What are you curious about? Have you ever found yourself going to work, going home, going to work, going home and repeating this pattern? That’s where Selina Man Karlsson found herself a few years ago and when her job situation changed, she realised she didn’t have much else besides work and that’s when she started being curious about life again. A whole new world appeared… Back in 2010, Selina set up Curious Courses which offers short taster courses to spark and feed your curiosity, giving people the opportunity to try different and new things. Over the past years, there’s been quite a variety of topics including photography, wine, meditation, cheese and writing courses to name a few. The idea is to try something out in an evening to see if it is something for you and if it is, you can pursue it further and if it isn’t, then you have had a nice night out, no harm done 🙂 She’s learnt that there’s something out there for everyone, whether you want to try something creative, want to improve your cooking or experience a new sport or an unusual hobby, there’s so many great possibilities out there, you just need to have a go. She’s noticed that the more curious we become, the more open minded we also become and life takes on a new shine. There are typically 2 – 3 Curious Courses per month with upcoming courses including Be your own boss, Ready Set Write, Access your confidence, Life Purpose Creation and more. On the 8th June in Zurich Seefeld, there’s a very special event; our first CURIOUS COURSES DAY! There will be a keynote speaker followed by 18 different topics under the themes Create, Grow, Care, Move, Taste and Discover. Each of the short courses will be 50 mins long and participants can choose up to 6 to attend. All participants will receive special offers from the speakers as well. It’s going to be a day of Discovery and exploration! Visit the Curious Courses website for more details Selina can be contacted on selina@curiouscourses.ch if you have any questions.
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St Patrick’s Day In Zurich
Nualan O’Brien is Irish and living and working in ZĂĽrich. She works for Sixtblog.ch We all know the festival, but do we know the man who gave his name to the date? And what did he do with the shamrock? St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. While he is called a Saint, he was never formerly canonised by the Catholic Church. He got sort of “voted” in as a Saint by the Irish through popular acclaim. As a result the 17th March is the unofficial global “Let’s celebrate Irishness” day- celebrated  all over the world from a week long festival in Dublin, Ireland, a dyed-green river in Chicago, USA and street parades in Sydney, Australia. While St. Patrick’s day is mostly associated with revelry:  Irish bars, drinking and dancing – the 17th of March or “St. Patrick’s day”  is a day which marks the death of a Scottish-born missionary called Patrick – who converted “pagan” Ireland to Catholicism. (And Ireland is still predominantly Roman Catholic to this day). While we all enjoy the festivities, our hard-working Irish missionary would no doubt not approve of the “Paddy’s day” rituals  which are mostly associated with this day. It is a coldy ironic “back, back to the start” kind of Cheryl Cole pagan theme going on. St. Patrick the man and the shamrock (387 – 461 AD):  St. Patrick was born in Kilpatrick, Scotland, 387 AD. At the age of 14, he was captured and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd sheep. During this time, he developed a strong faith in God – even though Ireland was a so-called “land of pagans and tribes”. He escaped aged 20 after God appeared to him in a dream telling him to leave Ireland by the coast. Being the persuasive fellow, he talked his way onto a ship and some sailors took him to Britain. Another dream told him that the people of Ireland were calling out to him to return to make Ireland holy. He subsequently became a priest, and then a bishop. He returned to Ireland in 433 where he and his disciples succeeded in preaching the Gospel throughout Ireland, converting many to Catholicism (and surviving death attempts).  St. Patrick was a missionary in Ireland for 40 years, until he died on March 17, 461. And the shamrock?  While the four-leaved shamrock or “clover” is often associated with the “luck of the Irish”, it was St. Patrick who used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the catholic concept of the “Holy Trinity”, namely the Catholic belief that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit – all in the one entity. Along with the harp, the shamrock is now considered the national emblem and is used in many logos including aerlingus (the national airline carrier) and the Irish Tourist office. Legend has it that St. Patrick also banished snakes from the island of Ireland. But with Ireland being the lovely, friendly- but rather rainy and not terribly reptile-friendly place – that is debatable. As a good theologian would tell you, snakes are a symbol for paganism. And as the Irish – a nation famous for writers, musicians and entertaining folk generally would be inclined to say, “and sure – why let the truth get in the way of a good story?” Things to do in Zurich this St. Patrick’s Day  Live Music in Paddy Reilly’s  Talstrasse 82  http://www.paddys.ch/zuerich/
Finding Childcare In Zurich
We were contacted by Tanya at Rockmybaby, offering professional childcare services in Zurich and Schaffhausen. We asked her for some helpful tips on interviewing and employing a nanny.Â
Employing a nanny for the first time can be nerve-wracking for some.
