The Resistance - Renaissance of Zurich

As I said in the other post entitled, Walking Down the Street of Zurich: Episode 1, from the hotel, we crossed to the other side of Pfingstweidstrasse where we saw this view of the two buildings just across. 

The Resistance-Renaissance

This building is named Resistance

This is a closer view of the same building, the Resistance

Resistance is an old building, I mean, it looks old--- that is, in terms of its structure, color and style, compared to the other buildings in the neighborhood. Do you notice the tall building at the back of the Resistance? Look towards the back of the building on the right. The tall building is more visible here. That's the Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel, one of the luxury hotels in Zurich.

The three photos above were taken on a very cold, foggy morning. It was difficult to get a clear view of the Renaissance from a distance. Unfortunately, we had no more time to come back to take a better shot before we left for home. So here are two more photos of the two buildings I found from google. There, you could appreciate them better--- the Resistance and Renaissance buildings seen together, side-by-side, in this view.

Photo from Littledutchboy of flickriver

Quite intriguing are the looks of these two buildings. As we gazed at them, we were speculating on possible stories. This made me recall (which took quite some time and effort!) the title of a movie I watched a good number of years ago. Batteries not Included by Steven Spielberg! Anybody familiar with this movie? It's about a group of tenants in an apartment block who refused to move out despite orders and threats to vacate the place, such that the demolition couldn't be done by developers. They had to hire a local gang to make violent attempts at persuading the occupants to leave. However, visiting aliens in mechanical life-forms who became friends came to the rescue of the tenants. 

Frank and Faye Riley (real-life couple Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy) face eviction after unscrupulous developers bought their apartment building.

Using their extraterrestrial abilities, the tenants' new-found friends were able to defeat the ploy of the developers by restoring every single damage caused in the building. Fantastic!

The friendly extraterrestrial machines who saved the tenants' home from demolition

I searched the net to read about the Resistance and Renaissance. Well, well, well, would you like to know what I found out! Well, it's very interesting! I learned that the Resistance is also referred to as the Nail House in Zurich West.

Resistance: The Nail House in Zurich West

A nail house, derived from the Chinese word, Dingzihu, is a term that means household or person who refuses to vacate their home to make room for real estate development. The word was coined by developers to refer to nails that are stuck in wood and cannot be hammered down. Nail house "stick out like nails in an otherwise modernized environment".

If you are interested to read about the proposed project intended for this place in Zurich West, click here (Nagelhaus, Zurich).

Oh, I also found this article, Resistance and Renaissance: A Metaphor for Managing Change (click title to read post) that talks about diverging views that may hinder initiatives on change.

Well, I hope I have shared with you a bit of history. Now back to our Walk Down the Streets of Zurich: Episode 1. Are you still coming along? Remember, we just crossed the street and have barely begun... let's go!

Walking Down the Streets of Zurich: Episode 1

Are you ready for this walk? As I promised in my previous post, this is going to be a real long walk! Having no ticket to get either a tram, bus or train ride, there was not much choice left but to go on foot. But wait, first make sure you had a sumptuous breakfast! That's exactly what we had... a real heavy breakfast, our first meal in the hotel. Day 2 in Zurich.

From the hotel, we crossed to the other side of Pfingstweidstrasse. There we saw this view of the two buildings just across. 

The Resistance - Renaissance of Zurich West

The names and the looks of these buildings aroused my curiosity. Resistance and Renaissance. Similar font style on both buildings, yes, and situated near each other! Intrigued with these, I made a separate post featuring more photos and the story behind the Resistance and Renaissance. See you there. Click here to view post. 

Oh there you are, welcome back! It's time to move on... continue walking to the city. Are you still coming along? Just wanna make sure... okay, come on then...

Determined not to get lost, we just followed the route of Tram no. 4. Mission: To find the station where we could buy tram tickets without having to use our credit card in any tram station along the road. How about coins? Yes, of course, we could have used coins to get tram tickets but we just didn't have the exact amount yet.

