Day 249 - Ice Cream

Thought of the day: It was the warmest day we had so far with the temperature measured at 34c/93f around noon. So, naturally, we headed for the pools in the afternoon. On the way, we were passed by several groups of kids of Jasmine's age who were biking to the pools on their own without any adult supervision. The pools don't have lifeguards, not even for the deep water pool with diving boards. The Swiss are really encouraging their kids to be independent by showing them respect and trust at an early age. On the way back, my mother-in-law bought a bag of cherries from a fruit stand next to a farmhouse. It was an unattended stand operating on the honor system - when you take a bag of fruits, you're expected to check the pricing sheet and deposit the right amount of cash in a metal container. People seem to be putting a lot of trust in passerbys and strangers, otherwise they would not have left a fruit stand unattended or allowed their youngsters to go to the swimming pool or school on their own. I believe that our quality of life can be greatly affected by the degree of trust in the community that we live in. If that's true, the Swiss people, at least those belonging to small towns and villages, are living in the right place.

Photo of the day:

Lila having ice cream at the pool. As it was a hot day, the swimming structure was swamped with hundreds of people from Niederweningen and nearby villages.  Luckily, the area was large enough to accommodate everybody comfortably, even though the line for ice cream was really long when the girls took their ice cream break.