#Sardona Fountain

[greenbagjosh]

Saturday 9 August 2003 - quick visit to Zug before the Street Parade - Zürich becomes 2M+ for a day - mobile path so crowded it takes three minutes to cross the street - beware the soap bubbles on the General Guisan Quai and don't slip - the hostel dorm room is a bit empty tonight

Saturday 9 August 2003

Good morning! Today we go to Zug and back to Baden before going to Zürich for the Street Parade. The day was very hot, and the air conditioned comfort of riding the Dosto trains was the best way to stay out of the heat. But eventually, I had to walk along the Utoquai, Limmatquai, General Guisan Quai and others. After the Street Parade, I went to Baden and had supper and walked back to the hostel. Hope you will enjoy today's story.

Guten Morgen! Heute fahren wir nach Zug und zurück nach Baden, bevor wir zur Street Parade nach Zürich fahren. Der Tag war sehr heiß und die komfortable Fahrt mit den Dosto-Zügen mit Klimaanlage war die beste Möglichkeit, der Hitze zu entgehen. Aber irgendwann musste ich am Utoquai, Limmatquai, General Guisan Quai und anderen entlang laufen. Nach der Street Parade ging ich nach Baden, aß zu Abend und ging zurück zum Hostel. Ich hoffe, Ihnen gefällt die heutige Geschichte.

Bonjour! Aujourd'hui, nous allons à Zoug et retour à Baden avant d'aller à Zürich pour la Street Parade. La journée était très chaude et le confort climatisé des trains Dosto était le meilleur moyen de rester à l'abri de la chaleur. Mais finalement, j'ai dû marcher le long de l'Utoquai, du Limmatquai, du général Guisan Quai et d'autres. Après la Street Parade, je suis allé à Baden et j'ai dîné et je suis retourné à l'auberge. J'espère que vous apprécierez l'histoire d'aujourd'hui.

Dobro jutro! Danes gremo v Zug in nazaj v Baden, preden gremo v Zürich na ulično parado. Dan je bil zelo vroč in klimatizirano udobje vožnje z vlaki Dosto je bilo najboljši način za zaščito pred vročino. Toda sčasoma sem moral hoditi po Utoquai, Limmatquai, General Guisan Quai in drugih. Po ulični paradi sem šel v Baden, povečerjal in se peš vrnil v hostel. Upam, da vam bo današnja zgodba všeč.

Dobro jutro! Danas idemo u Zug i natrag u Baden prije odlaska u Zürich na uličnu paradu. Dan je bio vrlo vruć, a klimatizirana udobnost vožnje Dosto vlakovima bila je najbolji način da se zaštitite od vrućine. Ali na kraju sam morao hodati duž Utoquaija, Limmatquaija, General Guisan Quaija i drugih. Nakon ulične parade, otišao sam u Baden, večerao i vratio se u hostel. Nadamo se da ćete uživati u današnjoj priči.

Buongiorno! Oggi andiamo a Zug e torniamo a Baden prima di andare a Zurigo per la Street Parade. La giornata era molto calda e il comfort dell'aria condizionata sui treni Dosto era il modo migliore per stare fuori dal caldo. Ma alla fine ho dovuto camminare lungo l'Utoquai, il Limmatquai, il General Guisan Quai e altri. Dopo la Street Parade, sono andato a Baden, ho cenato e sono tornato all'ostello. Spero che ti piacerà la storia di oggi.

The night was warm for the most part, but about 3 PM, the air started to cool down to below 65 F / 18 C. I woke up about 7:30 AM, in time for breakfast. I took a shower and went to breakfast. One difference at the hostel I visited, I was expected to wash my own dishes after using them, and the leftover food would go into a pail to feed the pigs nearby. I left the hostel about 8:45 AM, and walked up the pathway to the Baden, Utostrasse, bus stop, for the Baden SBB station. I boarded the 9:15 AM train for Zürich HB, I think, a Regional Express, that stopped in Wettingen and Killwangen-Spreitenbach before going nonstop to Zürich HB, past Dietikon, Schlieren, Altstetten and Hardbrücke. The Street Parade would not start until at least 2 PM, so I had time to venture out.

I took a train to Zug. This train went through Wiedikon, Enge, Wollishofen, Thalwil, then across the Sihltal to Baar and Zug. I had only passed through Zug but never explored the city. Baarerstrasse was the main street in Zug, close to the rail station. The Metalli building is the large modern one close to the station. Zug also has interesting classical buildings too, from the 19th century.

I noticed cars had the ZG on their license plates instead of ZH which was for Zürich. The coat of arms for Zug is a shield with two horizontal white stripes and a blue stripe in the middle. For Zürich, it is one half white and one half blue, but at a 60 degree angle. For Luzern, its coat of arms is half the shield in blue on the left side, and white on the right side. Traffic signals differed little from those in Zürich, even the pedestrian signals. They all did the same sequence as in Germany.

About 11 AM I left Zug and returned to Zürich, and then took a train to Baden, to do some shopping at the station Migros store, which was large. I might have done the same in Zug but did not find a place that had what I needed. I bought some 35 mm film from my camera, two 1.5 liter bottles of grapefruit soda, and batteries. At the time, I did not have a video camera, so 35 mm was the only way I could take photos. I also had my radio with blank cassettes. About 1:30 PM, I took a train back to Zürich HB, and then walked along the Limmatquai past Central towards Bellevueplatz. There were some dance stages placed around the Sardona Fountain, about a few hundred meters south of the Helmhaus, Münsterbrücke and the Grossmünster (Reformed). Along the way I saw people in interesting costumes. At some stage I saw three ladies all dressed as Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. There was also one lady in a pea-hen costume.

