How the journey to work can change your life

Believe it or not, I love my journey to work. I love it so much that I look forward to it the evening before. She's crazy, you might be thinking. Maybe, but you know what? Relaxation - and that's exactly what this article is about - starts in everyday life. Not on the yoga mat, not hiking in your free time, no, if we want to relax our family life in the long term, we would do well to take a closer look at our everyday routines.

Let yourself be seduced and listen with me to the deeper tones behind the obvious.

So get out of the tiring hamster wheel of our routines and into the freshness of the moment. The unspectacular journey to work is an excellent example of how to bring more depth into your life. Don't believe me? Then let yourself be seduced and listen with me to the deeper tones behind the obvious.

What does this morning smell like?

It starts when you leave your home. The routine is as follows: open the door, let the door fall into the lock. Start walking. You may already be going through the to-do list for your working day in your mind. Or you're already glued to your mobile phone.

Rewind and realise the magnitude of this everyday step: you are leaving your familiar four walls and going out into the big wide world!

Imagine you were a badger or fox or any other animal that crawls out of its den in the morning and sticks its nose out into the wind first thing. What does this morning smell like? What scents and messages does the current season bring you?

Take ten seconds to stand motionless outside your front door and take in the new day. Can you feel the difference between that and carelessly rushing out? It's marvellous, don't you think?

Ella, my faithful companion

Now the adventure really begins. Let's meet Ella, my trusty bike. An orange city cruiser with snow-white tyres (well, not quite anymore, but it sounds so nice...) and a simple, yet ingenious six-speed Shimano gearbox.

As you can see, I cycle to work, whatever the weather. Even when it's hailing cats (then it's especially nice because it's completely empty). As you know, there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes. And rain on your face wakes you up immediately. You're instantly awake. I only leave Ella in the stable when it's snowing and icy, but that's rare.

My journey to work takes me from Zurich-Wollishofen to Seefeld. So once around the lake basin. A wonderful route on which we will encounter a famously fragrant bend, a dwarf castle and my morning ritual on the lake. It's actually crazy (you've been warned...). But stay tuned - it's worth it.

I always get an olfactory flash in the cedar fragrance curve.

From Entlisberg to Lake Zurich

I admit, it's a special luxury to whizz down the mountain at the start. Completely weightless, with the wind in our faces, Ella and I thread our way through the morning traffic on Albisstrasse. We quickly leave this behind us and turn off towards the lake at the Wollishofen post office.

Before the railway subway in a left-hand bend, I am greeted by the beguiling scent of a cedar tree. It gives me an olfactory flash every time. In summer, however, even the good tree is unable to mask the less seductive smell of the sewerage system. What the heck, it's late autumn, I've already passed and arrived on the other side. At the first building site.

There's a funny anecdote about this: I drove past once in the summer, wearing a skirt and beaming with joy. I spontaneously waved to the construction workers. They immediately dropped their tools, jumped up and down and waved back like crazy. They were so happy. Poor people aren't allowed to whistle at women these days. Which I personally think is a shame. It's a nice compliment, playful and full of life, don't you think?

An aha moment

Just before Saffa Island, right next to the road, a homeless man has deposited his belongings. I always marvel at the inconspicuous pile of household goods, which has been skilfully linked together.

The unknown master of living gets by with the bare essentials. I would sometimes like to take a leaf out of his book when I think of all the clutter that accumulates in a family of five over the years. Less is more. A life lesson that we should definitely take to heart in times of dwindling resources.

Changing perspectives is good and opens up space for the unexpected.

Extra round on Saffa Island

Now comes the first highlight: the extra round on Saffa Island. A 360-degree view of the lake, in foggy weather even with the idea of being by the sea. Beautiful old trees sway their crowns reverently, the water laps at Saffa Island, which was built in 1958 as part of the second Swiss National Exhibition for Women's Labour.

In my heart and mind, I thank the courageous pioneers of the women's movement. Without you, I would not be able to live so freely and self-determinedly today. Thank you a thousand times over!

Could I do a second round in the opposite direction? Sure, I'll treat myself to that. Changing perspectives is good for you and opens up space for the unexpected. The man with the dog looks at me puzzled when I cross his path again. I smile and he smiles back.

A dwarf castle in the centre of the city

At this time of year, I cycle from Saffa Island directly along the lake through Badi Mythenquai, depending on my mood. In summer, thousands of children romp around here and senior citizens have their coats tanned.

Silence returns in winter. Pedestrians, two swans and a few ducks line the shore. Towards evening, seagulls line up on the railings of the 5-metre diving platform and stretch their heads towards the setting sun.

My second highlight comes at Enge harbour. At the edge of a cobblestone square, on which the oversized head of the writer Gottfried Keller is enthroned, hidden between the last jetty and the Samigos restaurant lies a dwarf castle under the long branches of conifers.

In my imagination, at least, it is, even though dwarves are more at home in forests and mountains. A few water-loving dwarves also feel at home on the shores of Lake Zurich in the centre of the city.

Their castle consists of the large, gnarled roots of the trees that grow into the water here. In the morning light, the root structure glistens particularly majestically and I can see Thorin, Balin, Gloin and all the dwarves from Tolkien's classic, «Lord of the Rings», smoking their tobacco pipes with relish. Are dwarves even allowed to smoke? Never mind, they smoke with me (and whistle after women...).

With this morning ritual, nothing will throw you off balance so quickly.

My morning ritual on the water

In front of the dwarf castle on the aforementioned jetty at the very front, my Ella is allowed to rest for a moment while I devote myself to the third highlight of my journey to work: my morning ritual on the water. It's a Thai chi exercise that my mum taught me.

Each of the following statements is accompanied by a meditative movement. May these words also do you good and inspire you:

«I greet the sky, I greet the earth and here I stand. I open myself, I protect myself and connect heaven and earth. I awaken the fire within me and send it out into the world. It comes back to me as dew. I go out into the world, look around me and pick what is good for me. I digest it and let go of what I don't need. I draw the power of the earth through me and hand over everything I don't understand to the universe. I embrace the tigress within me and come to my rock power.»

The ritual takes no longer than three minutes. Three minutes that, if you do it every day, will change your life. You will lay a solid foundation for your day. It may be raging and crises and crises outside in the world. Nothing will unbalance you so quickly on the inside. You can take my word for that.

Will I have a green wave?

On Ella, I continue pedalling along the harbour, past the Enge lakeside resort, under the ancient and mighty giant trees of the Rentenanstalt and on to Bürkliplatz, leaving the endless queue of morning traffic behind me.

I wonder how many Japanese or Chinese snapshots I've been immortalised in while passing the Quai Bridge? I need to play tourist in my own city again. A ride on a trolly bus has been on my bucket list for a while.

Now it's getting busier and busier. Pedestrians are streaming towards the lake from Bellevue. I elegantly curve round them and enjoy the last stage under the crowns of the chestnut avenue on the right bank of Lake Zurich. The Gold Coast is in Wollishofen in the morning. Here in Seefeld, I am surrounded by cool morning shadows that are only hesitantly broken by rays of sunshine.

Will I have a green wave? It's always a satisfaction when I can turn into Kreuzstrasse from the lake without stopping at the traffic lights. One last bend and Ella and I are there: at Dufourstrasse 47.

Welcome to the parents' magazine Fritz+Fränzi. Thank you for joining us on this morning journey.