I recently moved apartment in Zurich, and wanted to take a moment to plug the service offered by the removal company that I used, Kaylan Umzug.
The provided a full service move; packing, furniture disassembly, hand-over cleaning with guarantee, rubbish diposal, and furniture re-assembly at the new apartment. And they were fast -- my 6 room apartment (approx 50m3 of material) was cleared in 4h30m (8a-12.30p), and it took the same amount of time to unload and reassemble at the new place (1p-5.30p). Despite having to get furniture up to the second floor in an elevator only large enough for four people.
Other things that I liked about the service:
They provided a fixed price quote. Other companies that I spoke to quoted per hour. This always worries me, in that it gives them an incentive to proceed a little slower.
There were no hidden charges in Kaylan's quote -- VAT and insurance were included. Other companies broke them out as separate items, or left them as small print (i.e., VAT was not included, the customer was encouraged to get their own insurance). Also, unlike other companies their quote included all the necessary packing material.
Every other company quoted the move as taking two days. Kaylan did it in one (and were faster than their original time estimate.
Finally, they were towards the cheaper end of the quotes that I received. The quote broke down in to three components.
The move itself. CHF 4,560 (as already mentioned, inc. VAT, insurance, packing material, etc).
The cleaning. CHF 1,500. This was marginally more expensive than the quote from my regular cleaning co., but I was happy to pay the extra to only deal with one company, as well as not have two companies getting in each other's way during the move.
Rubbish disposal. CHF 600. I had approximately 8m3 of assorted junk that I no longer wanted and had failed to sell (or was too crappy to sell) that needed disposing.
Overall, probably the least stressful move that I've ever done. The worst part was hanging around while they efficiently moved everything, feeling rather like a spare wheel.
After cycling around the city and finishing at about 1pm it was
time for lunch. Since some of the party were vegetarian we wandered
off in the direction
of Hiltl, Europe's
oldest vegetarian restaurant -- founded in 1898 it's been going strong
for 111 years. We took advantage of the buffet, which is priced by
weight. You load up your plate, weigh it, and if I remember correctly
hand over CHF 4.50 per 100g.
As J pointed out, this is something of a contrast to the UK, where
any sort of buffet option normally limits the number of trips you're
allowed to make, requiring a careful form of structural engineering in
order to maximise the amount of food you can get away with on your
plate.
This was a very important skill during our student years.
Lunch was very tasty, and quite filling, but turned out to be
lacking that certain something. Discussion determined that the
certain something was ice-cream, and with
a Mövenpick
stand one street over it seemed rude not to...
Suitably sated we strolled over to
the Grossmünster
for some more sightseeing. I say strolled, "Hopped on a number 11
tram" would be a more accurate way of putting it.
The church interior is quite plain, in large part because of
the Swiss
Reformation in the 1500s. Accordingly, there's not much in the
way of internal decoration -- what is there being largely limited to
reliefs on the stonework (note: it's been a while since I was last in
the Grossmünster and it seems that in the intervening time
they've banned photography inside the building, so these photos are
from when it was allowed1).
The north-west end of the church also boasts two very impressive
stained-glass windows.
I recommend clicking on that to view the image larger, and properly
appreciate the colours in the glass.
At the south-west end of the Grossmünster is the crypt, first
consecrated by Bishop Gebhard III of Constance in 1107. Pride of
place is afforded to a statue of Charlemagne, which dates to around
1450-1475. This statue was originally sat in a niche approximately
half way up the Charles Tower of the Grossmünster (the one
nearest the river) -- the statue currently in that niche is a copy of
this one.
Why Charlemagne? According to legend he built the first church on
the site now occupied by the Grossmünster.
The two towers of the Grossmünster dominate the Zurich
skyline, and for CHF 2 you can climb most of the way up the inside of
one of them for some stunning views. The climb up is somewhat
cramped, which poses a bit of a problem for me at 6'6", but the view
is definitely worth it.
After pausing to catch our breath at the top of the tower and take
in the view we moved on to our next destination --
the Fraumünster,
just over the river Limmat.
Approximately 200 years older that the
Grossmünster, it was founded by Louis the German, a grandson of
Charlemagne, for his daughter. Like the Grossmünster the
interior is sparser than you would expect, again that's due to the
effect of the Reformation.
Today the Fraumünster's main claim to fame is probably the
five stained glass windows that were installed in 1970. Designed by
Marc Chagall
and 10m high the five windows represent the Prophets, Jacob, Zion,
Christ, and the Law. To the right you should see a panaroma of the
"Prophets" window (again, taken before photography in the church was
banned).
