A European summer
Cyclists at Burg Deutschlandsberg.
Swans Lake in Zurich.
THE snow has melted, flowers are blooming and people are making the most of extended daylight hours to relax with friends over drinks and a meal or, are out exercising in the fresh air and sunshine. Flowers are in full bloom in the Alps and in the numerous gardens scattered throughout Europe, including the famous Mirabell Palace and Gardens in Salzburg, made famous in the movie, The Sound Of Music.
Yes, it’s summer in Europe and with the sun in most places setting well beyond 9pm, there is no better part of the world to be now for an extended holiday.
Countries such as France, Austria, Switzerland, Holland and Italy have the welcome mat out for visitors from overseas as well as domestic tourists, who now take their holidays and make the most of the warmer weather.
WARM AND LONGER DAYS
Summer not only means warmer days (I was recently in Zurich when the mercury hit 30°C but also longer daylight hours with people being able to enjoy sunlight well into the evening.
Warmer weather means that Europeans have emerged from their winter recess and are on the streets socialising and enjoying themselves. “Pop-up” restaurants, cafes and bars have dusted off their spare tables and extended beyond the front door to occupy footpaths, plazas and promenades all over the continent.
In Amsterdam and nearby Delft, the canal banks and plazas are full of people drinking their favourite beverages. Restaurants such as Kleyweg’s Stads-Koffyhuys hire a barge for summer and moor it in a canal in front of the coffeehouse so patrons can enjoy reputedly the finest coffees and sandwiches in all of Holland.
In Zurich’s old quarter of Niederdorf, the restaurants have over-flowed onto the cobblestone streets and plazas. Garden restaurants such as Bauschanzli on the western bank of the nearby Limmat River are packed with happy drinkers and diners.
In other parts of Switzerland, patrons take a table in the sun along the Piazza Giuseppe Motta in Ascona and watch the ferries arriving from Italy across Lake Maggiore. Away from the Italian part of Switzerland, patrons in Basel situated by the banks of the Rhine River, relax in the sun listening to buskers perform.
In Austria, the capital Vienna has many parks and open plazas such as the famous Graben, Kohlmarkt (home to the most famous coffeehouse of Demel) and Karntner Strasse where patrons extend out from the famous Viennese coffeehouses and into open sunny areas
to enjoy world-renowned coffees, Outdoor dining The Graben Vienna.
pastries and ice-creams.
A DAY At tHE BEACH
Naturally, the islands and beaches in Europe are packed in summer but so are urban beaches in places that many Malaysians would be surprised to see deckchairs and umbrellas being set up.
The further south tourists venture in Europe, the warmer it is and the islands plus the beaches of the Mediterranean are packed at this time of the year. Even rocky beaches like Monterossa al Mare on the La Spezia and Plage Beau Rivage in Nice, southern France, are crowded at this time of year.
Many visitors are surprised to learn that many European rivers and lakes are clean and suitable venues for swimming. Rivers like the Limmat flowing through Zurich and into Lake Zurich have many swimming precincts such as Seebad Enge (including the popular Fisch Bistro where fresh trout and perch from the lake are served) located on the western shore of Lake Zurich. Flussbad Oberer Letten in the centre of Zurich on the Limmat River is the place that hipsters love to swim and relax while Frauenbad Stadthausquai is in a similar location with a women’s only pool (it transforms to a trendy bar called Barfussbar in the evening with both sexes being welcomed). Lake Geneva in the southwest of Switzerland offers similar opportunities.
In the Swiss capital of Bern, floating down the Aare River is one of the most popular summer activities. Leave your clothes at the public baths in Marzili, walk upstream (just follow the crowds) and jump in the river at Eichholz Park (opposite the zoo) and float down the river until you return back to Marzili.