Grüezi!
Welcome to Wander We Go. I’m Alex.
I write about life in Zürich, travels throughout Europe, and musings on both.
Welcome to Wander We Go. I’m Alex.
I write about life in Zürich, travels throughout Europe, and musings on both.
Running, at its essence, is simply the physical motion of putting one foot in front of the other. That’s all it is. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter your reason, find something that resonates with you, and let it carry you forward, one step at a time.
I’ll be the first to admit: reading Station Eleven, a novel about a flu pandemic - during a pandemic - is perhaps a questionable choice. But upon finishing it, I can’t help but also think - maybe this is exactly the right time to read this book. Yes, the context of this book is a pandemic that wipes out 99% of humanity. But the purpose of the book isn’t the story of the collapse of civilization - but instead, a story about people and their resilience. It’s a book of warm imagery and nostalgia and the dark grace of survival in a fallen world.
One afternoon after Biennale, we were walking back to our apartment from Arsenal just as the sun was setting. The whole sky turned pink, then a fiery orange, outlining the gondoliers heading back to the grand canal and the distinctive domes and towers of the Venetian skyline. There is really no other city like this.
It was a huge year of growth and learning, with a whole lot of fun and adventure along the way. Some of these experiences involve discovering beautiful places Switzerland has to offer, but most, in fact, are about the different ways we began to really find our own place here.
A grab-bag of things I’ve have noticed about Swiss Life lately - from the way that the Swiss form lines (or lack thereof), to the gorgeous autumn colors, to an interesting observation between integration and assimilation.
During our recent trip last September, we swapped Heineken for craft beer, skipped the Red Light District and coffeeshops, and didn’t just go to one, but four(!), museums. Fair warning: this post is a long one, but it’s compensated with lots of pictures! This Venice of the North is just so gosh-dern photogenic. Read on for Amsterdam, revisited.
And so this means that summer 2019 is in the books. And also - that summer 2019 was one for the books. I read by the lake, by the river, on the train, on the mountains, on flights home. Basically wherever I went this summer, a novel (or two) came with me.
For the past year, we had been hearing so much about this region of Switzerland, and our first foray into Appenzell and the Alpstein did not disappoint. We did one of their classic routes, but backwards. My knees and I will always prefer a long ascent to a long descent, even if that means 1000+ meters of sweaty climb. Seealpsee, with the mountains reflected in its still green waters, is probably the most famous image of this region. Amazingly, this was only the first of many, many stunning views on this hike.