...the red-orange "Prophets" window depicts Elisha watching
Elijah's ascension in a fiery chariot. Above that is a blue area in
which Jeremiah sits above, head in hands, lamenting the destruction of
Jerusalem. At the top is a multicolored God in heaven, sending beams
of enlightenment to his prophets. This window is lit artificially, as
it's on an interior wall.
By this point we were starting to get a bit peckish again, and P
had already picked out an appropriate venue for afternoon tea --
the Sprüngli
restaurant at Paradeplatz. And good choice it proved, as we managed
to bag the last of their gluten-free (or, as I discovered "glutenfrei"
auf Deutsch) treats as a little restorative.
Next on the agenda (following a 3 hour return home to freshen up
and get ready for the evening after the morning's exertions) was
dinner, and I'd booked us a spot
at King's
Kurry at Wiedikon. Since I've come to Switzerland there aren't
many home comforts that I miss, but being able to wander in to the
centre of more or less any town and get a decent curry is one of
them. King's Kurry is one of the very few decent Indian restaurants
I've found in Zurich and the surrounding area. The Swiss seem to
have an aversion to spicy food.
Anyway, the meal was great, although, note to self: opting for a
table outside by the tram tracks is not necessarily conducive to
uninterrupted conversation. And then on for cocktails. For what
evening would be complete without a cocktail to round it off?
So we jumped in a number 14 tram and probably 20 minutes later were
walking in the door of the Safari
Bar, where Long Island Ice Teas, Mai Tais, and Apple Mojitos
awaited us.
We did, however, drink sensibly, and in moderation, as we had
another exercise-filled day ahead of us...
1 Possibly interesting footnote. I took these the day after I interviewed at Google.
Saturday dawned bright and slightly overcast. Almost perfect cycling weather, which was handy, as that's what we were going to be doing.
When friends have visited in the past I've played tour guide, going on walks through Zurich and pointing out the sites. But there's only so much ground you can cover, and I've only got a fraction of the trivia to hand that a "proper" guide would have. So I was very pleased to discover the tours run by Zurich by Bike. CHF 25 per person for two and a half hours seemed like a reasonable deal, so after popping by the local baker for Mandelgipfel and Butterbrezel ("There goes three months of Benecol" commented P) we headed down to Bürkliplatz.
We arrived perhaps 20 minutes early, so wandered around the fleamarket at Bürkliplatz for a bit. Definitely the place to go if you're in need of some vintage vinyl, old electronic equipment, and, oddly, a stall that seemed to specialise in promotional shoulder bags from a diverse range of different airlines.
10.30am rolled around and our guide arrived. Zurich by Bike use bikes provided as part of the Züri rollt. This is a great scheme -- leave a (refundable) CHF 20 deposit and borrow a bike for some or all of a day from a number of locations around Zurich. The bikes were comfortable and seemed well looked after, which was reassuring.
By then our numbers had swelled somewhat, as I'd invited some other Zurich-based friends to join us, so with guide nine of us set out from Bürkliplatz heading east.
Our tour took us along the Limmat, taking in (amongst other things) the Rathaus, and the Fraumünster.
From there we went via Paradeplatz along Bahnhofstrasse, pausing up by Lindenhof to take in the view and hear stories, like how the Limmat got its name.
The route continued towards the Landesmuseum, up via Langstrasse, around and to Bäckeranlage, before bringing us back along the western-centre edge of Zurich and back down to the lake. Here's a reasonable approximation of the journey...
The tour was almost exactly two hours and thirty minutes, and I can highly recommend it to anyone who wants to find out a bit more about Zurich while getting a little exercise. The route was very easy, being almost entirely on the flat, and, with a few very short exceptions busy roads are avoided. And even on the main thoroughfares Zurich is still quite quiet, even in the middle of a Saturday.
I've had some house guests over the weekend -- friends of mine I've known since my university days -- and having spent a very enjoyable few days around Zurich I thought I'd chronicle some of what we got up to. Partly to prepare other friends who might be considering the same trip, and partly as suggestions to you, dear reader, for things you might want to do when you're in Zurich.
J and P's flight arrived mid-afternoon, and after clearing customs we had perhaps a third of the day left. Zurich Airport is easy to navigate, and I'd already purchased a pair of 72 hour ZurichCARD travel passes for them while I was waiting, which covered all the places we were likely to go, so we didn't need to spend any extra time hanging around the airport.
