Our friend, Ellen, arrived on Thursday. We are so happy to have her stay with us for a few weeks. (Anyone else who wants to come is welcome! We have an extra double bed in the kids' room.) Friday morning, Ellen, the kids, and I went to the big farmers' market in downtown Zurich at Burkliplatz. The market was exactly what you think of when you imagine a European farmers' market: a bounty of fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, pasta, meats, flowers, live plants, and fish along with Europeans carrying their market baskets full of goodies. I keep finding myself saying,"This is right out of a magazine."
Ellen bought some cheese at this stall.
Later that night, we attended the 4th of July party put on by the American Club of Zurich. The party was nice, the band was good (Josh got them to play Sweet Home Alabama), and the fireworks were amazing. Slightly disturbing was our conversation with the evening's MC who challenged us to find a better place anywhere to live than Zurich. He's been in Zurich for 20 years and he seemed really glad to have left the States behind. It was not the kind of sentiment about the US that we expected at this event.
At the American Club of Zurich's 4th of July party.
Saturday, we attended the apartment house's annual sidewalk sale and met several neighbors: Susan, the yoga teacher whose studio is steps away; Diana, Vasil, and their toddler son, Neo; and Ava, Rolf, and their son, Enea, age 13. Enea is into Kendo which I believe is a martial art involving swordlike weaponry, so Russell and Enea had a nice time checking out Enea's swords in his family's hip, urban, straight-out-of-a-magazine flat on the third floor.
After the sidewalk sale, we walked over to Helvetiaplatz for the Caliente Latin Music Festival. There was some good music and interesting street food - Russell now likes chicken curry. More interesting was what we found on the walk over. We walked through a large park with many play areas for kids and adults. The park also housed a community center and attached restaurant (open daily from 10am to midnight!) with lots of outdoor seating. You would never know that this neighborhood is considered one of the worst in Zurich. They call this bad? If Office Hours (Sylvia's weekly coffee and friends meeting) ever gets moved to Europe for a summer, the Quartierzentrum Aussersihl gets my vote.
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