We boarded a ferry in Pfäffikon, which went via Ufenau Island. But first, we took a twenty-minute walk around Pfäffikon. There's a very pleasant alley of tall, dense trees near the pier there. Along the way, we hung out with some sheep, and I let them suck some water from a bottle. In Switzerland, agriculture is mixed with the urban environment in a lot of places, meaning a small farm or at least a barn can easily be found close to the city center. And that turned out to be the case here. The sheep slobbered all over us, but they don't grab hard with their mouths; you can stick your hand right into their muzzle, and it's fine. Also, Switzerland always has free toilets and drinking fountains, including out on the street, which is really nice. The only paid toilet I saw was at the train station in Zurich, but that makes sense. Even here there are alcoholics and homeless people, albeit not many.
As for Ufenau, the island is small, maybe a kilometer across. Nevertheless, it manages to fit a vineyard, a restaurant, a cathedral, and a walking trail. We walked the latter; we had just enough time. You can't swim on the island, there are signs up. But we really wanted to.
In general, Switzerland has plenty of rules and bans. For instance, dogs aren't allowed to bark frequently and loudly, and they must be specially trained for this. Every few months, the dog is taken in for a check-up to make sure it's behaving properly, like a true Swiss. At the same time, for the past five years, devices that automatically punish a dog for barking (shock collars, etc.) have been banned.
If you can't control your dog, you'll eventually get fined. And if this happens constantly, it can be taken away by court order. To avoid this, the Swiss collect evidence that they are training their dog with a dog trainer, that it doesn't bark all that much, that complaints from neighbors are infrequent, or non-existent, and so on. All this is taken into account in court or during police disputes. There's this thought that because everything in Switzerland is a bit too good but kind of boring, the locals entertain themselves by starting drama with their neighbors. They write official letters, looking for excuses to nitpick about something else. It's a kind of traditional hobby, alongside hiking and skiing. And smoking, apparently.
In the evening, we boarded a boat heading to Zurich and enjoyed the sunset over the mountains.
Ufenau Island and Lake Zurich
