Notes from the Unexpected: Zürich’s one and only lake speaks up

by D.B. Miller

On certain days, it’s uncanny: the turquoise shallows, cobalt drop and unrelenting shimmer for as far as the neck can crane. The Mediterranean, you could swear it—with a squint and some imagination, maybe even a cove around St. Tropez. Toss in a few gulls and those Boesch motorboats that cost as much as a watch, and you’re living the dream.

Zurisee14

Except the dream is right here, in a landlocked country, fertilizing the shores and giving the lucky people who live on them something to look at. On this, the locals and transient folk agree: Zürisee is the city’s crowning asset. Once an international trade route, today a playground, but still: 88 square kilometers of alpine aqua pura are reason enough to be proud, if not a bit punchy.

Because some have the nerve to call it small—but tell that to the gent who couldn’t quite get to shore on a morning swim. While it was traumatic for that poor girl, wading into his corpse at the Badi, he had to go! When you’re classified as potable, you have a reputation to uphold.

And is “banana-shaped” really the best the guide books can do? Show me the banana that can hike up rents, wow UNESCO and host spaghetti-themed cruises without irony. Show me any fruit that can turn from green to purple to steel in an hour, creeping to the edges like silence or a thousand little blades.

Mix it up, keep them guessing, show them who’s boss. Kick up the surf and blame the boats. Turn up the temp and call out the fleas. For every record-breaking heatwave, there’s ice in living memory. For every preening swan, a coot squeaks like bicycle brakes and never gets the bread. The banks that now teem with people once swarmed with disease. Come in, the water’s fine, but the parent who loses sight of a child for one second ages five years.

Postcards lie, but nature doesn’t. You just keep moving—east to west, glacier to river, liquid to cloud, surface to floor. You’re more than a pretty picture: you’re as deep as the darkness 136 meters down. So the next time your eye skips over the void to gaze at the twinkling hills, remember: lights seem brighter when they’re mirrored in black.

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DB Miller is a writer of short stories and essays, along with an occasional Tweet @DBMillerWriter

Gallery of Zürisee images from @libby_ol‘s Instagram.

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Author: D.B. Miller

D.B. Miller is an American writer who has been living in Europe since 1995. As well as being a regular contributor to The Woolf, her essays, short stories and offbeat profiles have appeared in The Weeklings and Split Lip Magazine.

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75 Comments

  1. thebritishtearoom

    14. September 2015

    I completely agree. Our pictures capture the real deal. A snap shot in time with real colours and images. A vision from our eyes. Better still being there live in person!

    Post a Reply
  16. evsetia

    15. September 2015

    Important assets ! For our world too !
    Thank you for info.

    Post a Reply
  17. hyemisphere

    15. September 2015

    Absolutely stunning. Best friend lives in Zurich. It is one beautiful city.

    Post a Reply
  18. thestartingpointe

    15. September 2015

    Wonderful creation!
    Calms down the spirit, clarifies the mind like lake in a peaceful and ever constant dwelling.
    Thank you for sharing, it makes the world go round.

    Post a Reply
  22. victorygarden226

    15. September 2015

    Your Blog Was So Awesome And Photographs Were Too Good And I Am New Here So Can You Please Follow Back I Will Be Very Thankful To You

    Post a Reply
  23. migrantthoughts

    15. September 2015

    Very nice blog. Thank you, also, for sharing the pictures.

    One more thing to be said, and it is a feature I never much thought about while still living in Switzerland, but that comes to mind when glancing over from the USA: the Zurichsee is a natural lake (as far as I know). No dam needed.

    Post a Reply
  26. lulu

    16. September 2015

    You must have been on the lake a number of times to get all those gorgeous shots. It is indeed a scenic vista.

    Post a Reply
  35. Michael

    16. September 2015

    The Zurichsee is a great asset for an already great city. I am privileged to have lived there for several months and have always admired the beauty of the lake.

    Post a Reply
  36. nyork09

    17. September 2015

    I’ve always been a sucker for beautiful places. This one is no different. The way you described it made me want to go there! I want to see those waters with my own eyes. It seems like a peaceful place, away from all the worries of the world. ^_^

    Post a Reply
  41. Mimi

    18. September 2015

    Phantasmagorical it is . love your presentation 🙂

    Post a Reply
  47. Pavan Medheramitla

    20. September 2015

    If anything is growing more than what it is intended to be able to, eventually it leads to addiction and threatens to create an impression of larger than life. Happiness or sadness, Internet is popping up as the choice of medium to share. Here it actually misleading the person in defining the line between personal and social life ..

    To know more about my insight on gripping influence of Internet over human life checkout my latest article
    ” Virtually Connected Yet Emotionally Disconnected “

    Post a Reply
  48. luvthisblog

    20. September 2015

    I really like the pure, bright blue sky. I think that really sets the scene.

    Post a Reply
  55. elfidd

    26. September 2015

    My grandson spent two wonderful weeks there this past summer. Great writing, shall stop back from time to time. Semper fi

    Post a Reply
  57. Rahul B

    26. September 2015

    Unbeleivably beautiful. Sold! Already planning my trip 😉

    Post a Reply
  65. Apple Nelken

    12. October 2015

    Your pictures are just amazing!!!!! I would love to go and capture them with ny own eyes, meanwhile i will take a look at yours again!

    Post a Reply
  66. A.K. Maleeke

    15. October 2015

    Wow awesome images. The color just pops off the screen. I feel like I’m there!

    Post a Reply
  67. Deborah

    20. October 2015

    Nice. I first read a description of Zürisee in my Omi’s “Peter Stäubli” books.

    Post a Reply
  69. Cristina

    22. October 2015

    a unique city in a beautiful country where nature is respected and appreciated. We have to learn their secret. Thank you for the wonderful view!

    Post a Reply
  71. Biro Jasa Perijinan Usaha

    14. December 2015

    awesome pic. I wish i could be there

    Post a Reply

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