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greenbagjosh · 28 days

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Days 13 to 15 06 August 2004 - not so hot day for Street Parade 2004 unlike the previous time (08/2003) - short visit to Bern

Friday 06 August 2004

Hi everyone! After a couple of days in Zug, it is time to move a bit north, to Zurich, for the 2004 Street Parade. As I cannot check into the hostel before 2 PM, I thought it would be a good idea to go visit Bern. My last visit to Bern was November 2002. I go see the Zytglogge and Federal Assembly buildings and get a sneak peak at the Street Parade in the meantime. I spend most of Saturday afternoon walking through the parade route, which will seem a daunting task, as will be explained later on. Sunday the 8th August, I go to Munich via Schaffhausen, Stuttgart, Ulm and Augsburg. Hope you will join me.

Dia duit gach duine! Tar éis cúpla lá i Zug, tá sé in am bogadh beagán ó thuaidh, go Zurich, le haghaidh Paráid Sráide 2004. Toisc nach féidir liom seiceáil isteach sa bhrú roimh 2 pm, shíl mé gur smaoineamh maith a bheadh ann dul ar cuairt chuig Bern. Ba í Samhain 2002 an chuairt dheireanach a thug mé ar Bern. Téim a fheiceáil ar fhoirgnimh Zytglogge agus an Tionól Feidearálach agus faighim buaicphointe ag Paráid na Sráide idir an dá linn. Caithim an chuid is mó de thráthnóna Dé Sathairn ag siúl trí bhealach na paráide, rud a bheidh cosúil le tasc scanrúil, mar a mhíneofar níos déanaí. Dé Domhnaigh an 8 Lúnasa, téim go München trí Schaffhausen, Stuttgart, Ulm agus Augsburg. Tá súil agam go mbeidh tú páirteach liom.

Ciao a tutti! Dopo un paio di giorni a Zug, è tempo di spostarsi un po' a nord, a Zurigo, per la Street Parade del 2004. Poiché non posso fare il check-in all'ostello prima delle 14:00, ho pensato che sarebbe stata una buona idea andare a visitare Berna. La mia ultima visita a Berna è stata a novembre 2002. Nel frattempo, vado a vedere gli edifici dello Zytglogge e dell'Assemblea federale e do un'occhiata in anteprima alla Street Parade. Trascorro la maggior parte del sabato pomeriggio a camminare lungo il percorso della parata, il che sembrerà un compito arduo, come verrà spiegato più avanti. Domenica 8 agosto, andrò a Monaco passando per Sciaffusa, Stoccarda, Ulm e Augusta. Spero che vi unirete a me.

Bonjour à tous ! Après quelques jours à Zoug, il est temps de se déplacer un peu plus au nord, à Zurich, pour la Street Parade 2004. Comme je ne peux pas m'enregistrer à l'auberge avant 14 heures, j'ai pensé que ce serait une bonne idée d'aller visiter Berne. Ma dernière visite à Berne remonte à novembre 2002. Je vais voir la Zytglogge et les bâtiments de l'Assemblée fédérale et je jette un œil à la Street Parade en attendant. Je passe la majeure partie de l'après-midi du samedi à parcourir le parcours du défilé, ce qui me semble une tâche ardue, comme je l'expliquerai plus tard. Le dimanche 8 août, je vais à Munich via Schaffhouse, Stuttgart, Ulm et Augsbourg. J'espère que vous me rejoindrez.

Hallo zusammen! Nach ein paar Tagen in Zug ist es Zeit, etwas weiter nach Norden zu ziehen, nach Zürich, zur Street Parade 2004. Da ich nicht vor 14 Uhr im Hostel einchecken kann, dachte ich, es wäre eine gute Idee, Bern zu besuchen. Mein letzter Besuch in Bern war im November 2002. Ich schaue mir das Zytglogge und die Bundesversammlung an und bekomme in der Zwischenzeit einen kleinen Vorgeschmack auf die Street Parade. Den größten Teil des Samstagnachmittags verbringe ich damit, die Paradestrecke abzulaufen, was eine gewaltige Aufgabe sein wird, wie später erklärt wird. Am Sonntag, dem 8. August, fahre ich über Schaffhausen, Stuttgart, Ulm und Augsburg nach München. Ich hoffe, Sie begleiten mich.

