From what I can gather its fireworks by the lake. Are they good, worth seeing? Is it a huge Streetparade style party? Or am I being wildly optimistic?
Cheers
Simon
Anyone any experience of NYE in Zurich at all?
last time I went down there years ago, there's just loads and loads of people, firework display, booze and free trams.
Typically the Zurich fireworks for anything are absolutely top-notch.
I imagine its like most things in Switzerland, it is technically quite good but somewhat lacking the "lets get hammered together, sing songs and snog strangers" spontaneity of somewhere like Edinburgh!
and some would say - thank goodness!
NYE is not so bacchanalian as you might wish: people tend to meet for dinner rather than start partying from the early evening. My experience has been meeting-up around eight, civilised dinner with the nicest wine of the year (someone usually gets sentimental and opens the 'best') and shortly before midnight we all troop to the lakeside (wearing coats and hats, of course, we're sensible here) perhaps with a bottle or two of fizz and some rockets.
Come midnight, everyone embraces and feels slightly awkward (cue: champagne) and enjoys the fireworks. A nice touch in Zurich is the council delay the launching of their fireworks for 30 minutes, so to allow the less spectacular shows from individuals to build-up the atmosphere.
Then you traipse back to the warmth and someone produces a Tischbomb /Tablebomb (basically a tube with tiny charge, showering those assembled with hats, kazoos and sundry other 'fun' items).
You eat zabbione and open the Grappa. Everyone goes home with whom they came and there's no debauchery. Hmm. Actually this seems terribly boring but as you get older it's a pleasurable way of starting a new year. Not too taxing... but Princes St it isn't.
Also, note the rapid clearing of the streets...as if nothing had happened several hours earlier...
Although I most say that after experiencing NYE in Barcelona last year (and NEVER again) I am ready to enjoy our lovely fireworks and drink the night away in the company of family and friends.
I'm the New Years in the Mountains kind of girl. For the last 3 years, I've been in Fallera in the quiet stillness, waiting for the church bells, and lighting of fireworks in the snow. Fondu and too much to drink with a suitable group of friends. It's QUITE different from a rooftop in Brooklyn with the hundreds of other revelers from the various parties in the converted warehouse, fireworks over the manhattan skyline and anonymous kisses, but variety is the spice of life.
What's New Years in Barcelona like?
NYE in Barcelona (to me) = BORING!!!! All bars and clubs close. Only thing open is restaurants as the tradition is to go eating at a restaurant late evening. Some people will receive the NY at the restaurant, other will eat and then head to Plaza Cataluña where there is a big clock a top one of the buildings. They will all wait for the clock to strike twelve and then proceed to eat 12 grapes before the last stroke of the bell / clock. Then most people either hang out on the streets and wait until the bars re-open at 2am or go home and then go out around 4am to celebrate. Of course, if you are a tourist and it is your first time spending NY in Barcelona or for that matter Spain, no one bothers to tell you that the bars will re-open just a few hours after midnight. I was with friends there and we all had the impression that that was it... eat your grapes, get drunk, go home. Grrrrrrr
new years yeeha!!!!!! i need an emergency change of plans somewhere in the mountains for a night any ideas
If you do venture out to see the fireworks watch out for every nutter and his kids armed with buy-your-own bangers and rockets. They let them off willy-nilly without a second thought that there might actually be someone in the target zone.
Wouldn't advise going down there with kids - scared the beejeezes out of me last year.
That's a shame. I was looking forward to a night of unrestrained merrymaking.
Well, as it's flu season, I'd hold back on the snogging random strangers thing... I've been ill for weeks and that was just SITTING to someone with the wretched virus.
The fireworks are rather good, I tend to watch them either from my roof or from the ETH's terrace, depending on the weather conditions. Not sure what I'm doing on account of most of my friends having either ran off to the mountains or just found the love of their life. Would it be VERY sad if I just had a nice meal, watched Dinner for One, observed the fireworks and then mosied of to bed?
There are some events at Bürkliplatz - they last until 2:30; so my question: what club or venue (except Talacker) can be recommended after 2am?
hello everybody
dont forget, regardless of living in the big financial metropole of zurich, we're still in switzerland...heidi land...this advice given to me by someone who has spent 32 years in switzerland!!!!
have a good year in 2008!!
And what does that mean? I have in the mean time found someone to party with, completely spontaneously. And we both have Swiss blood, miracles do happen...