Beautiful Winter Weather

I haven't got a photo of the route but  this Zurich lake photo is pretty

For those of you that are unaware I have been hiding out in Zurich for the last few months. Now winter in Zurich can be a largely grey affair and apparently as soon as you leave the city region there is apparently a sudden burst of beautiful weather. However the weather of late has also been impressing be, impressing me to the point that there are times before I step outside the warm confines of my apartment that I think that I might only need to wear my lighter jacket. Nice try sunshine.

Despite the beaming sun rays a jacket is an absolute must and to be honest I nearly lost all the fingers on my right hand while trying to top up my phone and send a text message yesterday.

Again part of the nice things about my apartment (apart from having my own room and the apartment  being clean and warm) is the route that I take into town. This route along the limmat river is indeed a gem in Zurich and is much frequented by joggers and just generally people looking to take a relaxing walk. On sunny days this route is one of my favourite things about living in Zurich, or more so it was; as I recently experienced the vexation of an older lady telling me cycling along the route is forbidden. I suppose I should have copped on earlier as I very rarely meet other cyclists along the path.

I'm not sure if I'll heed her message or just keep playing the foreign ignorance card and avoiding the path at busier times.

Funny bicycle stuff from the Internet

Recently my friend Dave sent me this link to this Kate Beaton comic which lets be honest is awesome; "see me rollin up pops you step aside". I then proceeded to spend the rest of my day looking at all her other comics, which retrospectively was a well spent afternoon.
It's really interesting to see a modern take on the history of girls on bicycles and its not the first time I've talked about this, as last June in Paris I visited the "Voyages a Velo" exhibition which chronicled (all be it not as funnily) the history of the bicycle and its influence on the development of the modern woman.

Otherwise as long as we are on the topic of funny bicycle stuff I have seen or been sent on-line, check out this gem from the great David Thorne poking fun at the cycling fanatic, again potentially another day wasted, but his stuff is laugh out loud funny.

The "craic" an Irish response to the weather

thanks to Monica for the pics

"What's the craic" is my favourite way of greeting people, but this usually recieves a few raised eyebrows from those forigners unfamiliar with the traditional Irish phrase.

After coming home to Ireland for the holidays I have come to the conclusion that the reason Irish people are all slightly insane and drink so much is because it is the only way that we can deal with the weather.

Seriously this is not the first time I have discussed the Irish weather, and a friend recently informed me about how a guide book to Ireland outlines the Irish mentality. The book describes the Irish as having 3 parts to their brain, one part deals with Logic, the second part deals with Emotion and finally the third part deals purely with this uniquely Irish element called the Craic.

Johhny forigner will often not be familiar with the craic as it is a only previlant in the Irish culture and usually reaches its climax during drinking sessions. Personal examples include "who can steal the best thing from a bar", "dancing to the river dance", "smashing glasses for no reason" and "swimming in the rain". Essentially it is doing things with no emotional or logical reason other than the result might be worth a few laughs.