Page 107 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2025 THAILAND

station with the lake, where we arrive be-
fore long.
The Haves and the Have-Nots
“The left-hand side of the lake is called
the ‘Gold Coast’ thanks to its sunshine
hours, low taxes, and high property prices,”
Tiwari explains. “You can see beautiful
houses and villas lining the shore. The
other side, though, is nicknamed the ‘Snif-
fle Coast’—for reasons you can probably
guess,” she laughs.
Prominently gracing the lakefront is the
statue of Ganymede, which has become a
symbol of Zurich’s gay community since its
installation in 1952. Sculptor Hermann
Hubacher immortalized man’s longing to
reach Olympus: with his hand raised,
Ganymede appeals to Zeus (in the form of
an eagle) to take him there.
Although a Swiss law decriminalizing
homosexuality went into effect in 1942, it
took much longer for half the population to
gain full rights. Switzerland was one of the
last European countries to allow women to
vote—in 1971.
Free Spirits
Next to the lake stands one of Zurich’s
most iconic landmarks, the opera house.
After the original building, the Aktienthe-
ater, burned down in 1834, it was rebuilt in
1891. During his exile from Germany,
Richard Wagner staged many of his works
here, including the first international per-
formance of Parsifal.

Clockwise: statue of Ganymede (copyright
Wibke Carter) / the Limmat river flows through
the city (copyright Wibke Carter) / flower bed
at Lake Zurich (copyright Wibke Carter)
Right: Al fresco dining is popular in summer
(copyright Wibke Carter)

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