The best way to explore the country’s third-largest metropolis is on foot; a stroll through the diminutive city will take you past most of the historical sites, including the Old Town and Rhine River.
These were avoided by a last-minute deal between the Republican-dominated Congress and the White House. However, economists warned at the time that fears of an abrupt cut in government spending were undermining business and consumer confidence.
As well as being home to everything from whelks to whale sharks, the oceans offer a range of critical services, including acting as a source of food and regulating the atmosphere.
But this comes at a terrible cost. The composition of the oceans is changing to become more acidic, threatening the tremendous diversity of creatures that call them home.
I feel smugger still as the aroma of fresh coffee heralds the arrival of the drinks service. Swiss friends often tell me, proudly, that their rail service is the best in the world, but recently, the Swiss love affair with their railway has turned a little sour.
It all began with the decision to abolish ticket sales on trains, though ticket collectors stay. In theory, this should work - you can buy tickets from a machine on the platform, online, or by smartphone.
In practice, it has become a rancorous public relations disaster, and all because of a Byzantine logic over what constitutes a valid ticket, and a policy of issuing huge fines to passengers who do not have one.
And then, there is me. One frosty morning I arrived at my local station to find that the ticket machine was broken. No matter, I thought, I have got a smartphone, and I hurriedly set about buying my ticket that way
Unfortunately she was less than impressed and told me in no uncertain terms that my ticket was not valid. Why, only became clear several weeks later when a letter arrived from Swiss railways euphemistically named "revenue protection service".
The BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin says using cameras to film people surreptitiously is a sensitive issue in Germany, where privacy is very highly valued.
So Germany seems to be entering a legal grey area - it is not clear when the flight of a drone may become so extensive that the wider authorities need to intervene, Stephen Evans reports.