The trams were redirected from Limmatquai and from Bahnhofplatz to Bürkliplatz and Bellevueplatz, so the line 7 for example was redirected towards Bahnhof Enge and the Neue Zürcher Börse at Selnau. In 1998 I remember the mobile floats going clockwise from Bahnhof Enge, or along General Guisan Quai to Utoquai. In 2003 they went counterclockwise, the opposite direction. I must have counted about twenty floats. I followed along some of the floats. One thing to note, in Zürich that day, due to the people along the parade route, it would be very difficult to walk through or cross the street of the parade path. Sometimes it could take three to five minutes. It was that crowded. Probably the worst part was between Sechseläutenplatz and the Quaibrücke. Somewhere along the General Guisan Quai, maybe at the Kongresshaus Zürich, the large convention center, there was one stationary float, that was blowing much soap on to the streets. Many people stepped in the soap bubbles. I guess it was supposed to keep people clean.

Away from Bürkliplatz, maybe close to the Kantonalbank tram stop, it became less crowded. Also there were pay toilets, where you could pay about 8 Franken for a day pass, but 2 Franken to go once. The 8 Franken wristband was the most economical. There were many places selling food. Drinks were about 5 Franken plus the 1 Franken for the deposit. Music tents were around to sell CDs from past events. I managed to find a couple of CDs for the current year, one of them being "Let the sun shine on". It is a nice CD of electronic music. I had to wait to return to the USA to listen to it, sadly.

About 7 PM I was feeling a bit worn out, so I had to slow down and go back to the HB on foot. The trams had not yet restarted and would not until at least 9 PM that evening. There were still people hanging around HB, Löwenstrasse and Bahnhofquai. About 8 PM I took the train back to Baden. In Baden there was one place that was serving Geschnetzltes with Rösti and Feldschlösschen beer. It was nice and quiet in comparison to downtown Zürich.

After supper, I managed to get either the 3 or 4 bus back to Baden, Utostrasse, and I walked down the path, carefully. It must have been about 10:30 PM when I returned to the hostel. The hostel seemed a bit empty, maybe between a third to a half full. My room had maybe one other person, and not even asleep. I listened to some music before going to sleep. I really wanted to listen to my CD but had to wait until I was home. I think I went to sleep about 11:30 PM.

Tomorrow will be my last full day in Switzerland, so I want to see a few more places, like Pfäffikon SZ, Thalwil, Biberbrugg, Einsiedeln, Arth-Goldau, Altdorf and Flüelen, before having supper in Zürich at the Brasserie Johanniter, one of my favorite places to eat since July 1997. And the 11th will be when I take the train to Munich, Germany for the last two days before flying home. Hope you will join me then! Good night!

Morgen wird mein letzter ganzer Tag in der Schweiz sein, daher möchte ich noch ein paar Orte sehen, wie Pfäffikon SZ, Thalwil, Biberbrugg, Einsiedeln, Arth-Goldau, Altdorf und Flüelen, bevor ich in Zürich in der Brasserie Johanniter zu Abend esse, einem von ihnen Meine Lieblingsrestaurants seit Juli 1997. Und am 11. fahre ich für die letzten zwei Tage mit dem Zug nach München, Deutschland, bevor ich nach Hause fliege. Ich hoffe, Sie kommen dann zu mir! Gute Nacht!

Demain sera ma dernière journée complète en Suisse, donc je veux voir quelques endroits supplémentaires, comme Pfäffikon SZ, Thalwil, Biberbrugg, Einsiedeln, Arth-Goldau, Altdorf et Flüelen, avant de dîner à Zürich à la Brasserie Johanniter, l'une des mes endroits préférés pour manger depuis juillet 1997. Et le 11, ce sera quand je prendrai le train pour Munich, en Allemagne, pendant les deux derniers jours avant de rentrer chez moi. J'espère que vous me rejoindrez alors ! Bonne nuit!

Jutri bo moj zadnji cel dan v Švici, zato si želim ogledati še nekaj krajev, kot so Pfäffikon SZ, Thalwil, Biberbrugg, Einsiedeln, Arth-Goldau, Altdorf in Flüelen, preden bom večerjal v Zürichu v Brasserie Johanniter, enem od moj najljubši kraj za jesti od julija 1997. In 11. bo, ko se bom zadnja dva dni pred poletom domov z vlakom odpravil v München v Nemčiji. Upam, da se mi boste takrat pridružili! Lahko noč!

Sutra će biti moj zadnji cijeli dan u Švicarskoj, pa želim vidjeti još nekoliko mjesta, kao što su Pfäffikon SZ, Thalwil, Biberbrugg, Einsiedeln, Arth-Goldau, Altdorf i Flüelen, prije nego što večeram u Zürichu u Brasserie Johanniter, jednom od moja omiljena mjesta za jesti od srpnja 1997. A 11. će biti kada ću uzeti vlak za München, Njemačka posljednja dva dana prije leta kući. Nadam se da ćeš mi se tada pridružiti! Laku noć!

Domani sarà il mio ultimo giorno intero in Svizzera, quindi voglio vedere qualche altro posto, come Pfäffikon SZ, Thalwil, Biberbrugg, Einsiedeln, Arth-Goldau, Altdorf e Flüelen, prima di cenare a Zurigo alla Brasserie Johanniter, una delle i miei posti preferiti dove mangiare dal luglio 1997. E l'11 sarà quando prenderò il treno per Monaco, in Germania, per gli ultimi due giorni prima di tornare a casa. Spero che ti unirai a me allora! Buona notte!