Home Roads. Thanks Zurich

Daily Miles: 22.32 | Total Miles: 15,631.39

I got up again with not enough sleep, but with great people around me.

I slept on a mattress since Yanis and Enya had taken over my bed. Early in the morning, I quietly snuck out while the house was still asleep. My sister drove me back to Pfungen, and from there I set off.

Pfingstsunntig. A holiday on top of it already being Sunday. The roads felt quiet, almost paused. Besides the gas stations, everything was closed.

At first Google sent me down a path along the river, but it turned out to be more of a walking trail—narrow, rocky, full of roots. I didn’t feel like dragging the buggy over that for too long, so I looked for another way and kept moving.

It was already warm in the morning, and the temperatures rose quickly into the 30s. There was a little more wind than yesterday, which helped, but it was still a very hot day.

I had a few hills to climb, and once I reached the top, the view opened up wide. The mountains stood clear on the horizon, snow-covered and bright beneath the blue sky. The air felt sharp, the visibility endless. One of those views that makes you stop for a second—even if only inside.

Running through this landscape felt deeply familiar. These are roads and hills I know. Terrain that lives somewhere in my body. Places where memories seem to sit quietly, waiting. With every step, I felt both where I was and where I had been.

Sometimes returning to a place after a long time away feels strange. Sometimes it feels like nothing has changed. And sometimes both things are true at once.

Soon I saw planes taking off and landing overhead and ran toward the approach path where people gather to watch them arrive. It’s always amusing to stand beneath one as it passes low above your head—so close, so loud, and yet somehow graceful. Watching them land with the snow-covered mountains in the distance was beautiful.

A few kilometers later, my cousin and Pia surprised me by the roadside. We had planned to meet later at home and talk about the route from there, so seeing them there made me smile.

When I arrived home, Yanis and Enya came running toward me and joined me for the last stretch. We had a coffee, and then the two of them shyly asked if they could come along on their bicycles. If I’m honest, I had imagined doing that next part alone. But company has its own kind of magic.

So the three of us headed out together along part of one of my usual running routes. Up and down the hills, carefully through traffic, taking our time and simply enjoying being together.

They were great, and we had a great time. We asked strangers to take photos of us. We cooled our heads under ice-cold fountain water at the top of a hill. We laughed. We admired the landscape around us.

Simple moments. And yet those are often the ones that stay.

After 22 miles we arrived at Platzspitz Park—a perfect place to meet. Shade, benches, easy connections with public transport, and also the starting point of another favorite route of mine here in Zurich.

My family had brought snacks and water. More people dropped by. And I simply sat there, looking around at the people gathered, feeling grateful.

Thank you all so much for coming. I really enjoyed your company.

After 7pm we drove home, cooked, ate a great meal, talked and talked, and now it’s time to sleep.

Today felt like returning—not just to Zurich, but to something familiar inside myself.

The roads felt known. The faces felt known. And still, after all this time away, I got to meet them again as if for the first time.

Thanks for checking in, Andrea