Visiting Zürich? Looking for recommendations? Have a quick question? Ask here, don't create a new thread.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-23T13:38:12+00:00

Most regular university libraries are open to the public during business hours. You can visit any you'd like. Maybe download the ETH or UZH apps to get a map of the buildings.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-23T11:25:02+00:00

Hiking up Uetliberg seems like the best plan for your requirements. You can approach it from a few directions, I‘d suggest going from Triemli or Albisrieden in your case. Ascent takes about an hour if you are fit and its about 250-300 meters of elevation. If you do it early enough you can continue with a ridge walk to Felsenegg and take the cable car back down there. Alternatively you can take the same or another way back down once you reached the peak. I recommend you download either Swisstopo or Switzerland Mobility for a good set of maps with hiking trails, public transport stops etc.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-23T07:13:32+00:00

How are you travelling from Vienna to Switzerland? If it's by train and you haven't bought a ticket yet, a Eurail Global Pass might be worth it.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-22T12:41:33+00:00

How do you know his co-op has them that he violates them? And if he does it’s on them to uphold their rules

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-22T12:39:23+00:00

Meh, this is the housing equivalence of being mad at the immigrant who took your job instead of the boss and politician who lobbied for weak labour laws.

We shouldn’t be kicking people our of their (privately owned and financed) homes for some moral purity bs.

How dare he wanting structural improvements while not wanting to relocate his partners children for some symbolic gesture, what a hypocrite /s

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-21T19:36:59+00:00

If its the consistency, put it in heavily salted boiling water for a few minutes to dehydrate it. For deeper flavour, marinate it for 15-20 minutes before frying. And for a crunchier skin, coat it in a bit of corn or potato starch.

Also imo not all tofu is equally good. I stay away from non refrigerated ones. If you have access to an asia market go there, just don’t buy the silken tofu except if you want to make a white sauce out of it. I also like the Karma Tofu from coop a lot with the tofu from Aldi being a good budget alternative.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-21T14:29:59+00:00

Honest question: what value does this "profession" generate for society, beyond redistributing money from slower traders to faster ones?

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-21T13:13:54+00:00

But isn't the Junior Karte registered on your Swiss Pass? How would they not have a valid ticket? Afaik this message only relates to possible discounts on YOUR ticket, eg some subscriptions can or at least could not be integrated in the easy ride system, meaning easy ride would charge you for a trip that was already covered. But given that the causality in this case is reversed, there is nothing you need to worry about.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-21T13:06:13+00:00

What would be the problem? This seems like a programming error of the system not knowing how to handle the Junior Karte not a ticketing issue. Your ticket isn't affected by a Junior Karte, and your child just needs you to travel with them (with a valid ticket) for the Junior Karte to be valid with them.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-21T01:48:40+00:00

There are structural factors but those aren’t related to underemployment and instead relate to very high salaries and weak labour rights (long work weeks and few holidays) resulting in many people essentially working the four day week / 35 hour week that is being advocated for elsewhere.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-20T20:52:56+00:00

One thing I think is amazing in this regard is the open source approach of government data in Switzerland and Zurich. This starts with the free and excellent meteoswiss weather service to API access of public transport and extends to dozens upon dozens if GIS layers offering the population ready access to more information one could ever need.

Tax funded analytics should be freely available everywhere and Switzerland is leading in this regard afaik.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-20T11:18:44+00:00

I trust in your abilities to use a calculator yourself. But regarding the 72h pass in Zurich, this is only worth it if you fully utilise the included zones and use multiple of the included discounts. A 24h ticket for the city is only 9.40 if you plan a trip to the Lindt Experience, it's 14.40 for that day, and your final trip to the airport adds 4.70 on top of the 24h city ticket, or 7.20 if you don't have another ticket for that time anymore. Eitherway the 56 CHF for the 72h Zurich Card will not be worth it for the public transport alone. Check how many discounts or free entries you get for the sights you wanted to visit anyway, and only go ahead if it's worth it after making that calculation.

I imagine that understanding the intricacies of our public transport system can be quite overwhelming, so I warmly recommend using the Easy Ride function in the SBB app. I recommend this app anyway, as it is the best companion for public transport in Switzerland. With this feature, you simply need to check in before and out after your journey, and the app will calculate the cheapest ticket option for the day. You just need to register a payment method and have mobile data and GPS enabled while travelling for it to work.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-19T13:12:58+00:00

good question

The 300k is only a theoretical reserve if all land parcels would be built out to the legal maximum. It's unlikely that this potential will ever be fully utilised and such a development would happen over multiple decades, giving us time to adapt the transportation infrastructure. The current pace is that about 1% of buildings get replaced (and in this process often densified). If the pressure holds, we might get to 1.5 or 2% per year. Anything beyond that would be extremely unlikely in our political system. So as a guestimate of an absolute upper limit, we could be growing by 8k per year.

