Monthly Meetings

Rain and cold didn't prevent nearly 50 participants in the final event organised by Francesca Wels and her Monthly Meetings team from reaching their target – a barbecue and picnic at the Gemeindsschaftszentrum Wollishofen.

Prizes were on offer to the team getting the most correct answers to some very tricky questions: How many districts does Zürich have? How many original guilds were there? What is the diameter of Europe's largest clockface?

People turned up in dribs and drabs to the Bar Federal inside the Hauptbahnhof building to register for the hunt, pay the modest entrance fee and claim their coffee and gipfeli for breakfast.

Teams were given quizzes to complete as they walked around the mystery course through old and new, familiar and novel parts of the city, with maps on hand in case they got totally lost.

Setting off at 11.00am in a staggered start, the object was to reach the destination by 13.30, finding out the answers to 32 tricky questions en route.

Although a few people got diverted, took a short cut or stopped for a drink, everyone arrived back safely, and the test papers were marked while the tired and hungry walkers tucked into their picnic lunch and the men gathered around the barbecue in the rain, in the time-honoured manner.

Here are a few of the questions that we had to track down on our way along the famous Bahnhofstrasse, around the old town with its picturesque buildings and ancient squares, beside the Zürichsee and along Mythenquai through lakeside gardens to Enge.

- How many rivers flow through Zürich?   Two, the Sihl and the Limmat.
- Whose statue stands in Bahnhofplatz, the man who brought the city into the modern age?
  Alfred Escher.
- Which philanthropist stands with a child outside Globus?   Jon-Heinrich Pestalozzi.
- As you walk from Storchengasse to the Fraumünster, which two guildhouses do you see?   Zum Meisen and zur Waag.
- Which Gothic tower overlooks the Rindermarkt?   Grimmelturm.
- What Roman numerals decorate the mosaic fountain in the arboretum in Mythenquai?   MCMIX (1909).

Winning the booby prize for finishing last was Sharon's team, who were sidetracked by a bar somewhere along the way.
The best family team was Chrissa's team who won a puzzle. In joint second place with only two questions wrong were Hazel's and Frances's teams, each winning a Canton Zürich Tageskarte.
No surprises for guessing that the winning team was led by retiring President Christine Gilbert, even though rumour had it that they consulted a guidebook ... Surely not?

In spite of the depressing weather, everyone was a winner and organisers Francesca and Antonietta can pat themselves on the back for another well-planned and fun event.

The first Monthly Meeting from the new Board is the ZIWA Kick-Off on 22 September 2010 at 15.00 to 18.00, a joint event arranged by Nerida Damas, Director of Monthly Meetings, and Julia Newton, Director of Interest Groups. We look forward to seeing you at the Kirchgemeindehaus Enge on that occasion.

PS. Zürich has 12 Kreisen or districts, including Fluntern, Langstrasse and Wipkingen, there were 13 original guilds (now 25) and the St. Peter's Church clockface is 8.7 metres in diameter.

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