Once more unto the breeches

Back in Zürich once again, and I was very excited to have Dear Cousin and Dear Cousin-in-Law-To-Be arrive from London for the New Year festivities.

I can't say it felt like a homecoming after being in Paris, but there is no doubt Zürich is a beautiful city.

DS, fuelled by a recent post-Christmas swords-and-shields Lego fest, was easily convinced to accompany us to the Swiss National Museum, which houses a huge collection of arms (swords, muskets, helmets, jousting equipment to name but a few attractions), as well as clothing from various centuries, and artefacts from prehistory and the early modern era.

[Bat Girl: What are you doing for New Year, Ginny Weasley?
Ginny Weasley: I dunno. Probably just hanging out on this flying horse or something.]


DD was at first less than enthused ('Why would I want to do that anyway?'), but probably because she was still sporting a miserable cold from before Christmas, which wasn't helped by late evenings in Paris spent jumping on mattresses and consuming chocolate, vacherin, chèvre and other dairy delights.

I particularly enjoyed the clothing exhibit, which contained various displays of folk (stuffed puppets, really) in garb from various eras: in their drawing rooms, playing cards, at the market, and so-on. The clothing from the 1700s was quite something: ornate, with subtly coloured fabrics and beautiful detail. This goes, too, for the army uniforms which, while they were bolder in colour (so the enemy couldn't miss you in all your splendour), of course would have been hand-made and -tailored. The work!

One uniform in particular DC and I found amusing: the chap wearing it looked more like a court jester than a soldier, with striped, ballooning knicker-bockers and blousy neck-tie. We wondered if today's equivalent might be Morrissey-designed Army greens. (Hey, if the Qantas airline crews can do it...)

We also couldn't help feeling slightly itchy knowing that the veneer of rich brocades and puffy wigs would have in fact disguised seething, multi-generational lice families and other entomological delights.

By the way, we had a fun New Year's Eve in Horgen: fireworks in the city could be seen from the vantage point at the top of our Hill, and the locals got into the spirit of it, exploding mini-rockets in their front yards from 10pm onwards. Let me tell you, those rockets aren't quiet. I'm amazed our children didn't stir, since it sounded like we were under attack. (Even though that's kind of unlikely in Switzerland of all places...)