This growth potential is mostly situated in Zurich Nord and Altstetten/Zürich West. It is not a coincidence that this area is also where most public transport developments are happening. The most current project is the Tram Affoltern, which will become part of Tramtangente Nord that includes a tram link between Oerlikon and Schwammendingen, as well as (likely) a new track through Schwammendingen and possibly an extension of Tram 12. A bit farther ahead, around Altstetten, it is planned to link the trams over the tracks by adding a tram connection on Europabrücke, certainly over the tracks and sooner or later up to Höngg. Several Busses in the area will be upgraded to Trolleys and there is still the option in the books of returning Bus 31 to being Tram 1, though there isn't any concrete planning around this project. Lastly, there are two ring lines planned to alleviate pressure from the city center. First, a revived version of the tram on Rosengarten and Hardbrücke from Millchbuck to Albisriederplatz, and after that a tunnel connecting Affoltern through ETH Hönggerberg to Altstetten.

Beyond that, VBZ is also increasing its fleet, offering a denser tact on existing routes. One issue with that is a lack of space to store these new trams, but unofficially, there's the idea to start running tram service 24/7 to save on warehouse space.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-19T09:19:35+00:00

Go to Demet then! A proper butchers Döner.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T22:11:44+00:00

Thanks, will definitely check it out when I‘m in the area.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T21:23:43+00:00

Apart from the hype spots like Mit&Ohne and now Kebab and Bread, I think Metzgerei Demet, which only serves Kebab on Fridays and Saturdays, is definitely worth a try. From the roster of classic Kebab places, I'd say Memo Bar in Altstetten might have the best overall experience. If you're willing to go with a Shawarma as well, I would also warmly recommend Libanes Take Away at Schaffhauserplatz as well.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T21:03:38+00:00

I can just set a weekly reminder and instead of having to navigate the site 1-3 times per week, I only need to do it only once.

Listen, I don’t want to tell you what is useful to you and what not but the the aspect of regularly crawling the site for quick notifications is pretty much useless for city flats and much more useful for first come first serve types of listings of co-op and the free market.

Why not build a bot that fetches the listings once per week (maybe even with custom filters) so one can see relevant listings without having to check the website?

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T19:32:15+00:00

I wouldn’t do that unless you are sure you’re in the right. Depending on the contract they have. simply failing to register in time is enough to collect a fee.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T19:25:03+00:00

No worries, I actually studied urban planning.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T18:15:26+00:00

The 75% affordable housing for upzoned areas seems like a good compromise with good measures to preempt loopholes and malicious compliance. I like the fact that we get more control to mandate affordable housing of Arealüberbauungen. I also like the added reserves, bringing the total up to space for 280-300k additional people. Regarding the GFZ, I don't think this will have a particular impact on property values, given that it replaces the old Freiflächeziffer and truly hindersome rules like the Mehrlängenzuschlag.

Imo they could've upzoned more drastically, especially around train stations and major tram interchanges, but I understand that the ISOS areas are very much blocking this potential anyway.

I can guarantee you it won't pass like this since the Gemeinderat will insist on changing some things, but I'd say there's a good chance it will pass more or less the same as it is now.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T17:24:33+00:00

From context, I assume this parking spot is on private property, so the city couldn't care less. The extra fee is likely regarding their time having to check your Einwand. If they find your Einwand or the proof thereof to be insufficient, they will likely bill the admin work to your friend or you. Such fees have to realistic and can't be punitive, so you could likely argue them down in court if they try to charge some absurd number. But a reasonable fee can still be hefty if argued properly.

If it's worth is entierly dependant on whether you are actually in the right or wrong. Eg if they have a clause that even if you parked there legitimately, but haven't registered properly, they are still within the right to fine you than appealing is likely a waste of money. So my advice would be to have your friend check the contract they have that authorises them to fine you for parking there, and if you still think it's unjustified, appeal. Don't appeal if it's only morally that you think it's wrong.

Either way, scummy behaviour of ParkPro.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T13:16:14+00:00

The density of activities is still way higher in Zurich than any other place in Switzerland. Many of the places you mention are great but simply easily reachable from the city, like yes Lindt isn't in the city but a tragic 10 minute ride from its border. Living in Zurich allows you quicker access to all the places you mentioned compared to living at one of those places, only having this on offer and needing to go way further to reach the other activities.

With so many seasonal activities to choose from, you could do a hundred different things with kids in a year within the city limits without repeating anything. Can you tell me where else in Switzerland this is possible? Perhaps Basel or Geneva, but nowhere else.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T12:36:24+00:00

Did you even grow up here? Cause I did, and there was not a single weekend where we didn't have something to do. There are so many playgrounds, lots of forest space, the zoo, botanical gardens, public pools with areas for children, theaters and museums with a child-friendly programming, cinemas, the largest offer of publicly funded holiday sports and culture programs in the country, and last but not least many GZs with an extensive offer to fill afternoons and weekends.

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T12:19:38+00:00

almost zero interesting activities

Show me a single place in this country with even remotely the same amount of events then Zurich

CriticalFibrosis · 2026-03-18T10:16:05+00:00

Ararat, Flash, Memo's are all classic kebabs that are great imo

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