The trains to the Hauptbahnhof are always a pleasant contrast to the Heathrow experience, where you would spend 40+ minutes on a clanking, bumpy Picadilly line underground train, as compared to the 10 minutes in relative comfort that it takes here. A quick snack stop at Nordsee was in order -- that's the only problem with flying to Zurich over lunch; the flight leaves too early to have a decent lunch at the airport, and the food on the plane is never that great so you arrive feeling decidedly peckish -- then back to my place to freshen up.
Newly invigorated we headed back in to Zurich for a stroll down the Bahnhofstrasse. P was on a mission to track down a copy of the Swiss Constitution (it's best not to ask), and we discovered the next best thing, the Swiss Civil Code, on the top floor at the back of Orell Füssli. Rather surprisingly it was free.
The walk down Bahnhofstrasse also gave us the opportunity to admire the oversized plant pots in evidence as part of Garten City, and to point out my favourite jewellers, CHRIST (so called, I believe, as that's what you mutter under your breath when you see the prices).
Making it down to the end of Bahnhofstrasse we stopped to admire the view over the lake and off to the Alps, before deciding that dinner was a good idea. So from there to the Zeughauskeller for something approaching traditional Swiss food. To wit, sausages, potatoes, and bread. And quite a nice bottle of wine.
I'd been to the ZHK before, but hadn't really paid that much attention to the all the army memorabilia that's dotted around the place (although the signs near the entrance that say "Warning: No smoking, live grenades" are quite eye-catching). As I was to discover the following day the ZHK used to be an army munitions store, which explains the decor.
The evening was still a little young, so we meandered over to the east side of the Limmat and in to Barrique. I'd been in here earlier in the week, selflessly helping celebrate some birthdays, and it's a pleasant enough place to spend a bit of time. And drink a glass or two of wine, which is what we did.
And then home, because tomorrow was going to be a busy day...
I spent last Friday wandering the streets of Zurich as part of "Googleserve".
Every year the Google offices participate in "Googleserve". At the risk of over-simplifying slightly, we talk to non-profit organisations that work with the local community and ask what they'd do with a few hundred extra volunteers for the week.
This year the Zurich office took part in a number of different projects; cleaning up graffiti, teaching people to use the internet, painting murals at the Kinderspital, ...
I was involved in raising the awareness of two AOZ projects among Zurich's immigrant population (of which, of course, I'm a member). The AOZ is a state-funded organisation with the remit to make it easier for newcomers to Zurich to find their feet and integrate socially and professionally.
The two programmes we were promoting (in teams of 2-4 throughout the city) were:
MAPS Agenda -- this is a monthly free publication that lists (in 13 different languages) events that are happening throughout the Zurich area; focussing particularly on events that are likely to be of interest to immigrants, or that will help them integrate in to Swiss society. For example, one of the events is a weekly free 90 minute German course at Letzipark.
The Konfliktophon -- a telephone helpline for foreigners in Switzerland who think they are being discriminated against, or are having some sort of trouble or misunderstanding with a Swiss person; perhaps a neighbour, or someone in the workplace. They help to try and defuse the situation, and try and see that everyone's viewpoint is represented.
All told everyone who volunteered distributed several thousand of these leaflets around Zurich, and have hopefully played a small part in making things a little easier for people moving to Switzerland.
A Brazilian colleague was in town... and the last time he was here he'd discovered "Karaoke from Hell". The concept is simple enough -- it's like regular karaoke, but with a live band. So instead of drunkenly swaying and singing along to "I will survive" (or whatever your favoured tune of choice is) you get to rock out to one of 150 or so tracks backed up by 3 chaps on lead guitar, bass, and drums respectively.
For example, here's the man himself, from late last year.
So, he's back in town, and what do you know, it coincides with the last night of Karaoke from Hell before it goes on a summer hiatus, so it seemed only right and proper that we went along.
Now I like to consider myself to be an encourager of karaoke in others, rather than a committer of it, so I wasn't about to get up there and sing. Oh no. But it did afford me the opportunity to pretend to be shooting a rock concert, and get some practice in.
This is trickier than it sounds. In particular, trying to get a combination of shutter speed and aperture size plagued me throughout the evening. As you would expect the lighting was all over the shop -- very irregular, and frequently changing. Matters were not made any easier by singers who displayed an apparently preternatural talent for standing just outside the small circle of light from the (fixed) follow spot.
I was shooting with my venerable Canon 20D (must get around to buying a Canon 50D) with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, which with the crop factor behaves like 80mm. I'd lugged my 580EX II flash along with me too, but a few test shots quickly showed that any hopes I had of being able to bounce the flash off something and get some benefit that way were forlorn, what with the walls and ceiling being predominantly black.
