After arriving in Zürich, Switzerland, and wanting to turn around that first day and fly back home to my family, I'm now relaxing and enjoying time with my friend of thirty-plus years, Annelies. Gee whiz, it only took a week . . . But today . . . It took Annelies and I just under four hours to hike the "about 3 hours" Leuenberger Weg (WANDERWEG is the term for a path for people to walk between villages) above my ancestral village of Rüderswil. Not bad for tw...

The beat went on and on and on. The heart of the city of Zürich beat in sync with the hearts of 950,000 people filling the streets and bridges along the lake for the annual Street Parade; "a Demonstration for Love, Peace, Liberty, Generosity and Tolerance." Sidewalks and cafes were thick with people. Orders were placed by those taking a parade break--or watching delighted and sometimes surprised as I was--for espresso, the popular soft drink Rivella, beer or win...

Just a brief note to include a Swiss National Day entry. My friends bought passage for the three of us on the Zürich Lake Ship Linth, built in 1951. It was a dinner cruise and the cuisine was as expected--superb. After the sun set below the hills, fireworks of every design began to erupt around the lake, booming and flashing along its edges. Every community seemed to be holding their own celebration. It was exciting to try to catch a glimpse of each and every o...

Were the raspberries just that perfect and fresh, the little bit of cake just that light and the coffee so . . . right? Or was I simply just that happy to be back at Confiserie Sprünli after many years? All of the above, of course. Everything about the Himbeer-pâtisserie was just that perfect. Returning to Sprüngli on the Paradeplatz at the Bahnhofstrasse in downtown Zürich was high on my list of things to do while visiting Switzerland again after 14 years. ...