could barely budge it. That's just wrong. I can get that thing up the hill with both kids and a pack on my back now with just a tiny stop for breath. Turns out, the tires were half flat! That was good news - nothing wrong with me and I always have my bike pump. But it's annoying that the tires on a new stroller are losing air. But now I know.