Friday 06 August 2004 I woke up about 6:30 AM, hoping to have a quiet breakfast. The Ichthus Reizen group had not come down to breakfast yet. I had breakfast, then took a shower and checked out of the hostel. I went to the bus stop, was able to buy a short trip ticket to the rail station, and was there in time for the 8 AM train to Zurich HB. About 9 AM, the train arrived at Zurich HB, I was able to put my wheeled bag in a large locker, and then took the 9:20 train to Bern. The train arrived in Bern about 10:40 AM. I alighted and walked towards Kaefigturm, and subsequently Zytglogge. I was there in time for the noontime chimes. I walked back to the Bundesplatz, and there was an exhibition, including barnyard animals. I distinctly remember there being at least two dairy cows in their own pens. I did not go inside the Bundeshaus at the time.

About 1 PM I was getting hungry. I remember from my previous visit to Bern, that along Bubenbergplatz, there was a place that sold Doener Kebab and Lahmacun. I ordered a lahmacun, served similar to a burrito. I had one with lettuce, tomato, onion and yogurt sauce. Also I bought a small container of ayran, an unsweetened yogurt drink. It cost more than in Germany by about 40 %, so maybe 10 CHF, as compared with 6 Euro in Germany for both items.

About 1:30 PM, I returned to the SBB rail station and returned to Zurich about 2:50 PM. I had collected my wheeled bag, bought a day pass for the next day, and boarded the line 7 tram at Bahnhofstrasse / HB, and rode it to Morgental to catch the line 33 to the hostel stop. I think it was 3:30 PM when I checked into the hostel. It's the mauve - dull purple - 5 story building on Mutschellenstrasse. I had a room on the north side, facing Uetliberg. It was a four person dorm room, with a shared sink. The showers and toilets were down the hall. I had a bunk on the bottom, close to the window.

Around 5 PM I went into downtown. I wanted to see the spot, where on 24th July 1998, I had stood at the place where there was a webcam from a building along Limmatquai, where my father also stood, some months earlier on a visit. I did not know about the Bierhalle Wolf at the time, so I did not go in. Also I saw a few interesting cars, that normally would not be driven in Europe, due to their size. One was a Chevrolet C/K series shortbed, with the Adidas logo, with German registration. In order to comply with ECE regulations, it was required to have yellow rear indicators fitted.

I am not sure what I did or where I went after doing a bit of window shopping, but I may have gone somewhere along Niederdorferstrasse and had a snack. About 7 PM, I took the tram to Stadelhofen rail station to catch an S-18 train, one that uses meter gauge and the city's direct current all the way to Esslingen ZH. I rode only to Waldburg station in Zollikon to see the interesting street lamp along Bergstrasse near Forchstrasse, which was both a mercury vapor at one end and low pressure sodium on the other. In 2006 or so, those were replaced with high pressure sodium lights. I went back to the hostel on the S-18, changed to an S Bahn, then at Bahnhofstrasse / HB, I changed to the tram line 7, and rode the trolleybus line 33 to the hostel. It was about 10 PM, and there were still people around, a couple sleeping in their bunks, but another where they checked in but had not returned for the night - I think the last person came in about 11:30 PM or so.

Saturday 07 August 2004 This was the day of the 2004 Energy Street Parade. I woke up about 6:30 AM, took a shower, and had breakfast. The Zurich youth hostel on Mutschellenstrasse 114 has the best coffee machine for breakfast. You can make regular coffee, cappuccino, espresso, just about anything, even hot cocoa and tea, but you have to put the ingredients in your cup, unlike the coffee. Breads, jams, cold cuts and cheeses were available. I think they also had rice and miso soup, for the Asian guests.

