Chocolate, cheese and cable-cars
Switzerland is an interesting place and I think its denizens could teach good old Blighty a thing or two. For starters, over 20% of the population are immigrants, yet in general people seem to get on pretty well – the Swiss press certainly don't keep ranting about it. Every adult man has an Army rifle at home (they still have national service here) yet gun crime is low. And everything is so bloomin' efficient.
Goethe described Switzerland as 'the colossal and the well ordered' and yes, the mountains are huge. Pretty much everything else is neat, tidy, prim, proper and runs like, er, clockwork. The trains are exactly on time, the streets are immaculately clean and the public transport in Zurich puts London to shame – electric trams and buses glide past in smoke-free silence every few seconds and try as I might, I can't find a single bit of chewing gum under a seat or graffiti 'tag' etched in a window.
There are a few things that I didn't expect – the weather has been great (it was well over 30 degrees C. yesterday). Also, Zurich seems to have a remarkably large gay population – I reckon my girlfriend and I get roughly equal numbers of admiring glances from the local hombres (did I mention what good taste the Swiss have?) ;)
Anyway, to kep a vaguely polar thread going, I've been pounding the pavement around Lake Zurich and (much to my girlfriend's dismay) I'm eating like a crazed lentil addict. All part of the build up to the next expedition. Full-on training starts in a matter of weeks…
Last up, well done Tyler Hamilton!
(edit – ah – I see I'm wriing about it before Tyler's own website! He won Gold in the Olympic men's time trial yesterday.)
— Filed under Rumination