Ah, the weekend. Time for a wander.

This weekend I decided to take a different kind from to the hill-ranging ones of late. Realizing that I have been living here for three and a half months and have not yet had a good look around Zug, I decided it was time. Zug may be a small city of under 30,000 people, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in prettiness, location, and a surprisingly cosmopolitan feel. Always a fan of historic town centres, I find this one especially appealing. Well, why shouldn’t it be? After all, its cobble-stone streets hug and wind on the shores of blue Lake Zug, with mounts Rigi and Pilatus looming in the background. Lots of green space, blooms, outdoor cafes, tasty things to eat. What is there not to love?

My walk took me from the old town and its saturday market to Oberwil-bei-Zug, a small town a few kilometers away along a lake walkway. Hardly difficult but so rewarding. The smell of the lilacs, the lake, and the gentle decay of old buildings brought me back to my first time in Switzerland as an intern in Geneva all those years ago. An exciting, lonely and formative time… isn’t it funny how powerfully scents can do that?

The hightlight of the trip, however, was Zug Library waiting for me in the old town upon my return.  My grand goal for the day was to get myself a card and fill up on english books (and a few german books written at “idiot” level – perfect for where I am with the language). Sigh… the luxury. All in all well worth the oozing blister at the back of my left heel. Well, it was an URBAN wander. What did you expect? Sensible footware? Pshaw.