Another week, another set of stamps in my passport. This week was actually reasonably calm. I spent Monday and Tuesday in Paris, then headed off to Zurich for the remainder of the week. It was nice to spend a few nights in my own bed for a change.

Zurich is still in the full swing of Euro 2008, although it isn’t quite so much of a party atmosphere now that Switzerland has been eliminated from the competition. There is still a big party along the Limmatquai, but the seas of red shirts that were apparent last week are no longer present.

They have been replaced by seas of orange shirts, the colour of the Dutch supporters. Only it turns out there is a small problem. SBB, the national Swiss railway, also dresses its track workers in bright orange suits so they don’t get hit by a train as they work on the tracks.

They have had to change them into yellow uniforms in the past week or two. Apparently, the Dutch have a habit of getting drunk, and in a moment of drunken confusion, following the SBB staffers onto the rail lines, thinking that they are going to some sort of party.

Here are a few more pictures of the Euro 2008 celebrations this week…

Statues in the Zurich Bahnhof to celebrate the Euro 2008 competition in Switzerland.

 

Statues in the Zurich Bahnhof to celebrate the Euro 2008 competition in Switzerland.

 

A brass band plays outside my window on Rosengasse

 

Trumpet solo

 

Crowds on the Limmatquai, getting ready to watch the Euro 2008 football matches on the big screens around the town

 

Florent, my colleague, poses for a picture in front of the river

 

The Swedish fans seem to be attracting plenty of attention

 

Views across the Limmat

 

A full moon over Zurich

 

A full moon over Zurich

 

With all the lead up to the Euro2008 matches being hosted in Switzerland, I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that the towns might put on some sort of special events. But I arrived in Zurich on Wednesday night to find the entire Limmatquai blocked off to traffic for an enormous street party. There were bands, hundreds of street vendors selling all sorts of food, beer tents and lots of big-screen TVs.

And fans. Lots and lots of patriotic fans, all decked out in red and white. So I decided to grab my camera and walk down the street, grabbing a few pictures as I went along.

And then it hit me. This was the quietest, most well behaved crowd I have ever seen at a sporting event. Despite the large numbers of people (certainly numbering into the tens of thousands), the police presence was incredibly limited. People were well-behaved. No one was staggering along drunk. There was no litter on the ground. Not in Switzerland!

Crowds along the Limmatquai for Euro 2008. Without a doubt the most well-behaved football crowd I have ever witnessed.

Crowds along the Limmatquai for Euro 2008

Crowds along the Limmatquai for Euro 2008

Everyone is watching the game — TVs are in every shop window!

Patriotism was on high display

Football…what else?

Getting into the spirit of things

One-man fan club.

Amazing. Thousands and thousands of spectators lined the Limmatquai for the match. Absolutely no litter dropped on the ground, not even a cigarette butt. Only in Switzerland.

In England, this would be followed by an arrest for drunken assault. In Switzerland, it’s a couple saying hello to their neighbour

Turkey vs. Switzerland compete in Euro 2008

The only thing more embarrassing than having a weiner is having to admit that you can only handle a weinerli. Particularly when you then lose the match to Turkey as well…

PS – I have also modified my blog a little bit to accomodate slightly larger photos. Hopefully these are easier to see than the old 400×300 pictures that I have been including until now…