Zurich's emotional outburst

You know you are getting old when you don't recognise a youth cult nor understand what on earth it is about. I never really realised that Zurich might be at the cutting edge of the cult of youth: I always, mistakenly it might appear, assumed that the youths in the Limmatstadt were perhaps a little bit behind the curve in terms of their sense of style, and music, and dress. How wrong I could be.

For a couple of months now (years probably if I had bothered to open my eyes) I would have noticed that the was a new movement brewing in the Hauptbahnhof. (You may notice by now that I consider the Hauptbahnhof to be the melting pot of Swiss culture and the ultimate leveller of Swiss style). Back in the day, the HB would play host to the kind of kids who were modelling their look on rappers such as Eminem. Since I am currently sitting in Detroit I can testify to the fact that they were pretty close to the original look. But perhaps a little light on the bling and missing the all important Chevy Escalade.

Now the Eminem alikes have been replaced by an interesting new band: to my untrained eye I would call them 'Kids of Goth'. They have the same sort of dark hair and eye makeup, coupled with a prediliction for piercing parts of their bodies that I wasn't actually aware you could pierce (I mean where does the back of the stud go?). But in a significant departure from the rather dark Gothic norm (dark except for the occasion use of deep purple or if I remember correctly cherry red doc martins), these kids wear colour. Any kind of colour mixed together and thrown on, contrasting with their black hair and black eyeliner.

They also wear amazingly thin drainpipe jeans that I can only imagine they apply with a spatula. Anyone over the age of 21 wearing these things should be shot. On the spot.

I would never profess to be a fashion expert (I own a pair of Chelsea boots and a Barbour jacket after all) but these kids strike me as having a certain style. They also have an attitude. Not obnoxious, not unpleasant but an attitude nonetheless. On a train recently, I was sitting near a couple of these 'kids of goth' whose conversation, since it was in English, I couldn't help but overhear. They were articulate and intelligent. And above all, sensitive. Und wie. Their girlfriends. They feelings. Above all their emotions were discussed and described in huge detail.

I learn now they are called 'emos' (and I thank the tagesanzeiger for bringing them to my attention). Emos because of their emotional sensitivity. I also learn from the Guardian that they are regularly attacked, verbally abused and generally laughed at by their mainstream peers. Sad really. Still, they brighten up a dull corner of the Hauptbahnhof and make a change from Eminem. But I don't fancy their chances much on the streets of Detroit.

The Darling Buds

There is a time in Switzerland that is particularly nice and it is about right now: the dark and foggy days of the winter are a distant memory, the trees are all budded and the blossoms in bloom, the air is mild but with an undercurrent of freshness still. May. In Switzerland. What could be better?

Of all the months of the year, May is the one that I prefer. The city of Zurich emerges from its cocoon. Within the space of week you can go from wearing your heavy winter coat to wearing shorts and T-Shirt. You shift from living a life indoors to contemplating where the best places are to go sit outside.

Life in the pavement cafes of the Rennweg area or the Rathaus explodes and old Letten Bahnhof becomes a small playground for Zurich’s adult population: space to lounge, to swim, to drink and eat and of course to indulge in the obligatory people watching that the summer months seem to make more interesting.

Not that I have rose tinted spectacles I hasten to add: I enjoy May because who knows what is coming next. As I write I sit here in my flipflop sandals contemplating a patch of grey cloud in the blue skies above me. Nothing is every assured in Switzerland in the month of May and one shouldn’t take the weather for granted.

The footballers and football fans of euro 2008 will be pleased to hear however that the forecast is good for our upcoming football fest. June is unlikely to be cold, say the weather forecasters and the likelihood of warmer temperatures is about 50 percent. IT doesn’t sound convincing to me. Amazingly the median temperature at the four swiss playing locations in June on a long-term basis has been 16 degrees in bern and around 18 degrees in Geneva. Best pack a cardy if you are thinking of coming over…

The lesson I have learned from the past is to make hay when the sun shines because come june the picture may be altogether different. A plunge in temperatures, a permanent curtain of rain, all of this is possible in a country where the summer weather is at best unpredictable.

Of course, we all remember the glorious summer of 2003: the time when the streets baked and the badis became a must-do for most of the city’s overheated office workers. We all live in hope that it will be repeated. In the meantime we will enjoy the slightly cooler, slightly nicer temperatures of May. Who knows how long it will last.

Zurich by bike

Zurich by bike

A few years ago I did something that I felt was quite outrageous. I sold my car and for not much less than the I price I got for it I bought a bike. Not, I hasten to add, a nice BMW motorbike nor even a Vespa. No, a pedal cycle or a pushbike, a bicycle, basically.

It seemed such a huge outlay at the time but it is one that I have never regretted. Having a bike that actually works, that fits me is a true lxury whose value I always appreciate. Everytime I ride it I remember why I bought it: is infinitely preferable to owning an aging audi with a leaking boot and a thirst for expensive fuel.

I am pleased to see in these past few days that fellow Zurichers have returned to their bicycles after neglecting them over the winter months. The streets are once again filled with two wheelers, quite a feat in a city with the topography of Zurich.

Whenever I am at risk of feeling smug about my level of fitness I simply go out on the Zuriberg and wait until a grandmother on her citybike overtakes me. The level of fitness that local bicycle riders have is quite stunning to me.

And so, with some trepidation, I am about to embark on an Alpine cycle tour. I have bought the appropriate kit: the lycra shorts with their disconcertingly heavy liner, the little cut off weight-lifter gloves, the oversized crash hat and the ludicrous panniers.

I could have the clip on shoes, the GPS navigation kit and rearview mirror but somehow I just didn’t see the need. Let us hope that I don’t come to regret it.

This will be the first proper cycle tour I have done with my new spiffy bike, the last major journey I undertook was on a racing cycle I bought from the Veloboerse for 200 Swiss francs. One day 2 of our tour one of the pedals simply fell off. I don’t know if you have ever tried to ride a bike with one pedal? its quite hard. Rather like trying to swim with one arm. You try to overcompensate with the one side that still works but the result is a frustratingly lop sided experience. in the end I resorted to attaching my foot to the functioning pedal with a pair of boxer shorts in an effort to be able to pull the pedal through the upwards phase of its cycle as well as being able to push down. Did it work? no. Did my leg hurt? Yes.

So I am hoping this weekend will not include a repeat of this little incident.

My cycle tour companions will be fellow Swiss: the result is that we know in advance where we will be going and How many days we will need, the downside is that I fear their calculation of our average speed is more likely to be based on their own abilities rather than my own. I knew there was a reason I didn’t need a rear view mirror. There ain't going to be no one riding behind me.