It quickly became apparent that a shutter speed any slower than 1/60s wasn't going to cut it, the singers were just moving too quickly for that to result in anything other than a blurry mess. So with that decided I was left with aperture and ISO to adjust.
I'd expected that I'd be shooting the whole night at the lens' widest aperture, f/1.8, but proved to be too wide, with too shallow a depth of field. Focus became very hit and miss; the singers were moving too fast, and, critically, a relative large distance to and from the lens for me to just manually focus on a single point, and the narrow depth of field meant that the autofocus had trouble too. At f/1.8 having someone's ear in focus meant that their eyes weren't.
So again, a process of trial and error meant that I settled on f/2.8 for much of the night, being the best compromise between depth of field and letting as much light in as possible. Those two constraints being set I didn't have much choice over the ISO setting. Anything less than ISO 400 resulted in unusable images, and I needed to push to ISO 800 for many shots.
I always shoot RAW rather than JPEG images, and this is a good example of why -- the extra colour depth afforded by the RAW format maximises the chance that detail will be retained that would otherwise be lost when shooting JPEGs.
The results are are at this Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikclayton/sets/72157619124715603/. I filled up a 2GB card with these, which translates to approximately 250 photos, which I weeded down to 90 or so. They required a fair amount of post-processing, and even then many of them are only suitable for web use, as 1/60 and f/2.8 still resulted in some noticeable out of focus areas in a number of them.
Here are a few excerpts, with commentary.
This chap was singing "Jumpin' Jack Flash", and doing a very credible Mick Jagger impersonation, bouncing around the stage and moving his arms every which way. This shot is more or less straight off the camera, converted from RAW, with a little sharpening and correction for the red/cyan chromatic abberation that was particularly obvious around the top of his head. Zooming in it looks as though it's his right shoulder that's most in focus, but it still works at this sort of size.
Taken during the bridge in "Basket Case", which afforded the singer an opportunity to look moody and reflective by the mic. This has been quite heavily cropped from the original, to move the singer to the left hand third of the image, and make both him and the guitarist more prominent.
The original was lit very strongly with a purple/blue combination that didn't do it any favours, so I pushed the exposure a bit, strongly increased the colour temperature, and then desaturated the image somewhat to get back colours that are, if not more realistic, at least a bit nearer reality. This had the unexpected bonus of drawing attention to the different colour washes from the lighting on the singer and guitarist that divide the picture in two, which I find quite pleasing.
Again, this one is quite close to how it came off the camera, although cropped quite severely to focus on the singer. She had a habit of flicking her head to send her hair swinging from side to side, and I probably rattled off 20 or 30 shots trying to capture it before eventually getting this one that's acceptably sharp.
I like this one a lot. For a start, it's acceptably sharp (at least to me), and the lighting picking out the edge of Leonardo's face, forearm, and fingers around the mic work nicely. It's also clearly an action shot, as he's mid-song, and quite possibly mid-note.
And to top it all off, there's the arm of an anonymous audience member in shot throwing the goat. It doesn't get more metal than that :-)
I have no recollection of seeing that through the viewfinder, it was only apparent when I was weeding through the photos afterwards.
So, that was Karaoke from Hell. It starts up again later in the year, September or October I believe. So if you fancy yourself as a budding rock star just looking for a band then I suggest you get down there.
It's been a bit quiet around here for the last couple of months. A quick brain dump.
In February I left my job helping to run the mail systems at Citigroup, having sorted myself out with a contracting role doing software development in Perl (with some Autosys and Murex mangling on the side) for the nice people at Brevan Howard. Quite definitely some of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of working with in the financial industry. If you're a London-based Perl developer looking for work and the opportunity for a contract with them comes up, jump at it.
Along the way I finally got around to sorting myself out with a Flickr account, and you can see my photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikclayton/. Not something I've written much about, but that may change in the future.
Anyway, that proved to be temporary. No, they didn't fire me. Instead, in two days time I jump on a plane bound for Zurich, to start working as a site reliability engineer for Google Switzerland.
I was over there a couple of weeks ago as part of a preview-cum-orientation trip, which coincided with the once-every-three-years Züri Fäscht (Zurich Festival), so I took the opportunity to snap a few shots of fireworks.
Anyway, I hope to write more next week about the process, useful sites for people undergoing a similar move, and so on. That, and getting back to contributing to projects like Subversion -- my free time has been practically non-existent for the past 4 months or so, and that's something that I've let slip.
) with the 
, which with the crop factor behaves like 80mm. I'd lugged my 
along with me too, but a few test shots quickly showed that any hopes I had of being able to bounce the flash off something and get some benefit that way were forlorn, what with the walls and ceiling being predominantly black.
