We were supposed to have the Schmeide Weidikon neighbours' gathering but due to poor weather and poor little Denes was sick, we had to postpone it to the following week. So Uncle Tan took me to take a look at a shop at Enge which sells stuff from ABF and Hollister (I think he's getting crazy over these 2 brands...anyone going US can let me know so I can 'fulfil his wish'?). It was a small shop with limited collection but the selling price is about CHF20+ lower than the market price.
So off we go to Flughafen, where Zurich airport is, for a walk. Ended up getting 2 jackets which were on sale from New Yorker and a bag from Navy Boot at half price. It's scary to go places with shops having 'SALE' tags on ;p
It was also a loti day for us - Swiss bread for breakfast, Mac for lunch and Nordsee's fish sandwich for dinner. If you can help it, avoid taking Mac here cos it's not cheap and I suppose the local sandwiches are a healthier choice. A Fillet-O-Fish cost CHF5.50 (about S$7.80) and a McChicken cost CHF6.10 (about S$8.30). Size and taste are similar to what we have in SG but the bread here is much softer and doesn't stick to your teeth. Would recommend buying coffee here for it's the cheapest at CHF2.50 as compared to the normal CHF3 or CHF3.50 a cup.
Sunday
Temperature went down to 17 deg cel and was raining throughout. Nothing to do, we decided to hop on to a any tram/ bus and take all the way to the end of the station. And we chanced upon this place called Burgwies, when we took Tram 11. And found a Tram Museum here.
Even though we've been to the Transport Museum in Lucerne, we thought this museum looked pretty interesting from the outside and the best thing is, "touching is desired" - we can touch all the exhibits! Yippee!
Entrance is CHF10 each which comes with 2 complimentary booklets containing explanation on the trams and profession. All in German thou...
The tram museum's exhibit covers the history and technology of Zürich’s trams with original vehicles from 1897 to 1960. There are 22 cars including 6 trailers and 3 work trams, with most of them operational. There were also 9 heritage, restaurant and party trams and adding colour and variety to the blue and white fleet were the 2 trams - the green car of Zürich Oerlikon Seebach (1897) and the yellow car of Limmattal Strassenbahn (1900) which have been restored to represent the private companies that originally owned them.This was quite a new museum for it was located formerly at Wartau in 1989, a tiny depot with space barely enough for 5 smallest cars. However, it was a stepping stone for it had raised the society’s visibility and they were allowed to operate a regular heritage service, bringing visitors to the museum on the days it was open. This also led to the recruitment of new members as well as attracted sponsors which eventually it was housed in a disused depot in Burgwies.
All these were made possible by a group of 40 enthusiasts, who formed the Zürich Tram Museum Society (TMZ). Despite initial scepticism by VBZ (Zürich’s tram operator), they managed to save a number of trams from scrap and did the restoration works in various depots which offered limited space as the collection grew.
We were given 2 old tram tickets to validate via this old ticketing machine.
This transparent ticketing machine shows the inner mechanics.
The 2 tram tickets.
"Guten Morgen, I'm the bus captain for the day. Welcome aboard!"
The green car of Zürich Oerlikon Seebach (1897)
They even have a thermometer in the tram & I think it's still working!
A tired passenger...
In the past, here's where you get your tix.
I'm glad I wasn't born in the olden days...or is this tram made for tall men only?
The colourful tram plagues
Some trams that we are taking in Zurich now are similar to this one where they have wooden seats.
This tram has an even higher hand bar. So does that mean the shorter ones get to sit? ;p
The yellow car of Limmattal Strassenbahn (1900)Looks like a train model ya :)
An even older tram with seats like our MRT,with a more vintage feel.
The top of this tram has some windows for ventilation. Gosh, look at the details.
The kids have fun trying to drive this tram which you could find in the streets of Zurich. I bet the kids will love playing here with all the trams and gadgets they can get to touch.
Towkay Kin: "Hey you, shouldn't you be checking on the engines?"
Worker Wee: "Ya ya, am checking now..."
"Uetliberg hell?" Actually "hell" means "bright" in German.
By the way, these signages are for sale too, from CHF10 onwards.
This tram even has tables.
Driver Tan looks so sexy with his beard and moustache huh ;p
Must be a new captain...doesn't even have a moustache yet...
If you look at the photos, most of the bus captains grew a moustache. I suppose it's an in thing then ;p
Picture showing Paradeplatz in 1950. Seems quite similar to the current one we see now.
Besides the old trams, the museum also features a model tramway layout recreating real scenes from Zürich’s street past and present, and a study area where a selection of documents and photographs can be viewed. The lower level houses the museum shop and various facilities. There's a Migros supermart next to it as well.
The financial implications of maintaining the new museum posed a challenge with TMZ stretching its resources to the limit. Although support has been received from various generous sponsors and lottery funds, the project’s long term success will depend on visitor numbers. So if you happen to be in Zurich, do visit this Tram Museum and give your support. I admired their passion and perseverance and I believe in preserving the history and heritage for our future generation. I guess I'd get a colllar pin when I pass by the Museum shop since I'd be going Burgwies again for a hike :) Anyone want one? It cost from CHF5 to CHF10 per piece.
Opening hours:
Museum & Museum shop
Wed-Fri: 2pm-5pm; Sat: 1pm-6pm; Sun: 1pm-5pm
Jan-Mar
Museum - Wed: 1.30pm-4.30pm; Sun: 1.30pm-4.30pm
Museum Shop - Wed-Fri: 1.30pm-4.30pm; Sun: 1.30pm-4.30pm
There are Heritage Trams taking visitors to the museum that run every half hour on the last weekend of every month in summer, picking up passengers at Paradeplatz, Bellevue and other city-centre stops. At other times, you can take Tram 11 (in the Rehalp direction) and alight at Burgwies stop.
For more info, you can visit Tram-Museum (to use Google translator as the site is in German)
There's an unofficial site in the English version at Tram Zurich
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