Walking to Zurich main station after work
This one is quite random.
Today I left work at 17.05 (apologies to the AM/PM crowd, but I’m going to let you figure that one out yourselves this time) and by “left” I mean the time I walked out the building. Down three flights of stairs first. I’m not going to say that I work on the third floor because for my American readers that’s the fourth floor and that always gives me Labov flashbacks. Look it up!
Anyway, there is a tram stop right outside the building but I usually prefer to walk to the station. Unless I try to make the 17.14 train in which case I need to catch the 17.02 tram, hop off at the second stop and dash down the stairs to the station. It’s tight but doable if the tram driver doesn’t chat with the tram driver that takes over at the first top for too long and the light at the bottom of the stairs is green.
Where was I – oh yes, I walked out the door at 17.05 and was on the train by 17.28. So it took me 23 minutes today.
First you walk along the parking lot of the University Hospital with a small park to your right, then it’s across a busy road with trams running along too. And bikes. I think the bikes are the most dangerous part of you crossing that road – especially the e-bikes. This brings you to a short stretch of road that runs between the University of Zurich and ETH. I had countless classes at uni and also took some at ETH – way back in the 90s and early noughties. Walking by there always makes me smile.
Then come the steps. This part is fun especially when it’s full of students. What you can’t do in that case is stop to take a picture. I mean you can and I did, but … let’s just say it’s not appreciated. Here’s that picture.
I would usually have taken another shot to get the sun shining through the leaves just right. That didn’t seem like an option today though. At the bottom of the steps you walk parallel to the main road but higher up. I love that bit for some reason. Then comes the first challenge. Down some more steps and you’re crossing the road. That’s not the problem. Cars have to stop for pedestrians and there’s no traffic lights. Super easy to cross. Unless there is a tram. Trams don’t stop for pedestrians. They really don’t!
The tram stop here is called Central and I’m trying to think how many tram lines go through here in four different directions. Let’s see. There’s the number 6,7 & 10; the 3, the 15 and the 4. I think that’s all of them. There’s also a bus that runs across there. Why am I telling you this? Well, you need to time things just right to make it across. Diagonally is fasted – that’s basic geometry, BUT if there is a tram stopped there or about to stop you can’t cross in the middle.
Once you’ve made it across you’re now faced with annoyed drivers because you totally have the right of way and if there’s a stream of people it takes them forever to move at all, then there’s the trams too and drivers have last priority. Poor drivers. Okay, I made myself laugh there. Never mind the drivers but some of them do get a bit aggressive.
Oh and talking about drivers. If there is ever one lost on the tram tracks they are probably from my canton. My Swiss readers will know what I mean. It’s pretty funny.
We’re now crossing the River Limmat and have just two more roads and two tram lines to cross. Here is where you can lose time. There are traffic lights. They do change quite frequently but still. Those 20 seconds can make the difference between making your train or not. Especially since our trains are usually on time.
The tramlines you cross are pretty busy too and sometimes the tram pulls forward and you think they’re going but then they don’t and just as you decide to cross in front of them they ring their little bell at you. That’s when you need to jump out of the way. And I mean that! I feel for the tourists or people who are not familiar with all those tram lines and which direction they go. Scary stuff.
One more road to navigate. It’s just one lane and you can run across between cars if you’re in a hurry. Although the light changes pretty quickly too. They used to fine people 40 Francs for crossing on red. That was a couple of decades ago. They’ve now shortened the interval so people are very unlikely to cross on red.
Now, we’ve reached the station, I enter the main hall. Again, the fastest way would be straight through the middle. And again, that path is blocked by some kind of exhibit. It’s okay when you have time and there certainly is the space. It’s a big old hall. I know the fastest way around and I glance at a screen to see if my track has changed. My train is still leaving from track 15. I got one busy area to navigate before I reach my train and I hop on the second car from the back.
Why the second car you ask? Force of habit. I have no idea, really. I guess if I got on the first car that’s the one all latecomers will have to get on and they might not walk through the train once it starts moving and just stay. And the third one is for people who ride in first class and come from the other side. There’s many more second class cars, but for writing first class is much better. Also, I sit downstairs whenever possible. There are more seats upstairs, but I’m not too keen on sitting up there. Downstairs there’s this kind of footrest when you sit by the window. I need that to sit comfortably.
Today it took me 23 minutes and it was a lovely walk. Cleared my head and I wrote 850 words of this on the train. It’s a 27-minute train ride home. Yes, I’m very Swiss when it comes to numbers and train schedules etc.
Anyway, that was my walk to the station today. It’s 1.2 km to the entrance of the main hall. Not very far but loads of traffic and trams.
I’m totally late for a Zoom hang. Have a lovely evening everybody.
This is wonderful and the Swiss-est thing imaginable (that's a good thing).
Would have loved that route in younger years. But my routes were between destinations in a massive old hospital under renovation as long as I was there. Running down staircases skipping along several at a time was invigorating!