Some updates and pictures from my first week in Switzerland
February 12, 2023
Classes don't start until next week, so I've been exploring Zurich for the past week. This blog post is roughly a photo dump, with little bits of context. All photos have been scaled down to make the page load faster. Delete "resized/" from the image link to view the full image.
I arrived in Zurich last Friday (the 3rd) in the morning. I met a fellow exchange student (from Australia) in the airport, and we took a train to downtown Zurich and walked around for a little bit with our suitcases. My apartment move-in was at noon, so I took a tram back and reached by eleven. I spent most of Friday unpacking, reading some papers, and meeting some of my roommates.
My apartment is a bit away from downtown Zurich, but the city is incredibly well-connected via public transportation, so this wasn't a problem. There's a bus stop, one minute away from my apartment by walking, which connects me directly to several nearby train and tram stations. And my apartment is also relatively close to ETH's Hönggerberg campus, where my lab and classes will be.
Right across the street from my apartment, there's also a Coop. (Coop is a Swiss supermarket chain, and Coops can be found almost everywhere in Zurich.) The Coop carries all sorts of interesting things, including (thanks to globalization) Old El Paso taco shells.
On Saturday, I walked around downtown Zurich and visited a music shop. I tested several violins and bows before choosing one violin and one bow to rent for the semester. I'm hoping to play in one of the academic orchestras, and this seemed easier (and more affordable) than dealing with how to bring mine from home.
I didn't really do anything on Sunday. I think I read some journal papers for my research project.
Monday morning I woke up early and went for a short run. For some reason, my sleep schedule here has been incredibly good. I think it's because I'm working much harder than back home walking around a lot more. I am getting up at 5 or 6 every morning, and when I woke up at 8 the other day I felt like I had slept in.
Monday was also the first day of German class. The class meets every day for two weeks (so I'm halfway through) from 0915 to 1530 at UZH (Universität Zurich).
Despite all of my classes and research being in English, I thought it would be useful to learn German to increase my cultural immersion this semester. I'm taking a beginner-level course which will get me halfway to A1 proficiency by the end of next week. The course is fantastic and I feel like I'm learning a ton. Obviously, there is still a long long way to go.
For practice, I try to talk in German in public as much as I can. Sometimes I end up switching to English (especially if I'm holding up the line). But I feel like I'm getting better at linking ideas together in German. Of course, the Swiss really speak Swiss German which is a whole different deal, but I'll deal with that once I become fluent in Hochdeutsch.
After class, I took a bus to the ETH Hönggerberg campus and met the grad student with whom I'll be working this semester. He gave me a lab tour and introduced me to some of the other group members.
Tuesday, I don't remember what I did after class. I probably slept early because I was so tired from working hard in German class.
Wednesday after class I went to the Ikea in Spreitenbach with one of my roommates. That trip took several hours, between the train rides and walking around the store, but it was worth it as I ended up buying a comfortable mattress, pillow, and blanket.
Thursday afternoon, I walked around downtown Zurich with a few classmates from German class. We visited the Haus zum Rech, a history museum which contains an exhibit tracing Zurich's construction, as well as a three-dimensional model of Zurich in 1800.
Afterwards, a subset of us visited the famous Grossmünster church (the twin steeples are pictured below).
Friday morning in German class, we went to the Bürkliplatz farmers market to practice our German speaking skills. I spoke with a few shopkeepers in (my primitive) German.
Friday afternoon, I walked along Lake Zurich with some classmates.
Yesterday (Saturday), I attended the Zurich Tonhalle, where the Prague Royal Philharmonic performed Semiramide, Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony (No. 4), and the William Tell Overture (fun fact: William Tell is a Swiss folk hero). The feature piece was the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, performed by a local fifteen year-old violinist who played with incredibly clarity and projection. The hall was fantastic, and though I was in the upper balcony near a pillar, I had a direct line of sight to the soloist, conductor, and concertmaster. The concert hall sits right on Lake Zurich, so if you go onto the patio you can get a fantastic view of the water and (especially if it's less foggy) the mountains.
Afterwards, I walked around and found a nice Turkish vegan restaurant called Vegitat Cigköfte. I ate the jackfruit wrap, which was quite tasty and filling.
Today, I went hiking in Flumserberg, a ski resort near the border with Liechtenstein, with some friends from German class. We took an hour-long train from Zurich to the base of the mountain and then a twenty-minute gondola ride up the mountain. We hiked for about ninety minutes uphill, stopped for snacks and hot chocolate at the lodge, and hiked back down before taking the gondola and train back to Zurich. Everything about the excursion was magnificent.
Thus ends my first full week in Switzerland. Tomorrow, we begin week two of German class, and then I have my first project meeting in the afternoon. Very exciting!