Here's the Tram Station at Technopark Zurich West. It's the nearest Tram Station to our hotel.

At the Tram Station, one could buy tickets using coins or credit card. 

In my other post entitled, "A View of the Alps and the City of Zurich from Wipkingen Church" I already featured the route from Technoparkstrasse to Limmatstrasse via Hardstrasse. And so, in this post, I'll take it off from there. 

From Hardstrasse, we crossed to Limmatstrasse, where we saw KV Zurich Business School again. We just went straight along Limmatstrasse. 

We passed by Dammweg (pronounced dam-vig). Seeing that bridge was simply amazing! I was looking at a viaduct traversing Josefstrasse, Heinrichstrasse and Limmatstrasse along Zurich West with a shopping area underneath its 36 arches. By the way, a viaduct is a long bridge with a series of arches, carrying a road or railroad across a valley or low ground.

The Dammweg Viaduct

See the viaduct arches of the railway? Underneath these arches is a unique shopping and commercial center with more than 30 shops and grocery halls built during the 19th century.

We didn't visit any of the stores but in my heart, how I wished I had a chance to drop by another time to window shop. Sad to say, there was not much time.

Walking farther, we came along Quellenstrasse and found Anthony's Kitchen. 

Oh, once again, I was so enamored with the sight of the barren trees that I took quite a number of shots. See these...

I just never got tired looking at the trees!

Three blocks from there, we reached Limmatplatz. In here, we were about to rest for a while but having found no public seat, instead we took photos of the lone tree encased in a concrete circular ring. See photo below.

Without claiming the intended rest, not even a minute to take a seat, we continued to explore some streets near Limmatplatz. From Limmatstrasse, we turned right at Langstrasse, just strolled along, took some shots of the buildings like this...

... and photos of ads mounted on the wall.

Hmmm... where are we now? Oh, we just turned left at Fierzgasse... 

... then traced our way back to Limmatplatz again. Took this photo before leaving the Limmatplatz circle.

We're treading Limmatstrasse once again. After walking one block we saw this church just across the street. This is actually the third church we encountered in our two-day stay here in Zurich.

That's Johanneskirche. We didn't have to cross as the full view of the church was better from the other side of the street. Look at the photo below. Isn't it lovely?

Walking farther at the sidewalk of Limmatstrasse, I just enjoyed looking at the buildings behind the trees... like this...

 and these... 

until we reached the tram station near Klingenpark and the Museum fur Gestaltung.

By this time, we were approaching Parkhaus Hauptbahnhof near Sihlquai.

Then we reached the Tram Station at Hauptbahnhof where we stopped for a while.

We had to take heed at nature's call. We surveyed the area around. Checked Starbucks but changed our mind. St. Gallerhof was closed. 

We entered another building still at Hauptbahnhof. 

Inside the building, we saw Einstein's famous equation. 

But wait, can somebody tell me what's wrong with it? 

 Well, my husband, being a mathematician, of course, didn't let this pass. (Afterall, mathematics is the very reason that brought him to Zurich!) He had to bring this equation home!

We've been going around the area several times, yet we couldn't find a public WC. Since it was almost 10:00 am we thought it was time for us to sit down to claim that much needed rest afterall all the walking we've been through since 7:00 am. We also thought it was time to fill our stomach with anything edible yet affordable AND use the WC at the same time!!! 

 Before                                                   After

Well, we did hit two birds with one stone at Blueberry! Our tummies satisfied, our bladder relieved! Happiness to the max! :) :)

Oh, I think we have gone far enough.  Don't you think you also deserve a special treat after keeping us company for almost two hours?! Well, we can find each other after a break. Keep yourself posted for the second half of the trip, this time, we will be cruising along Limmat River. See you again soon!

