A - Z Blogging Challenge 2025 - Theme Reveal

Welcome to the 2025 A-Z Blogging Challenge Theme Reveal post!

For once I feel almost ready when it comes to mapping out and pre-writing my posts, and as every year I'm determined!

What is this challenge all about?

We'll be posting every weekday throughout the month of April. There is going to be a blog post for each and every of the 26 letters of the alphabet - yes, even the hard ones - which makes this a daily job, except Sundays.

It's going to be my eleventh time around. Wow, time is flying while you're having fun!

In 2015 I was talking about aspects of the life of a (part-time) working Mom, there wasn't even much hockey in the picture yet. There were, however, balancing acts, commutes, caffeine, guilty feelings and overwhelm, just to name a few.

In 2016 I was invited to a wedding at the West coast, and it came at pretty short-notice, so for a moment I worried about the challenge. The next second I decided this was genius, my theme was going to be on the go, and voilà, A is for Arrival in Los Angeles, P is for Pike Place Market and Z is for when I got back to Zurich.

In 2017 I had ambitious goals of losing 30 pounds and getting into shape, and I did! From Avocado Brownies till Zumba, I just about covered everything.

The following year, 2018, I took you on a journey, kind of a trip around the world, even. 26 cities or national parks I have visited and loved! I used S for Sydney, so I had to squeeze in San Francisco at O is for Oakland ;-)

In 2019 I was talking about all things justice system! 

Prosecution and defense, forensics and polygraph tests - I tried to cover it all.

The pandemic kept us sitting at home, so in 2020 I was talking about Switzerland, my quadrilingual home country. I told you what an alpine ascent is, what cheese varieties go into a Swiss Fondue, and more importantly how the holes get into the Emmentaler. Also you got to learn about International Organizations (think UN, WHO, Red Cross) in Switzerland. I threw in some sightseeing and yodelling of course.

I used sayings, idioms, proverbs and quotes and made them come to life. So in 2021 we picked apples - the ones that didn't fall far from the Tree, swam with the Sharks and confirmed that Travel broadened our Minds.

In 2022 I took you guys on a coffee tour. We talked about roasting and preparing all kinds of Coffee Types, some of which may have been a little controversial, such as Kopi Luwak, aka cat poop coffee ;-)

As we were traveling quite a bit BC (before Colin), things didn't always go smoothly. 2023 was all about our mishaps while on the road. Running out of gas in the desert, redeeming frequent flyer miles going totally wrong, or showing up at the wrong airport at the right time...

Last year, 2024, was all about spring themed things that make me happy and help overcome the post hockey season depression: Trips to the park to find cherry and magnolia blossoms, Easter traditions and climbing the stairway to heaven.

What are we going to do this time around?

I came across this fictional city's map some time ago and couldn’t help but wonder: How accurate is it really when it comes to Zurich, Switzerland? 

Time to (dis)prove some of these assumptions.

Have you ever been to Europe? Famous cities like Paris, London, or Milan? Then you’re probably nodding along already. 

Cobblestones, pigeons, cathedrals, and street cafés—been there, done that, right?

Even I can’t help but agree with the map to some extent. But what about Switzerland? More specifically, Zurich? Does this city fit the same mold, or will it surprise us?

I have set about scrutinizing the items below:

• Ethnic Food
• Street Art
• Hipster Home Brickworks
• Food
• Wine
• Pricey Dining
• Some kind of tower
• Shops
• Hotels
• WW II Memorial Avenue
• Pigeon-Owned Central Station
• Cafés
• Crates & Cranes
• Cobblestone Alley
• Loveable Old Bridge
• Business
• Suits, Ties & Windows District
• Postcardy Old Town
• St. Tourist Trap's Cathedral
• Museum
• The Single-Syllable River
• Graffiti
• Bars
• Dystopian Block Housing
• Drug Dealer Park
• Your Hostel (5km)

Starting April 1, over the next 26 posts, I’ll dive into different aspects of Zurich that hopefully go beyond the tourist brochure clichés. From airport quirks to local uniqueness, you might just discover a side of Europe you didn’t expect.

So, are you ready to explore? Let’s get started - this series took plenty of blood, sweat, and tears to create, and I hope you enjoy every post as much as I enjoyed writing them!