I'm currently immersing myself fully in this wonderful country and there are lots of new and interesting things to enjoy here, but I must admit that I really miss reading the Sunday papers from back home! I used to love spending a few lazy hours at the weekend reading the Times on Sunday, not just the news but also all the magazines that came folded in the publication, music, film and book reviews, not to mention the extensive sports section
I've seen an international daily version of The Times but not the fully blown Sunday version. I know you can subscribe on-line to the papers but I'm not a big fan of reading so much text on my little laptop screen, you can't beat having a big broadsheet flapping around your head
I try to read the papers here but my German is quite basic and my attention span doesn't last too long when I'm looking up every other word, I'll keep at this though because it's a good exercise!
Really? I did have a look around Zurich station last Sunday but I couldn't see any - maybe I was there too late and they had sold out. I'll give it another go! Thanks.
The kiosk in the middle of Paradeplatz has them, plus the kiosk right next door to Cedre Bellvue (a restaurant in a square opposite Terrasse restaurant).
The OP already said that they didn't want to read text on a laptop screen, so how would an iPad help?
You could invest in a bigger screen... I've subscribed to the Times electronic edition for the past two years (the new subscription is actually cheaper now, and gives more access - and it's a LOT cheaper than the 6CHF or whatever you have to pay for the incomplete international edition). I now read it every day.
In Luxembourg, some English shops (especially Little Britain and Chapter 1 ) sell UK edition Suday papers from about 10:30 am. They have a guy who drives a van to the UK (somewhere near the Eurotunnel terminal, my guess is Menzies' Ashford distribution centre), loads the van up with the papers, gets on the Eurotunnel, drives to Luxembourg and bingo! full UK edition Sunday newspapers.
Now Zurich is a bit further away than Luxembourg, and then there is the issue of clearing customs. But it's Sunday morning and I feel like a little trip to la-la-land , so: Does anyone have any idea how much an airfreight container on the first Swiss plane (arr. Zurich about 8:45 on Sunday) would cost, and what sort of time it would take to clear customs?
You mean, to fly the Sunday papers out for the ex-pats? As a sort of business idea?
I have no idea, but I read the Sunday Times avidly in the Bernese Oberland every week. I wake up, press download on the IPad, make a tea and its there before I finish....all for CHF3.00. I know its not quite the same to some as the full paper in bed, or in the pub with a pint, but its greener and actually more convenient.
Just think you won't get the demand to make it pay, esp if there are alternatives. But I'm sure some smart ass said that to the Amazon dude too, so go for it!
When we first came to Basel about 10 years ago, you could get the Sunset Times, Torygraph et al at the larger kiosks in town like the one at Barfüsserplatz and the rail station.
As time went on, the papers would arrive later and later at the shop - sometimes not until the following day, so completely useless. Also, half the supplements were missing. I wrote a complaint once to Murdoch towers and got some bland response back which translated roughly to "we couldn't care less".
I know about the iPad edition, and I'm reading the Sunday Times on my computer right now (for GBP 2/week incl. The Times on weekdays). But as the OP said, it's not quite the same. As for the business idea, well it's in la-la-land as I said. The Luxembourg guys charge EUR 5.50 for the Sunday Times and can open their shops on Suays for some hours - the paper sales actually bring them a lot of additional footfall, which in ZH of course is a non-starter due to no Sunday opening.
Admittedly it's not quite the same as the paper version, but I subscribe to www.pressreader.com -- for US$30 a month, I can download unlimited copies of around 2'200 papers from around the world. They're basically PDF copies of the original papers (not dedicated apps like The Times), and you can browse them on your PC or on an iPad.
There's a good range of US & UK papers, although notably the NYT, WSJ and UK Times are not available. Still, I read the Sunday papers more for the supplements than the news, and for that, the Telegraph, Guardian, and Independent are good enough for me.
I used to buy the Sunday Times at ZH Hauptbahnhof but I find paying ten francs and NOT getting all the cool magazines quite upsetting. Since I was lucky enough to be given an iPad, I now occasionally treat myself to the electronic version.
If you really want to hold an actual bundle of paper in your hand, you can print off newspapers from all around the world at the newsagent's shop on the main concourse of Zurich HB.
I recently treated myself to a copy of the Birmingham Evening Mail. It wasn't cheap, and it took quite a while (about half an hour, because of a glitch in the system), but it was lovely to walk around Zurich with it tucked under my arm.
I agree with that. I subscribe and love the fact that I can download several papers onto my iPad to read during a flight without having to lug all the paper with me in a carry-on. With the Kindle app also, I can download my paperbacks too... In this respect, I really love my iPad.