The Birds of Wipkinger Park

Last month, I posted about our long walk to get a glimpse of the city of Zurich right on the day we arrived on the place (click here to view post). That memorable walk brought us to Wipkingen Church where we enjoyed a view of the Alps for the first time. 

The steeple of Wipkingen Church can be seen a few meters away

On our way back to the hotel, we were so glad to see Zeugma Cafe and Bar! It was a great relief for us who were then so tired and thirsty.  It seemed like it was among the very few (food) stores that were open that day. Zschokkestrasse, that's the name of the street where Zeugma was located.

We decided to take away a whole box of pizza for snacks and dinner (but I actually ate my last slice at 4am the following day!). While waiting for the pizza, I just had some gulp of bottled water to quench away my thirst. Then we found our way again.

We bought pizza from Zeugma Cafe and Bar

The map below shows the direction from the Wipkingen Church to Wipkinger Park.

From Wipkingen Church to Wipkinger Park

After walking several meters from Zeugma at Zschokkestrasse where we bought the pizza, we came to a bridge (Wipkingerbrucke) crossing the same river we crossed on our way to Wipkingen Church, only that this time, we were on the other side of the road (Rosengartenstrasse). 

Hardbrucke (the bridge on top); Wipkingerbrucke (the bridge below)

We didn't cross the bridge yet because we saw, not very far from it was a park where people were seated on the long stretch of concrete staircase on one side of the river. See the photo below.

People resting by the side of the river

We came closer, sat on the stairs and watched the birds swim and fly along the river.  

At Wipkinger Park one could enjoy the sight of clear water while listening to the chirping of birds

Beautiful sight we enjoyed at the park! I couldn't seem to take my eyes off the birds especially as they fly in throng away from the river then back again!

The trees at Wipkinger Park

Oh, how I love the color of the trees around the park! I hope you enjoyed looking at the photos. Here, I wouldn't want you to miss having a glimpse of the birds at Wipkinger Park.

Watching the birds at Wipkinger Park on a Sunday Afternoon

I hate to say this, but it's time to go. Time to trace our steps back to the hotel and get some rest for tomorrow is another long day. More places to see! So expect another long walk, oh, YES, I'm not kidding! A longer walk it was, indeed, this time, to the heart of the city of Zurich!

Bohemian Barefoot Sandals Showcase in LeBlanc

In my previous post entitled, "Crocheting Barefoot Sandals", I featured the Bohemian Barefoot Sandals that I gave away as gifts to my officemates for Christmas last year. The varied reactions I saw among those who received a pair amused me so much. Two months after making the last pair, I ventured on another pair. 

Here they are... cute and chic on newly pedicured nails!

After crocheting the first pair, I told myself, "These are perfect for our team building event!!" And so I crocheted another pair using a different color... of course, my favorite!

Wearing our barefoot sandals at the poolside of LeBlanc Exclusive Resort

LeBlanc Exclusive Resort is a private resort where we spent a day of rest and recreation. No work, just play! Oh yes, we also enjoyed a soothing foot spa with pedicure and body massage as we had fun, bonding together, talking about anything under the sun--- EXCEPT work! :) 

Look, these barefoot sandals can also be worn when you would like to just relax your feet! Just hang them up on a hammock and enjoy a restful afternoon nap under a shady tree!

Well, addiction struck me again that I made a few more pairs, this time, thinking of my colleagues at work who were very kind to offer their much needed voluntary services for the medical mission conducted by our office.

And so, here are the barefoot sandals I made especially for them! Wanna join the Bohemian parade? Come on!

They were all ready to plunge into the swimming pool but took time out for photo ops with me to showcase the barefoot sandals I made for them. You can click here to view the pattern I used featured by Chandi of Expression Fiber Arts.

Well, what do you think? Would you like to have a pair, too? If you were to receive a pair of these Bohemian Barefoot Sandals, what color would you like? Do write your color preference in the comment box below.  Who knows you might be wearing your first pair the next time you stroll along the white sands in a beach resort this summer!

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