🇨🇠Switzerland: Frames of a Sustainable City
In Summer 2025, I studied abroad in Zurich, Switzerland through UConn’s Sustainable Cities and Transportation program, led by Dr. Norman Garrick and Dr. Carol Atkinson-Palombo. It was an experiential course exploring how cities can move, build, and grow sustainably — a living classroom built into one of the world’s most sustainable cities.
While we studied ideas like urban design, public transit, and cooperative housing, my favorite lessons happened outside the classroom — through motion, meals, and moments that shaped how I see cities and sustainability today.
🏙️ First Impressions: Zurich in Color
I landed in Zurich to the taste of fresh peaches, cherries, and nectarines — the kind of fruit that makes you slow down. Dinners by Lake Zurich quickly became a habit, each one catching the light differently.
I became a regular at a 100% vegan bakery — flaky pastries, plant-based everything, and the kind of coffee that made mornings feel soft. One of my first dinners was at Lily’s, a cozy spot that became a comfort meal, followed by Schmido, where I had the best Mediterranean food of my life, and a tofu curry in Zurich West that I still dream about.
During all this eating, our group was touring the green spaces of Zurich, learning how every park, pathway, and riverbank was designed for people — not cars.
I rode the Polybahn, toured ETH Zurich, explored Landstrasse, a food court that felt like an international festival, and admired how architecture and ecology seemed to exist in harmony everywhere you looked.
🏡 Learning from the City
Zurich wasn’t just beautiful — it was intentional. We visited affordable cooperative housing sites under construction, where sustainability meant both ecological design and social equity. We learned how 25% of the city’s housing stock comes from non-profit co-ops, keeping homes accessible and communities strong.
We talked about transit, recycling, and resource efficiency — but what impressed me most was how quiet and clean the city was. People moved everywhere by tram, train, or bike. The air felt lighter. The streets sounded like people instead of engines.
I admired the architecture — modern forms against mountain backdrops — and I hiked the Uetliberg by myself one evening, watching the city fade into pink light below.
🎆 Celebrations and Movement
We visited Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall to celebrate Swiss National Day, where fireworks exploded over Europe’s largest waterfall. It felt surreal — nature and culture in perfect balance.
Our program moved constantly, often using trains as moving classrooms. The Swiss public transportation system made everything feel connected — mountains, lakes, and people.
🏞️ Weekends of Discovery
Weekend 1:
We headed south to Bellinzona, Locarno, and Lavertezzo — postcard towns in Ticino where Italian influence meets Swiss precision. We continued to Lake Como, Bellano, and Nesso in northern Italy, where water framed everything — stone bridges, hidden coves, reflections that didn’t look real.
Free Day:
I went to Interlaken, hiked up to Harder Kulm, and visited Spiez, where I saw a double rainbow arch over the lake. Switzerland has a way of making you feel lucky just for being still.
Next Free Day:
I went up Rigi Kulm with Avery, a friend from the program — 360° views and air so clear it didn’t feel real — then we stopped in Zug for the day, a small city with glassy water and quiet streets.
Weekend in Basel:
I stayed with a family friend in Basel, explored its architecture, and swam in the Rhine River, carried by the current with the locals. It was effortless, like the city itself.
Back to Spiez & Oeschinensee:
I met friends at Oeschinensee, a mountain lake surrounded by cliffs and green fields that looked too vivid to photograph accurately.
Next Free Day:
I hiked the Stoos ridge trail — rolling meadows, alpine air, and one of the most breathtaking views of the trip.
Solo Weekend in MĂĽrren:
My last weekend was a solo adventure to Mürren, a mountain village above the Lauterbrunnen Valley. I walked down to Grindelwald, climbed the side of a mountain, and ate dinner alone in a hostel — quiet, content, completely present.
🌄 The Last Frame
We ended the program with dinner at Professor Garrick’s house — everyone together one last time. It felt full-circle: after weeks of motion, this pause was a reminder of why we came — to learn, to see, to understand how sustainable design connects people to place.
Zurich was more than a study abroad destination; it was a lesson in how to live intentionally.
When I look back at my photos — peaches on market tables, reflections in the lake, trains slicing through valleys — I see a story about balance: between cities and nature, structure and spontaneity, learning and living.
These are my frames of Switzerland — motion, meals, and the spaces in between.