Its Nice to Share in Zürich

twin and me on path into Zürich

Blogging from Wettingen, outside of Zürich this week. I am in Switzerland for the weekend visiting my twin. He was game--and even excited--about coming along with me for my long run. On Friday he planned our route. I was able to show him the amazing capacities of runtrackr.com, which is great for planning routes wherever you are! I wanted to go 15 miles or so, so we decided to do a point-to-point run, starting in Wettingen and ending in Zürich. It took us through a few towns, a nature park, and past the Katzenzee (a name that warmed my heart, given my love of cats), ending well within Zürich. http://runtrackr.com/routes/view/wettingen-oerlikon?status=1
 

local Wettingen brew: Lägerebräu



Lägerebräu



My twin biked beside me, willing to ride slowly, happy to talk. It is such a pleasure to be able to talk relaxedly, not only over beers (gotta carbo-load the night before!), but outside doing activities we each enjoy. My twin talked about how much he appreciated that I now have a visual of where he rides his bike when he cycles into the city--I now have that much more insight into his life here. We both agreed that for us, it has been through biking and running that we get to know a place, and that when we share biking/running in that place with others, the people with whom we share the experience not only know the geography better, but then know us better. I have had countless runs in places other than the city I call home, and I love using running as a way to learn my way around a place, learn the feel of place, see and feel the rhythms of a place that one just doesn't get on the street in car or even bus or tram.

Having company on a two-and-half hour run is always nice, just to ease the monotony. But perhaps more importantly, when you share something that is a big part of your life--like running in my case, or a bike commute for my twin-- you're sharing part of what makes you you--an individual with specific interests, taste, skills, goals. Perhaps less enjoyable for my exceptionally musical twin was hearing my taste in music, as played through my phone as we ran/rode the last hour. His commentary provided good laughs, at least!

Finally, after the 15.5 miles together, we hopped the smooth and fast train from Zürich Oerlikon back to Wetttingen, where I had a shower and my twin prepared tasty rösti (Czech-style: potatoes as pancakes with onions and caraway). Yum!