Understanding the role of a nanny, preparing for an employee, conducting interviews and establishing an open, professional relationship are all things that any employer can do to help make employing a nanny a success. Interviewing your nanny:
- Inform the nanny about your family life and children,
- Describe the job description,
- Ask the nanny to tell you about herself, and what she is looking for in a new job,
- Go through the nanny’s CV in detail, asking her to describe each nanny position and why she left,
- Run through a list of questions relating to the nanny’s abilities as a childcare,
- Views on discipline, activities for the children etc,
- Ask the nanny if she has any specific questions,
- Encourage the nanny to ask questions.
- Call your best candidates back for a second interview. Give them a chance to spend some time with your children, to go through the finer details and any outstanding questions they may have.
Finally, trust your intuition. Contact Tanya for any of your childcare related needs on 043 4440978 / 079 6609307 or email on zurich@rockmybaby.ch – www.rockmybaby.ch  This article is not intended as an endorsement or recommendation. It is up to you to perform your own checks into prospective childcare providers.
Long Night of the Museums – A Somewhat Different Saturday Night Out in Zurich
On Saturday 3rd September 2011 Zurich hosted the Long Night of the Museums once again. With Zurich’s first long night having taken place in 1999, this cultural event reoccurs on an annual basis and is proving more popular than ever. This year’s theme ’wild!’, attracted hundreds of visitors.
The Long Night of the Museums invites people of all ages to indulge into Zurich’s cultural (night) life. For CHF 25.- visitors can purchase a ticket granting them entrance to all of the 36 open museums. Organised shuttle busses in addition to regular public transport allow smooth and comfortable transfers from one museum to the next. Visitors who feel more active also have the possibility to hire bicycles free of charge from the various hiring stations throughout Zurich.
First step of this year’s long night visit was to purchase the ticket. Riding into town on the Forchbahn meant that the Tram Museum in Burgwies was closest – so why not make the most of it and start at 19:00 on the dot (we are in Switzerland after all…). After purchasing the ticket (which can be pre-ordered or bought at the door at any of the 36 museums) we were ready to travel back in time. On exhibition: A variety of old trams used in Zurich over the last century. Some older, some ancient! The complete wooden tram interiors and lack of cushioning or state-of-the-art facilities may cause confusion as to whether you are in a tram or in a carved out tree… The plaque of the 50 Rappen fine – as opposed to today’s sticker of the 80 Franc fine – for travelling without a valid ticket may cause one to calculate the savings potential one may have had when travelling without a valid ticket. Everybody using public transport in the Zurich region must have come across the famous rules sticker featuring dubious characters smoking in fellow commuters’ faces, chain saw vandals and the all so prominent (formerly Mexican) guitar player. To my surprise one of the trams in the museum still featured the edition with the controversial Mexican hat guitar player. At that stage I considered phoning the Mexican Embassy to report racism but decided to move on instead… As we leave the museum after almost an hour, we leave behind the smell of the 1950s and return into the world of inflation – where the price of an import pint must have increased to CHF 9.50 by now.
Next on the list was the Muhlerama. The museum features an almost 100-year-old mill factory. The highlight of this visit had to be the old wooden slide. After spiralling down on a grain sack from the top of the factory, we moved on to the Zoological and the Paleontological Museum where we were met by creatures of all sorts. The rain decided to join us, making the Zurich Toy Museum – our next stop – a very welcome one. Located close to Rennweg between Bahnhofstrasse and the Limmatquai, we found this museum at the very top of one of Zurich’s oldest buildings. Featuring European toys from the beginning of the 18th and up to the 20th century, steam engine locomotives and teddy bears seemed to be what children of that time enjoyed playing with most. A presentation of the history of a toy company rounded our stay at the Zurich Toy Museum off. Midnight. Time to move on.
