Tag Archives: C.G. Jung

adventure, Education

Ten things I learned in Zürich, 2025…

It’s time once again for a “ten things I learned” post, which I write for every travel series. Since we went to Zürich in 2021, and I probably wrote a “ten things I learned” post for that series, I’m differentiating this one with the year 2025. Some people like these lists of random tidbits from my travels. They are kind of a nice way to sum things up…

Here goes!

10. Small children in Switzerland are either encouraged or required to wear special safety vests.

When I was in Zürich, I noticed a lot of little kids in groups wearing orange vests or “harnesses” (for lack of a better word) in florescent colors. I read that the vests are required for kids on bikes, and I got the sense they were probably required for the youngest children. I’m sure it makes sense to many, but I have a feeling I would have hated being forced to wear them when I was little.

9. You can swim for free at Lake Zürich.

Before we went to Zürich this time, I thought I’d have to go to a beach and pay admission to enjoy the lake. That isn’t so, at least at this writing. I saw many people jumping into the lake wherever, and just enjoying themselves in the hot, sunny weather. I wish I’d had a chance to do it myself.

8. The Lake Zürich cruise is a good deal.

We got 4.5 hours on a very nice vessel with facilities for about 85 francs, or so. That gave me plenty of time to take photos and enjoy the lake, with access to a restroom. It would have been even less expensive if we’d gone second class, and it would have been even easier to get to the potty! Then afterwards, the pass is good for the rest of the public transport system in Switzerland.

7. Wegglis are life.

Seriously. I love the way the Swiss make their breakfast breads. I thought I loved Brötlis, which we discovered when we were in Basel in January, but I love Wegglis every bit as much. I wish I could find them in Germany, made the same way.

6. Rapperswil is a very cute looking town on the lake.

I had not heard of the little hamlet of Rapperswil before we passed it on our lake cruise. It really is a charming looking place that I want to explore at some point. I’m going to have to read up on it, especially if Bill decides to study formally at the Jung Institute.

5. The C.G. Jung Institute is on rented land.

I wouldn’t have expected such a famous institution not to have its own grounds, but we learned that the facility is owned by someone other than the Institute itself. I don’t know what they’re paying every month, but they sure couldn’t have beaten the location. It’s stunning!

4. Studying at the Jung Institute is surprisingly user friendly.

Bill wasn’t sure he’d be able to manage studying at the Institute, but thanks to the pandemic, the school is even more user friendly than it used to be. Distance education is definitely doable.

3. Jetfoils are all the rage!

I had never seen a jetfoil before we visited Zürich this time, but I saw so many people on the lake riding the things. It looked like a lot of fun– for people who are very fit, that is…

2. Sometimes weird things happen, even in famously orderly places like Switzerland…

See my story about the guy who serenaded us at dinner, and then how another guy from Israel stopped to tell us about his Army service and life as an entertainer in Zürich.

And 1. The Botanical Garden at the University of Zürich is a worth a stop…

If you need some time among beautifully tended plants, you can go to this oasis free of charge and wander around among the flora. It was time well spent for me, and educational, too!

I’m sure I learned other things while we were in Switzerland. I didn’t make a real effort to try to learn things, as it was too hot to go to a lot of museums and such. But I’ve learned that one can often pick up new information simply by being in a place and observing. And that’s what I did while Bill was learning about Jungian psychology. True, there were times during our visit when I wished I was at home, but I also realize how very lucky I was to be able to go to Switzerland and soak up the atmosphere. There must have been a reason for it, other than keeping Bill company. So, I’m glad I went! At the very least, I got some really gorgeous pictures of the lake, and got to eat some delicious Swiss breads (not that I needed to be doing that!).

I don’t know when or where our next trip will be, but I’m sure we’ll go somewhere soon. At the very least, I really need to go see my dentist in Stuttgart. So watch this space for more travel stories in Europe!

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adventure, C.G. Jung, Education

Swiss studies… Watching life unfold at the lake! (part three)

Monday, June 30th, was an exciting day for Bill. He’d been looking forward to taking seminars at the C.G. Jung Institute for years. On his first day, he had an early lecture, so we got up early. He bought more wonderful bread at Wüst, and we enjoyed coffee and juice. I was already a bit nervous, because the proprietor at the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt advised us that they would be cleaning the apartment on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They requested that we not be in the apartment from 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM.

Those are the hours when I usually do my writing, but given how hot it was last week, it was just as well that I went to the lake. Bill looked so cute, dressed for class and carrying a backpack. The tram outside made it quick and easy for him to get to the Institute.