I took the bus 33 to Morgental, changed to a tram line 7, and rode into downtown. Slowly but surely, Zurich HB was trickling in with Street Parade visitors. I walked along the Limmatquai up to Rudolf Brun Brucke, back to Bahnhofstrasse by Uraniastrasse. At Uraniastrasse and Bahnhofquai, there was the police station that had a unique ceiling, designed by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. At that time, Alberto Giacometti was featured on the 8th series 100 CHF banknote. 100 CHF was worth around 105 US Dollars, or 97.5 Euro. I wanted to be sure I was well provisioned, so I took an S-Bahn train to Baden in Argovia, called Aargau in German. In Baden at the rail station, was a Migros grocery store, with prices a little cheaper than in Zurich. I was able to find some grapefruit fizzy drink, as well as some film for my 35 mm camera. The year 2004 would be the last time I would use a 35 mm camera for Street Parade, as I was in a transition to digital photography, hence my Sony Handycam that had about a 640 kilopixel resolution. I did not need to buy any more Digital 8 tapes, I had probably one or two in reserve. About 1:30 PM, I took the train back to Zuerich HB, and walked along the Limmatquai all the way down to Faerberstrasse. This was on the east bank of Lake Zurich. This would be the start of the parade, starting around 2:30 PM. The parade route was basically Utoquai from Hoeschgasse to Bellevue, left on the Bellevuebruecke, past Buerkliplatz and the Schanzengraben canal, westward along the General Guisan Quai to somewhere around Bahnhof Enge and the FIFA World Cup Museum, ending somewhere around the Swiss Life building on Mythenquai on the west bank of Lake Zurich. A memorial stone to Dr. Arnold Buerkli is located close to the lake bank in the Rentenwiese park. A competitor to Lake Geneva's Jet d'Eau is about a few hundred feet south, on the northwest corner of Lake Zurich, close to the Seebad Enge waterfront bar. It has a few jets but it does not go as high as the Jet d'Eau in Geneva.

At 2:30 PM, the parade started its anticlockwise journey. On the parade route, big flatbed trucks with floats, called "Lovemobiles", are flanked by security guards, and their main purpose is to keep the spectators a safe distance from the trucks, so that they won't get trampled. Usually Lovemobiles are punctuated by a few spectators dancing, and it can be difficult to cross from one side of the parade route to the other. The worst chokepoint is around Bellevue, where the sidewalks are barricaded and the crowds are horrendous. Another chokepoint is Buerkliplatz. It is a good thing, that VBZ decided to suspend service for most of its central city routes up to 9 PM that night. Central and HB are not affected, but the routes using Bahnhofstrasse are suspended, and curtailed around Enge and passing by the south exit for Selnau rail station and the Boerse / stock exchange building, home of the SSMI, comparable to the CAC 40, DAX, Dow Jones, FTSE, Hang Seng and Straits Times. It can get very crazy, considering that there are a six-digit count of visitors. There are food stalls here and there, and the Street Parade staff ask, that each visitor buys maybe one or two drinks at 6 CHF apiece, including the 1 CHF deposit (not refundable during the Street Parade). The soap bubble machine was working, and I think it was somehwere around Stockerstrasse and General Guisan Quai. Everyone seems to walk through the bubbles that end up on the street. At least the soap bubbles smell nice. Buerkliplatz was quite the nasty chokepoint, trying to cross General Guisan Quai would take maybe two minutes, because so many people want to dance. This is the major challenge of the Street Parade. The Love Parade I went to in July 1998 in Berlin, was similarly crowded.

I managed to walk back to Bellevue, and walk north of the Limmatquai. I think it was about 4 PM by then. On the Muensterbruecke next to the Helmhaus, there were many food stalls. It was a bit quieter, but the closer to Bellevueplatz, for example, the Sardonabrunnen at Wiener Platz, there was much activity. I think I saw two dance stages with professional dancers on stage, and the general public dancing along. It was as crowded as could be expected.

The afternoon turned into evening, and even at 7 PM, there were still more Lovemobiles on the route. I was not particularly hungry at the time, but I had my grapefruit soda bottles with me. Now and again I was feeling a bit tired, and found some place along Bahnhofstrasse to sit and have a drink of grapefruit soda. Bahnhofstrasse a bit north of Buerkliplatz was relatively quiet. I went for maybe another hour before the sun started to set. Slowly I made my way back to HB, I went underground to the S4 platform, what is now platforms 21 and 22 (used to be 1 and 2 before the Loewenstrasse underground platforms were constructed years later). I took the S4 to Manegg, and then took line 70 to Morgental, and a line 33 to the hostel to go to sleep. I have no idea, what I ate for supper that night, I don't think it was either at the Brasserie Johanniter or the Bierhalle Wolf. I went to bed, maybe about 11 PM or somewhat later. I was only one of two in the room.

Please join me tomorrow, when I take a train ride to Munich through the Black Forest and Stuttgart. I'll also go to downtown Munich to explore around. Gute Nacht!

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greenbagjosh · 1 year

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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!

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