Since the weather was not on our side we opted to stop at the Museum of Design Zurich next. The High Rise – Idea and Reality exhibition on the ground floor featured various works of today’s highest monuments and buildings around the globe. Almost half of the world’s tallest buildings were erected over the past decade – a truly fascinating exhibition. Swiss artist Francois Berthoud featured his work in the upper floor of the museum. Trying to understand his fascination for shoes I warmed more towards his fascination for beautiful women.
It got well past midnight and our final stop was the all so prominent Museum for Modern Art in Zurich (German: Kunsthaus). The exhibition ’Seasons’ by Swiss contemporary artist Franz Gertsch offered a retrospective of Gertsch’s works between 1983 and 2011. The works ’Spring’, ’Summer’, ’Autumn’ and ’Winter’ were painted off photographs. Nonetheless they leave you stunning and contemplating, to which season you relate most to.
And so it got 03:00 – just in time to catch the night train home. The Long Night of the Museums offers an enjoyable and quality night out, packed with culture and difference to the conventional Saturday night in town. And even with this year’s British-like weather, good company and a list of 36 museums to work through means there’s never a dull moment at the Long Night of the Museums.
Streetparade: 20 Years Love, Freedom, Tolerance & Respect
Zurich: A city renowned for business, banks and a high standard of living. It all sounds so formidable. And serious! But every year at around about August, it’s time for the people of Zurich – and beyond – to let their hair down. It’s time to party!
The Streetparade event has been a magnet for techno and trance fans in ist 20 years of existence. With the first parade having taken place in 1992 with approximately 1000 participants, this number has now increased by a thousandfold. Throughout the 20 years it has established itself as one of the largest techno and trance events on an international level. With themes such as ’Peace!’ (2002), ’Today is Tomorrow’ (2005), ’Move Your Mind’ (2006) and ’Friendship’ (2008), the event is known for having proportionally few severe incidents throughout the years. An event that is affected by weather conditions, Streetparade 2003 and 2004 saw record temperatures of 37°c. But even at 17°c (2002 and 2006) partygoers still had a blast.
This year’s Streetparade was no exception. Starting at 13:00, six stages and approximately 30 floats known as ’lovemobiles’ caused the centre of Zurich to bounce. Under the theme of ’20 Years Love, Freedom, Tolerance & Respect’ approximately 900,000 ravers partied hard under the sun of Zurich. As every year the event featured big names in the world of techno and trance – Boy George, Carl Cox and Paul van Dyke, just to name a few. With free admittance one must add! Not a bad deal for an event taking place in Switzerland’s largest city in the heart of Europe. Everyone can come! And they did… Many loyal ravers have travelled from various parts of Europe to attend the 20th anniversary of Streetparade.
Many attend Streetparade afterparties – Energy being the most prominent. Starting well before the midnight hour, the event takes ravers through the night and into the early morning hours. Known as the largest indoor event of Switzerland, thousands of ravers flocked from Zurich’s city centre towards the Hallenstadion in Zurich-Oerlikon. The amazing David Guetta, DJ Antoine and Sir Colin were some of the DJs in this year’s lineup at Energy.
While the Streetparade event itself is free, the CHF 90.40 charged for Energy 2011 may cause some partygoers to think twice about attending. For the first time also, this year’s Streetparade organisers insured themselves against a financial loss due to bad weather conditions. So while Zurich became unimaginably unrecognisable on Saturday 13th August 2011, some things simply remain to remind us that we are in Switzerland after all…
Streetparade: Temperature vs. Participants
|
YEAR |
TEMPERATURE |
PARTICIPANTS |
|
1992 |
– |
1,000 |
|
1993 |
27°c |
10,000 |
|
1994 |
– |
20,000 |
|
1995 |
24°c |
150,000 |
|
1996 |
– |
350,000 |
|
1997 |
27°c |
475,000 |
|
1998 |
28°c |
450,000 |
|
1999 |
30°c |
550,000 |
|
2000 |
32°c |
750,000 |
|
2001 |
21°c |
1,000,000 |
|
2002 |
17°c |
650,000 |
|
2003 |
37°c |
900,000 |
|
2004 |
37°c |
1,000,000 |
|
2005 |
23°c |
1,000,000 |
|
2006 |
17°c |
800,000 |
|
2007 |
23°c |
800,000 |
|
2008 |
24°c |
820,000 |
|
2009 |
19°c |
600,000 |
|
2010 |
22°c |
650,000 |
|
2011 |
28°c |
900,000 |