Zürich without a map

Today I went walking. In Zürich. Without a map. I had only some brief instructions from Ingrid on a piece of paper.

I do know how to get around in Zürich, been here for various times already. But this time I wanted to explore something new. And new things I found, indeed. One can never tell beforehand in what kind of exotic place one ends up if only wandering aimlessly =)

First I sloughed my way into a jungle,
where all the traditional pot plants grow high as houses.

(Apologies for the lousy quality of these photos.)

In the jungle I exchanged some intel with a very friendly tucan bird,
who just wanted to get closer and closer. Didn't bite me, though.

These guys just minded their own business and
paid no attention whatsoever to me.

The details of the fine designs of Mother Nature
just blew me away.

Spiraly wonders.

If you're into seeing such things personally, visit the Stadtgärtnerei, in Hubertus, ZH. Quite nice greenhouses and gardens. Also a good option for a rainy day, because of the indoors.

After the jungle experience I decided to familiarise myself with some samples of Zürcher contemporary art. For this I chose Helmhaus, which is presenting some new sculpture at the moment and located conveniently downtown Zürich.

The exhibition "AZB for ever" didn't move me at all. Or perhaps I'm just too thick to understand the finesse of sculptural art. Most of the exhibits were in my opinion very minimalistic and geometric forms with fancy names that didn't really connect. And the other end of the style scale was very detailed and bright colored genital figurines. This also continued in some of additional sketches.

So, if I put two and two together it seems to me that Swiss sculptors might have some serious issues about their sexuality or have difficulty thinking out of the box. This is totally personal impression and opinion, so don't take it too seriously. Check it out yourselves, rather =)

Very plastic and detailed. Jumped out of the collection.

Willies & co. aka "Get Physical" by Mickry 3

After Helmhaus I wanted to get a second opinion about art and found my way to Löwenbrau in Limmatstrasse. Kunsthalle and various galleries are located in these premises. But no major quakes on the emotional front there either. I ended up spending ways more time in a very decent artbook store they have there than prowling through the exhibitions.

All in all I think that my "Zürich without a map"-experience was quite enlighting in the end. And it gave me sore legs by the end of the day, so one can say I got at least decent excercise out of it. And after this my in-built citymap also got bit more connected and detailed. So why heck not to spend a sunny afternoon on following your nose?