Across from the hotel.
The building where the bakery is…
Sweet, friendly kitty who said hello.
Swiss apartments are nice!

After I made a quick YouTube video, I headed to the lake. On the way there, life started unfolding in front of my eyes. First, I saw a sweet black cat. I made a soft “ssssing” sound, which attracted its attention. It meowed at me and came over, rubbing against my legs. Then it turned and went another direction. I like cats. We used to have them when I was growing up. Unfortunately, although Bill also likes cats, we can’t have them in our home. He’s very allergic to them. I am also supposedly allergic to them– and dogs, horses, and rabbits, too. I still like to say hello when I can.

Next, I saw a young man running down the street with a big smile on his face and his arms outstretched. He passed me and enveloped a young woman in his arms in a joyful reunion. It reminded me of when Bill came home from Iraq.

I walked a bit further and ran into a very fit looking couple. The female half wore extremely tight leggings that outlined an obvious camel toe. They looked like maybe they were exercise instructors, headed to the gym.

I crossed the street and walked to the park near the lake, where there are benches. I saw a man doing yoga by the Heureka sculpture. A dog came over to say hello, and then I noticed a woman dancing. She wore a sweatshirt, shorts, shades, and ear buds, and danced by the lake side, completely oblivious to the world. I watched her in amazement. She was completely uninhibited. I kind of admired it. And, of course, there were lots of ducks to watch…

This isn’t a super exciting video, except for the dancing lady. I could have watched her all day!

I walked around the lake area and took lots of pictures… I even sat for awhile near some boats, watching more waterfowl, in an attempt to kill enough time so the apartment could be cleaned. As it turned out, I should have stayed a little longer.

Heureka!

I took a slightly different route back to the apartment, passing the Plastic Surgery Pyramide Clinic. I later found out this is a private hospital where people have everything from breast reconstruction to facelifts done. I noticed they also had an outlet for La Prairie, a VERY expensive skincare/cosmetics brand that I first saw offered on SeaDream Yacht Club, a luxury cruise line. I read about the clinic, and most people had rave reviews for their experiences there. One woman left a very disturbing review of a doctor who had, apparently, taken advantage of her while she was in a weakened state. To be honest, her account sounded fictitious. Perhaps she had more going on than just physical illness. I didn’t get a good picture of the actual hospital, but these pictures are of clinics affiliated with it. I bet it costs a mint to go there.

I went by the apartment at about 10:45, but it still hadn’t been cleaned, so after a potty break, I walked to the COOP neighborhood grocery store to pick up a few things– napkins and sugar for my coffee. I also got a few other items. Bill and I both visited that store a couple of times. It was very convenient to where we stayed, but the layout was frustrating, and it seemed like people were always descending upon it en masse. We both found shopping there a bit nervewracking. There was a larger COOP store a little bit further in the opposite direction. That store offered more stuff, but was only marginally less annoying. However, we’ve been to other COOP stores in Switzerland, and have not found them to be so hectic. Maybe it just has something to do with the neighborhood. Below are a few more photos I took on the way back to the apartment.

Pferde=horse

When I got back to the apartment with the stuff I got at the store, one of the proprietors was in the middle of cleaning the bathroom. I startled her, but I needed to put some things in the refrigerator. She pointed out that there was a beach towel in the armoire. That was good to know, although we brought our own… and then didn’t end up using them, after all!

I decided to go back to the lake to give the lady a chance to finish her work. I’m glad I did, because there was more stuff going on…

I’m not sure what they were doing, but by the time we left on Sunday, it looked like they were building a platform in the lake.

When Bill got back from his seminar, at about 6:00 PM, he was very excited. He’d had a good day learning about psychology, and now he was ready for dinner. We ended up at Le Beaujolais, a Greek restaurant right next to the apartment. The waiter was friendly, professional, and kind, and the food was excellent. Bill had lamb, and I had Dorade and Seelach filets. Then we had ice cream for dessert!

Sadly, there were no bags to be found for hygiene purposes. But that’s not something that worries me anymore.
Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce for Bill…
Coffee ice cream with Bailey’s for me.
A very cute dog who joined us.

A man showed up with his cute dog and sat next to us. The dog was so sweet, and made me miss our dogs, Noyzi and Charlie.

It may seem like not a lot happened on Monday, but I truly did enjoy sitting at the lake, watching people go about life. I really should have jumped in the lake, though.

