Archives for “Zurich” tag

The bar and restaurant Nordbrücke, open since May 2008 (just celebrated its 5th anniversary!), is just beside the local train station Wipkingen and is great for Saturday afternoons. Buy your fresh vegetables, fruit and flowers at the nearby stall and then spend the rest of your time enjoying a beer or a coffee in the former train station buffet, while you watch people pass by. It’s a place to go for drinks or coffee, but also a good address to get some food, especially over lunch.

Combining old (they simply varnished the nicotine-stained walls, kept the tables and chairs, and added comfort with Biedermeier sofas) with new (a blue/green fitted bar and new lighting system), the venue still has an air of train station buffet, but with a contemporary feel. But when the sun is shinning you’ll be on one of the two terraces anyway.

The big windows are great for people spotting and have been unveiled after a lifetime behind net curtains. The result of the gentle makeover is a charming and comfortable bar in which you immediately feel at home. It’s a place where you sense the past, making it feel somehow more real than many of today’s cloned modern, trendy bars. Every other Tuesday, there’s a club night going on downstairs. Check the website for the programme. Every Sunday from 09:30 they set up a large buffet for a great brunch.

Nordbrücke also offers a flat to rent, if you intend to extend your stay in Zurich.

Café Bar Plüsch is a Zurich veteran. Plüsch means plush, which describes how this venue’s interior looked years back when I’d just moved to Zurich. It opened its doors 13 years ago and I’ve had many good times in there, but it was about time that a new lick of paint and polish was given to the old girl. 

This bar has become one of my most frequented locales over the last years, as I live nearby. It offers great breakfast and coffee (best decaf in town!), tasty lunches (daily changing menu, salads, quiches, sandwiches) and snacks, and is a nice place for a drink in the eve as well. So with this venue you’re taken care of all around.

In the morning, most seats are taken up by individuals who are reading the newspaper or enjoying a cup of coffee before work. During the day its clientele mostly consists of small groups but in the evening it can get really packed.

The sandwiches and fresh salads are also available for take-away.

Guy Stevens’ International Comedy Club brings English speaking stand-up comedians from around the world to Switzerland. Every fortnight, selected comedians take the stage either at Mascotte, Volkshaus, Kaufleuten, Alte Börse, Hallenstadion or Maier’s. It’s a great way to start the night with a chuckle and in contrast to other performances in Zurich, this evening is all in English. All venues are perfect for stand-up acts, intimate enough for atmosphere but also big enough to mingle before and afterwards for a drink and a chat at the bar.

The audience is very international and there are always two acts per night. Check the website to see who’s on, as the programme changes every time and, of course, to make sure there is an act on that specific Friday and where it’s hosted. There is no reserved seating, so first come, first seated. 

The Langstrasse area, in Kreis (districts) 4 and 5, is known for both its multicultural scene and its design community. As such, it plays host every year to Kreislauf 4 + 5, when 90 or so stores and studios open their doors to show their works and give the public an opportunity to speak with the designers.

If you’re not in Zurich the weekend it takes place in May (this year 24th – 26th of May 2013), it’s still worth checking out the event’s website, one of the best and most complete lists of Zurich’s many ateliers and designers, ranging from fashion and interior to jewellery and art – and available in English.

The entry for each label includes a short description along with a picture and the shop address. Under “Maps fo district” you’ll also find two maps to print with which you can do your own tour all year round.

In Switzerland it’s common practice to have an intermission in the middle of the film (so you can buy some ice cream or go to the loo). This interruption of the story line annoys many cinema goers. Additionally, more and more cinemas in Zurich belong to bigger chains, so they all show the same mainstream movies and look identical. But fortunately there are several art houses as well as Uto-Kino.

This cinema is a relic from the past, full of charm and atmosphere. Hardly anything has been renovated over the last few years (or maybe decades?). The 280 seats are all covered in burgundy velvet and they’re not numbered, so it’s the first come, first served practice.

Most of the films on the programme are indie films and hits from years gone by – in the original languages with German and French subtitles. The cinema doesn’t have its own website but you’ll find its programme online or in one of the local newspapers.