Moved into Zurich, Switzerland

We moved to Zürich, Switzerland three months ago from India. Switzerland is a beautiful place to live. I have two school going, pre-teen children. I have found some resources with the help of local Swiss friends, these interesting resources worked for me... hope you find them useful too.

1. Zürich zoo family membership, which you WILL recover in 2-3 visits.

2. Bibliothek (library) card. It is free for children below 16 years. They do have some english books but it was a good idea that we started our German language learning by borrowing toddler books...:-).  These cards are valid in all the Bibliotheks.

3. Sports card - Annual Family card.  This will let you into many swim pools without any entry fee (usually 7-10 franks per entry). There are many indoor heated pools too.

4. Annual travel pass along with 1/2 rate card for the regions around Zurich. My children travel free on me ( while they can travel all over switzerland) on all modes of transportation (train, bus, tram, ship, cable tram)

5. Pfadi - It is similar to Scouts, but it's a good idea if you love integrating with the local community. It is combined (girls and boys) unlike BSA (Boy Scouts of America). Every zone will have a team.

6. Technorama - Amazing Swiss Science Center spanned across three floors with equally amazing daily shows on electricity, magnetism etc. If you have children like mine, you would grab a membership.

7. Get introduced to the German language gently with duolingo website. It is very interactive and free.