Walking to the vineyards and wineries...

Wettingen is in a small river valley, and the "North facing" side of the valley is home to 15 acres of vineyards. It makes a great place for our daily walks.

The predominant red wine varieties are Pinot Noir or Blauburgunder as it is more commonly known, and Dornfelder. Because it is such a small producing region, the wines are exciting, relatively inexpensive and very much "terroir" driven.

The main white wines are Reisling, Gwertztraminer and Pinot Blanc.

Grapes are not the only thing grown on the hill-sides.........., and not to waste any opportunity there is also a local cheese made with wine.

If I was staying longer, I could easily see myself integrating into the local industry one way or t'other.

Some of the slopes are not too horizontal which must present challenges at different phases of production, especially harvest!

When we get tired of our 5franc "supermarket" wines, we can easily walk no more than 500m to our local "wine cellar".

We are looking forward to May 1, when they open the "winery" for the first time for the year! A very old historic building. Wine has been produced in the valley since 1428, the winery looks like it has been around that long!

In God we Trust?

Since coming to live in Switzerland, we have been pleasantly surprised at the level of trust which we would not normally take for granted. The Swiss are a very “trusting” lot and examples of this are everywhere.

One that stands out for us is this local flower shop/garden centre on Wettingen’s main street. These plants are on the footpath and remain there 24/7. No chains, fences, barricades, razor wire, guard dogs, security cameras!


We were bought up in New Zealand, which has the second highest “least corrupt” country status, after Denmark, but I think even there these plants would be at risk?





Having lived in Ireland for the past 8 years we were learning to understand about a corrupt (maybe a little harsh?) society even though they are at no 14 on the above rankings. In Ireland car yards cannot display their cars outside business hours, for fear of theft or vandalism. Butcher’s vans have known to be burgled in Dublin while waiting at traffic lights. (imagine an Irishman running up the road with a side beef over his shoulder!). Routine currency movements between banks are accompanied by police, army, special forces all equipped with automatic weapons.

Living in Switzerland is a breath of fresh air by comparison.

Nuclear neighbourhood....

Since coming to live in Wettingen, we were a little surprised to be given Iodine tablets at the local registration office. "For a nuclear accident" we were told, and " instructions when to use will be on the radio". Very helpful when we don't even have a radio, and don't understand what they would be saying anyway.


This is the closest plant at Beznau, which is about 12kms as the crow flies. It is the oldest plant in Switzerland, commissioned in 1969 and is due for replacement. The planning process for rebuilding has been suspended due to recent events in Japan





This is the plant at Leibstadt, 20kms away, and very hard to miss because of the large cooling tower. We drove past this plant on our way to the Black Forest.

Nuclear power in Switzerland accounts for 40% of demand, and there is obviously now a big question mark over the continued use of this source of energy. Interestingly, France relies on Nuclear Energy for 75% of its demand!

Camping in Wettingen (Vettinyen)...

So here we are..... "Garden city between the Limmat and Warehouses"

"Recreation right outside your frontdoor"

....as well as Gewurtztraminer, Reisling and Pinot Noir

"Trade and Commerce without borders".

After not persevering with our Zurich employers after the initial three months, we finally managed to find a temporary furnished/serviced apartment but had to travel 20 minutes (by train) out of Zurich, so we are now camping in Wettingen. Quite a nice town of 20,000, with all the services we require within walking distance, including a good Italian deli/butcher! Known locally as "the garden city", or "town in the country"!

Also within walking distance (25 mins) is the old spa resort town of Baden, which has been home to thermal baths for centuries. Not that we are into that!

We had to register our move from Zurich to Wettingen with the local authorities, and surprisingly as part of the induction process we were given "Iodine tablets". We are within a potential radius from a nuclear power plant, so surprised us a little with what is currently going on in Japan!

Baden and Wettingen are on the Limmat River which is the river that runs through Zurich.

Our apartment is what we call a "sports apartment", 60 steps up and 60 steps down. Though it is still small, it is much more liveable than the "rat hole" that we were accommodated in for 3 months on our arrival in Zurich.

Not surprisingly, it has a view. Something we haven't had for awhile!

So we have good local rail, road and air links to most places that we will be wanting to go during the next few weeks. Working on a few things....have a few agencies at our behest....and awaiting that serendipitous phonecall.

Alsace in a Day!

The last weekend of March we made the most of our last few days with the Mercedes and headed North into the Alsace region in France. Just over an hour from Zurich and an easy "day trip"!

Alsace is best known for it's aromatic white wines, and there are some superb examples, but as always we were on the look out for the local pinot's, which didn't disappoint!.

The old medieval villages have stood up well to the ravages of time.

Give me some secaturs!!

The area is a breeding ground for white storks, a large migratory bird which makes it's nests in the most amazing and unlikely locations!

We had a great day, if not a short introduction to the delights of the area and headed home loaded up with French bread, foie gras, roulades and some complimentary local vins for a delicious supper!!

Zurich Spring Parade

Dublin has the Paddy's Day parade, New York has Macy's 4th July parade and Zurich has it's Spring Festival. In fact it appears that most towns and villages in Switzerland have some sort of festival to welcome the Spring.

These guys took the prize for me. They were on segways and did a fantastic job.

Most of the participants were middle-aged musicians, and some of the face painting was fantastic. Not to mention very colourful costumes.

Just another excuse to dress up, look silly and have a few beers?