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adventure, C.G. Jung, Education

Swiss studies… Bill decides to go to “summer school”… (part one)

Several months ago, Bill told me he wanted to spend about a week in Küsnacht, Switzerland, a suburb of Zürich. He hoped to attend a summer intensive course at the C.G. Jung Institute, a learning installation founded in 1948, and centered around the study of Jungian analytical psychology.

I knew this was coming, because Bill had been talking about wanting to take this summer course for years. We first came to Zürich in the summer of 2021, and Bill and I visited C.G. Jung’s house, on the banks of Lake Zürich. Bill also started speaking to a Jungian therapist that year. The work he’s done with the analyst over the past four years has done wonders for his mental and emotional well-being. He thinks he might have a knack for Jungian psychology. He definitely has an interest in it.

Naturally, I agreed that it would be a good thing for Bill to go to the Jung Institute. Once we had the dogs booked in their usual Hundepension, I set about looking for a place for us to stay for the week. We had specific needs for our lodging. I wanted it to be in a place where it would be somewhat easy for me to get around and see and do things. It needed to be near a tram station, so Bill could easily get to the Institute. We planned to drive our car, so the place needed parking. And I hoped for air conditioning, which even in “spendy Switzerland” isn’t always a given.

I was about to spend about $10k to book a regular hotel room on Expedia.com, when I noticed a listing for a place called Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt. On Expedia, the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt had no availability for our dates. Under normal circumstances, that might have been the end of my curiosity and I would have kept looking. But then I decided to check Booking.com, as sometimes they have things available that Expedia doesn’t. On that site, I could book a one room suite at the Apart-Hotel, which included a kitchenette and a living room– better for a week than a hotel room. The price was also roughly one-third of what I was about to pay for the hotel, and there was parking available, and air conditioning.

We booked the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt, and then, just to make sure all was well, Bill called them to confirm that booking and reserve a parking spot. It was a good thing we confirmed the parking, as the hotel, which first opened in 1969, only has two spaces! Besides small apartments, the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt also offers regular hotel rooms of varying luxuriousness. A person could opt for a spacious two bedroom place, or get a single economy room with a shared toilet in the corridor. Although shared toilets used to be somewhat common in European hotels, I haven’t seen a place with a communal toilet in years!

With that settled, we looked forward to our third trip to Switzerland this year. Regular readers might recall that we went to Basel, Switzerland in January of this year, just to get away over the MLK weekend. We stopped in Villa Morcote, Switzerland on the way to Italy in March. And now, we’ve been to Zürich– specifically, the Seefeld quarter of the Mühlebach district.

Our trip began on June 28th and would end on July 6th. For me, it would resemble business trips on which I have accompanied Bill. When I go places with him on business trips, I usually end up doing a lot of loitering and picture taking while he tends to his work. This trip was not for his current job, but it could end up leading him to the work he’ll do in the future. As I mentioned up post, Bill has a real knack for psychology. I think of him as a healer. He’s an unusually kind, sensitive, empathic, and introspective person. Analysis has given him insight into who he is, and that has given him much needed peace.

As usual, Noyzi was ready to go!

On the morning of Saturday, June 28th, Bill took the dogs to the Hundepension, while I packed my bags. Then, we set off for Zürich. The GPS sent us down the familiar way to Stuttgart, where we used to live. Although we have lived in Wiesbaden since late 2018, we still go to Stuttgart to see our dentist and sometimes Bill goes there for business. And yet, even though we continue to visit, I’m always shocked by how much has been built since we left. I was especially surprised as we drove through Sindelfingen on A-81, a road Bill used to take every day to get to his job. There’s a whole shitload of construction going on there!

Below are some photos from the drive:

Construction in Pforzheim.
The Thyssen test elevator facility, outside of Rottweil. We visited there in 2018, and went to the top of the tower!

On the way to Switzerland, we stopped a rest area to get lunch and enjoy a pee break. It was nothing special, and we’d been there before. I took a couple of photos, anyway…

Seelachs and chips… Could have been better.

The Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt is a family run business. It doesn’t have a regular front desk. We were asked to let them know when we were going to arrive, so someone would be there to meet us. Bill told them we’d get there between 5:00-6:00 PM. We were well on our way to making the time as we approached the Swiss border. An older gentleman in a Swiss Polizei uniform looked like he was flagging us down, so Bill stopped and opened his window.

The cop said, “Do you want to go to Switzerland?”

Bill said we did.

The cop said, “On holiday?”

Again, yes…

“Bye!” the cop said.

I guess he didn’t actually want to talk to us, after all. Too bad all borders aren’t that easy and uncomplicated.

