It took me no time at all. I guess i adapt quite easily

....Oh, that huge mass of water in Zurich is a lake?!
I bought a canoe already and wanted to cross the waters to reach the craddle of freedom of more developed lands...but had to refrain as I got pulled back ashore and charged for not having my canoe license with me.

It's a long way to the English Channel from here, you know...

Yep! Zurich lake connects to Indian ocean but English Channel can be easily reached via Lake Geneva

Life becomes more entertaining when you pretend the lakes here are actually oceans

brought america to switzerland. showed people what good food really is. gave people bagels at home. bud light. brought american slang to all my friends. learned the languages (work in progress). but am pretty successful at life here just need to further learn french and german and i will be set. all took about a year and a half. love switzerland

In answer to the original question, Sundays are great...a wonderful day of relaxation. I have been here 21 years I don't remember it ever being a problem to get used to Sunday. I spend my whole week running around. It is fanatastic to have a day when you can just chill.

I am confused....Bud Light ? Had you run out of bath water ...I assume you were not bringing it here to drink.....if you don't like the commercial big sellers here there are lots of great small breweries here. Bud is bad enough but Bud Light what the hell is that.


Have fun

Martin

My typical Sundays: mountain bikes ready-to-go, endless unexplored woods, hills, lakes, rivers, villages and castles...and that's just rides starting from my front door...2 BBQs on the porch waiting to be fired up, friends more than happy to bring over some beers and enjoy a feast...books and books describing scenic hikes in the Alps and around cities and countryside. Multiple opportunities to go swimming..in clean lakes, rivers, or the local swimming pool. Or take the family down to the local thermal baths for an afternoon soak. Or zip up to my local fitness club for an hour workout. Maybe take some sausages and fixings and a bottle of wine and go out for a picnic at any one of the thousands of grill-equipped picnic spots all over Switzerland. Shopping? Well on those rare occasions when I didn't buy what I needed during the other 6 days of the week, just hop on the train down to the Hauptbahnhof, which basically serves as a shopping mall. Buy what I need then relax with a foaming Weissbier and watch the world go by. And for those times when I just have to have sushi on Sunday, pop up to my favorite sushi restaurant with a stunning view which is always open on Sundays from 11.30 - 21.30.

If you want an energetic lifestyle, put more energy in your pursuit of one.

I also had no trouble getting used to having a quiet Sunday ... and I'm from Sydney, which may fit the 'busy city' view somebody was harping on about earlier ... but I find I can adapt to a broad range of things, such as being able to cope with Coimbatore and the pace of things there within a few days of arriving (for a six-week visit) ...

Personally, I like the idea that the majority of people in a country can have the same day off. It makes social activities easier to organise, prompts you to get out and see some of the countryside, and actually spend time doing things with people ... or, if you're like me, sometimes take the time to write ...

Oh, and be careful if you shop on a Saturday before a long weekend (that has the Monday as a holiday) ... made that mistake once, and have been scarred for life ...

Maybe they didn't trust the water here?

Seriously, though, with the number of fantastic beers you can find in Switzerland (don't go near Eichhof's Pony!!! Picture of the source on the label ...) at low prices, you don't need to get some imported dishwater ... or even real beer! Just wander into Denner ...

While of course, shopping on Sunday is restricted to Zürich-HB, Zürich-Airport and Zch-Stadelhofen, cafés, restaurants, entertainment places, museums, the Zoo, the Sukkulentensammlung, the Botanic Garden, castles all around the country, etc, all are open, the ships on the Zürichsee are in full operations.

What of course is making things difficult is the weather, which is at least as bad as in London.

The question is what your children are interested in. They hardly will enjoy a visit to the Kunsthaus, but THIS
here
NONAM, Nordamerika Native Museum, Indianer und Inuit Kulturen

NONAM
Seefeldstrasse 317
8008 Zürich
Telefon043 499 24 40
Fax043 499 24 49

is open on Sunday from 1000 to 1700, and may interest them.


Or you go to Konstanz to see SeaLife

http://www.sealifeeurope.com/index.php?lang=en


or in case your children are Dino-freaks, here an idea for an excursion (take the umbrellas with you ! )
http://www.sauriermuseum.ch/



You and your children find desert plants of different kinds like palms etc amazing ? particularily a chance to stay in a warm place on a cold day ?

Then, THIS may be your place :

Sukkulenten-Sammlung Zürich
www.foerderverein.chTel +41 (0)43 344 34 80
Fax +41 (0)43 344 34 88


free of charge entrance, open daily 9.00 - 16.30





or are your children interested in old castles. There is one between Zürich and Winterthur, the Kyburg

www.schlosskyburg.ch/index_e.html

open on Sundays 10.30-16.30



some other castles
www.ag.ch/hallwyl/en/pub/
or
www.schloss-lenzburg.ch


something not depending on the weather as underground and open
on Sunday 9-17.30 is this here
www.hoellgrotten.ch/
near Baar in the Canton of Zug

or visit the Munot in Schaffhausen with its many covered areas
www.munot.ch














Hope, to have given some ideas for badweather programs urgently needed in country where even in dry areas, some 55 to 50 % of all days are cloudy at least if not rainy

SWIM !

I often have crossed the lake by swimming, either from Strandbad (Bädli) Wollishofen or from Strandbad Mythenquai over to the Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen. It needs some proper planning. You have to watch the big ships with their schedules and routes and start out when they all on their way UP and none is in sight coming down the lake, and of course the weather is good. Depending on your swimming-speed it takes half an hour up to a full hour to do the crossing.

There is a special event being organised on July 8th by the Kanton of Zurich.

Details on this page.

The PDF on that site does not have a proper file extension, and is uploaded here for those who are keen or know someone who might benefit from attending.

Thursday, July 8th 2010, 7 till 9 p.m.
Volkshaus (blauer Saal), Stauffacherstr. 60, 8004 Zürich

Is it just awkwardly worded or do they mean they are inviting English speaking foreigners?

Cool thing, though, nonetheless. Wish there was something like that here.

The website says it all, screenshot enclosed.

I think it is a good idea for newbies to ZH / CH.

You live in the wrong place I think - take a look at this for Lausanne.

My lecturer gave me a useful link ( here ) that can make things easier.
Linguistic Politeness and Greeting Rituals in German-speaking Switzerland

THIS time it is for the English speakers. There throughout the year are similar events done by the Cantons for the communities of speakers of
Italian
Spanish
Portuguese
Serbian
Croatian
Albanian
Greek
Turkish
Arabic
Tamil

For many years they also did it in Hungarian (1956 onwards) and
in Czech (1968 onwards), but those former immigrants have long
ago integrated in full and now have German as "operational"
language even if associations of Hungarians and Czechs still
exist

This is not a luxury, but for the authorities a way to get into
touch with the communities in question