Postcard #40

Heleny Campoy

Lake Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

Lake Zürich is formed by the Linth river, which rises in the glaciers of the Glarus Alps and was diverted by the Escher canal (completed in 1811) into Lake Walen from where its waters are carried to the east end of Lake Zürich by means of the Linth canal (completed in 1816). The waters of the Lake of Zürich flow out of the lake at its north-west end, passing through the city of Zürich; however, the outflow is then called the Limmat. The culminating point of the lake’s drainage basin is the Tödi at 3,614 metres above sea level.[2]No streams of importance flow into the lake besides the Linth. The Seedamm, a partially artificial causeway and bridge, crosses a narrow point of the lake carrying a railway line and road from Rapperswil to Pfäffikon. The eastern section of the lake is known as the Obersee, German for “upper lake”. West of this dam lie the small islands of Lützelau and Ufenau, where in 1523 Ulrich von Hutten took refuge and died. Both shores are well cultivated and fertile. Another touristic destination is the Au peninsula at the village of Aubetween Wädenswil and Horgen.

To the east – separated by Zürichberg-Adlisberg, Forch and Pfannenstiel – are two minor lakes: Greifecnsee (Lake Greifen) and Pfäffikersee (Lake Pfäffikon). Zimmercberg and the Etzel regions lie to the west.

Administratively, Lake Zürich is split between the cantons of Zürich, St. Gallen and Schwyz. The lower lake, to the west of the Seedamm, is largely in the canton of Zürich, whilst the upper lake is shared between the cantons of St. Gallen and Schwyz.

Published by Heleny Campoy

My initial step in gaining a concept of ‘living’, was to read. Books became my first love, the toy I most cherished; my ultimate desire. From this viewpoint, I have already been living life to the full. I can remember the very first book I held in my hands. It smelt of fresh ideas escaping into a dead world…bringing it to life. The pages were the path I took to transform that four year old girl into a dreamer. I grew up dreaming: with my books, with 78B2308F-FB45-4C8B-8106-C92EF928305Amy music. The myriad of places I visited, exchanging my simple clothes, living life aplenty through the lives of each of those characters I adored. I was a fairy, a queen, a brave musketeer, a defiant knight, a wise philosopher. Those were my steps to becoming the ‘me’ I am today. Idealistic, but not with my feet off the ground. Full of innovative ideas, yet always ideas imbued with a sense of real fantasy. Believing that everything is possible, I built my byways to now, to this very moment! Today, when I turn my eyes to the tree with its autumnal vestment, the birds are flying to another place far away; I will fly there too… Indeed, travel has been the other cherry atop my fairy-cake of life. The absolute pinnacle. The best moments happen when I am on the move – in Asia or America. Dry and sunny deserts, or snowy mountain-tops. In the middle of a Thai market full of people thriving to live. In a jungle, where every species competes to stay alive. It doesn’t matter where, life flows in my veins, a life worth being lived. This amalgam of books, travel and ideas, has created a person who is hard to define. Strange, reclusive, naïve – the ‘labelling’ has been persistent, but I have learned to accept it and move on. This space is about ideas (mostly mine), mixed with travels, sensations and feelings. It’s not to anybody. It’s for the chosen. But, it is not for me to choose… it’s for you. Welcome then. Give me your mind, and take my hand, it will be something of a roller coaster through uncharted territory.