No bargains in the red light district

Instead of going to the beautiful Berkliplatz market we braved the 8 line tram and went to the Helvetiaplatz market instead. I say "braved" because the 8 line is one of the lines with the old trolleys which have steps in all the cars. They are not at all stroller friendly. According to the sbb website, certain lines have the old trams because if you can't deal with the steps there ares still other ways to get to most of the stops. Another reason this felt like an adventure - the market is supposedly on the edge of an area known for various crimes.

I thought that would be a good thing, since morning would be a slow time for crime and the market prices might be lower. No such luck. The market was small, the prices seemed even higher (maybe because there was less competition?), and the only other difference I noticed was that the Italians selling antipasto stuff were more aggressive in their cat-calling. There was one very nice seller, though. She was extremely helpful and she spoke slowly and simply enough that I could understand her. I learned that her cider was 10% pear, that you can eat kohlrabi leaves sauteed kale style but she wouldn't bother, and that she was selling two sizes of the same apple and I should get the smaller ones. I'd go back to Helvetiaplatz to buy from her again if it weren't for the 8 tram.

I disliked the 8 so much that I decided just to walk to the train station. We passed a cute park and the kids played there for a while. And then we went to the old botanical garden before going home.

Look who has moved in on our big hill! The walk up doesn't seem so bad now. I hope they stay a while.