We got to Zürich at about 5:45 PM. It was sunny and hot, and I noticed a lot of people in bathing suits, carrying pool toys and such. I had come prepared to enjoy the lake. I had a bunch of towels and two bathing suits in my bag, and I envisioned jumping in the water. I thought maybe we’d go to one of the public beaches… and I’d totally forgotten that the hotel was actually in Zürich, rather than closer to Küsnacht.

It took a few minutes to navigate through the busy city, and then once we found the right street, the turn off was so sudden that Bill missed it. Fortunately, the next street took us straight to Karlstrasse 5. Bill nervously pulled into a parking lot across from the hotel for an apartment building, where all the parking spots are taken by the residents. The proprietor was there, waiting for us, and she unlocked the gate behind which our car would be for the week. Bill pulled into the tight space, knowing that we were destined to be blocked in. 😉

After we parked, we signed into the hotel, picked up our keys, and got a tour of our new digs for the week.

By the time we were checked in, it was past six o’clock. And although there are several good restaurants near the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt, Bill and I were both pretty tired from the drive. We decided to visit one of the two COOP grocery stores near the apartment to pick up essentials, then ordered pizza from an outfit called Pimp Your Pizza. We got Pizza Hawaii and Pizza Missouri… ordering large, so there would be leftovers. There were leftovers, alright! That pizza lasted almost the whole week! But it was surprisingly good, especially on the first night!

We watched German dubbed American movies on TV, while we enjoyed the pizza and Swiss beer. Then we went to bed. The bedroom in our suite had a fan, which was helpful, but not as good as air conditioning would have been. The unit just has one air conditioner, and it’s in the living room. It doesn’t cool off the whole apartment. Most of the year, this wouldn’t be a problem, but we happened to visit during a heatwave.

Ah well…

The next day, we discovered the lake through a new perspective. Stay turned for the next post for that!

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adventure, Education

We are now back from Zürich… time to dish!

We got back from beautiful Zürich, Switzerland this afternoon, after eight nights. On the whole, we had a very nice time. Bill spent most of the time taking seminars at the C.G. Jung Institute in Küsnacht, a lovely suburb of the city. I spent most of my week hanging around and gazing at Lake Zürich. One day, I went to the botanical gardens, affiliated with the University of Zürich.

The weather was hot and sunny, and we were fortunate to spend the time at an apartment-hotel that had an air conditioning unit. It wasn’t the most effective air conditioner in the world, but it was better than nothing. The apartment was reasonably priced for Zürich, although for eight nights, it cost almost as much as renting our whole house for a month! But the place also had a couple of parking spots behind a locked gate, so we were able to park our car there all week… though we couldn’t move the car without having the car parked behind us moved. It was no problem, anyway. The place where we stayed was right by a very busy tram line that was perfect for getting Bill to and from the Institute.

I will be writing a full series on this trip, but at this point, I’m a little tired and not wanting to dive in just yet. I’m glad to be home, safe and sound. Although we weren’t able to bring home any interesting souvenirs or goodies from the COOP (grocery store), I did get a lot of beautiful photos, especially of the lake. I wish I’d had a chance to go swimming, but we did do a 4.5 hour cruise yesterday. The weather was perfect! We even got a slight break from the heat.

Bill found his time at the Institute stimulating and fulfilling; he finally got to meet his analyst, Max, in person for the first time in the four years they’ve been working together. I think he’d like to matriculate there and possibly earn certification. Of course, we don’t know what’s going to happen to his job… but then, that would be true of any job, really. Above are a few photos from the Institute. I got to attend the farewell ceremony with Bill.

I’ve missed Noyzi and Charlie, and my guitars. I’ve missed making music, and sitting at my desktop, which is so much easier to write blog posts on than my laptop is. I’ve even missed the washing machine and our shitty mattress, which so badly needs to be replaced.

But the one thing I’ve missed more than anything is peace and quiet. The apartment where we stayed was fairly noisy, mainly because of the people in the apartment above us. They were incredibly loud. From a screaming baby at 6:00 AM to heavy thuds on their floor/our ceiling, to crashes and booms when things got dropped, to the pitter patter of little feet running around, it was very annoying. And so, for the fact that no one lives in a unit above us, I am so glad to be home in Germany!

I don’t know how long this series will take. We did have some notable things happen, that I want to write about. However, this trip was not heavy on activities or even eating in restaurants. We ate a lot of meals in the apartment. So, even though we were gone for eight nights, I don’t think this will be a long series to wade through.

Hope you’ll join me for the first post, which will probably appear tomorrow.

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