Yes! We’re into April, Easter is here tomorrow and we have a long weekend of relaxing, eating chocolate and generally being «bon viveurs». And i know that all you Ronsters have deserved it after what has felt like a long and arduous winter. Give your self a pat on the back, enjoy the warm sunshine on your face, raise a glass and…

Give my love to the city

Okay, i’ve been sitting on this for a while but two Zurich film makers have decided to make a documentary about, little old me, Ron Orp. In the documentary, which will be released on Netflix, my impact on Zurich’s nightlife is explored, as well as my humble beginnings and troubled school life. But…perhaps most importantly…finally…my true identity is revealed. Check it out here.

It’s that man Micheal League from Snarky Puppy (pictured with full «Stank» face,) again but this time he’s making music rather than chatting about it. Micheal is teaming up with English pianist and composer, Bill Laurence to do a streaming show from the Moods jazz club. The duo are joined by four local musicians and will be exploring their love of oriental music with an unusual line up of instruments.

Zurich’s famous cherry blossom is starting to bloom and the streets around Lochergut and Idaplatz are a wonderful place to enjoy the early spring. The Japanese even have a word for this: Hanami. But there is more good news from that part of the city. From the 7th until the 10th a new pop-up is opening that invites you to picnic under the trees. The very appropriately named Hanami City will be serving delicious Japanese food at lunch and dinner time.

But that’s not all. The food from the An Chay vegan pop up (in bar Raygrodski) has proved so delicious that they are remaining open for an extra few days until the 17th of April.

I love Mediterranean food, and the further east i travel the more i love it. Mezes, grilled meat, grilled vegetables and of course, Falafel. Well, it seems that it is not just me who is addicted because the Palestine Grill food truck that has been based in Kreuzplatz has proved so popular that they have remained there well past their planned end date of 29th February. Try them out while you can.

If you are looking for some fashion inspiration for the summer then look no further than boutique label, «Popshopoha». The label is the brainchild of Oguz Han Ates, a designer with deep roots in both his home city of Basel and Istanbul. The clothes are based on pop culture so are young, colourful and fun. Check it out here.

Zurich is an unusual city as one of the main barriers to transit around the city is manmade. Unlike London or Paris one of the main impediments to travel is not a river but the railway lines that serve HB. This would often mean that a trip from, say, Europaallee to the Zücher-Brockenhaus would involve a significantly longer walk, either through the HB or under the railway lines at Langstrasse. Well, your journeys will be hindered no more because the bridge that was being constructed between Gustav-Gull-Platz and Zollstrasse has been completed and the, brand new construction will knock 8 mins of staggering time off a journey between Amboss Rampe and Kater, (when they re-open….hopefully soon.)

Could the days of the slumped barfly complaining into the sympathetic ear of the barman be numbered? Well, unless Smyze program their robot barman to listen to drunks moaning about their relationships, the answer could be yes. Swiss company Smyze have designed and built a robotic bar that will serve you all manner of drinks without the tedious business of conversing. (Who wants human contact after all?)

Their first live project is based at the entrance to the old Swissotel in Oerlikon and went live yesterday. Will this be the future of bartending? I love a good old drunken moan so, personally, i hope not but it still got to be amazing to have a look at, no? If you are in the area check it out.