Zurich Watches 1 August Fireworks From a Packed Lakefront

ZURICH - National Day crowds packed the lakefront from Buerkliplatz toward Tiefenbrunnen as fireworks went up over the water. Police described a heavy and calm evening. VBZ ran late trams that still left people on the platform after the last bang.

Village brunches happened in the morning in the canton's smaller communes. The city does the night. Both claim to be the real 1 August. Both are.

Saturday the city returns

Street Parade is a week away. The same quays will do a different job. Zurich's summer is a sequence of closed roads with different soundtracks. The official day is in our Bern report.