Guest info

Absences

We would greatly appreciate being informed of any extended absences during your visit.

Arrival

Please inform us of your estimated arrival time. Your room keys are deposited in the mailbox with your name in the entrance hall. If you would like to come by car, please contact us beforehand.

Banks / cash machines

In Wernetshausen, you can withdraw cash at the village shop using your bank card.

There is also a cash machine at Hinwil Station, and two banks in Hinwil with 24-hour ATMs.

During opening hours, you can exchange money at the following banks:

Bank Avera, Bahnhofstrasse 7, 8340 Hinwil

Tel. +41 (0)44 938 89 89

More info

Zürcher Kantonalbank, Bahnhofplatz 1, 8340 Hinwil

Tel. +41 (0) 844 843 823 (fees may be charged)

More info

Bathroom

All our guest rooms have their own bathroom. In most rooms, the bathroom is not located in the room, but in the corridor directly opposite.

Bicycles (e-bikes)

Two older electric bikes are available for guests, for cycling to Hinwil or excursions (the batteries last about 1 hour). Please contact the office or the caretaker if you would like to borrow one. You are obliged to wear a cycling helmet.

After using the bike, please return the key to the red cupboard in the main entryway (do not leave it on the bike). Please recharge the e-bike batteries after use.

Bookshops

Would you like to buy a book during your stay or have it delivered to the Translation House?

Livretto, online bookstore, Sabine Baumann

Tel.: +41 (0)44 977 28 47; E-Mail: sbaumann@livretto.ch

Orell Füssli Bookshop, Füsslistrasse 4, Zürich

Zurich’s largest bookshop is about 10 minutes’ walk from the main station and also sells English-language titles.

Caretaker and guest administration

Our caretaker Antonia Maino is responsible for the building and garden, and will be happy to help you if you have any problems. Please respect her privacy in the evenings, on weekends, and on public holidays.

Monica Mutti (in the office in the basement) takes care of guest administration (arrivals, accounting). Tel.: +41 (0)43 843 12 43 E-Mail: stay@looren.net

If no one is in the house, please contact our caretaker Antonia Maino: Tel.: work: +41 (0)79 597 26 66 Tel.: private: +41 (0)77 457 42 03

If Antonia is absent, please contact Brigitte Sonderegger, Wernetshausen: Private: +41 (0)79 614 62 51

Cleaning rooms

You are responsible for cleaning your own room. Cleaning supplies, vacuum cleaners and brooms are available for your use. Please do not use water to clean the wooden floor.

Please let us know if you make any stains so that we can clean them right away with the correct cleaning products. Please don’t try to get rid of stains yourself using cleaning fluids!

We ask that you vacuum your room and bathroom before your > departure. The vacuum cleaner is stored in the red cupboard by the kitchen.

Coffee and tea

Are available for free in the foyer.

Computers

Please bring your own laptop. All rooms have internet cable connections and WiFi.
You will find extension cords, network cables and adapter plugs in the blue box next to your desk.

Departure

Before you leave, please be sure to settle your bill. Because the office is not always staffed, we ask that you take care of this a few days prior to your departure. You can return your key to the office.

Before leaving, please vacuum your room and bathroom, and take your towels and bed linen to the laundry room.

Please remove any food items from the fridge in your room.

If you don’t wish to take the bus to the train station, you can order a > taxi.

Doctors (see also Medicines)

For emergencies: Medical and dental emergency services: Tel.: +41 (0)800 33 66 55 or the general emergency number: Tel: 112

Doctors:

Medical practice in Hinwil: Tel.: +41 (0)44 937 32 02

Medical practice at Rüti Station: Tel.: +41 55 555 05 05, Open daily 8.00-20.00

Wetzikon Hospital: Tel.: +41 (0)44 934 11 11, Open 24 hours

Dinner for guests

Once a week there is a free dinner for the guests. You do not have to participate, but it would be lovely to see you there!

Doors

Please enter and exit the house only through the main entrance and the glass doors into the garden. The emergency exits should remain closed at all times. In the evenings and at night, please lock the main door.

Excursions

There are various nearby destinations for excursions. You’ll find information material and hiking maps in the dining room, or feel free to ask the team.

Fan

During the summer months it can get very warm in the rooms. A fan is available in all guest rooms during this time. If it is not already set up on arrival, it can be found in the cabinet.

Fire

There is a fire blanket in every guest room and in the kitchen. Please read the instructions for use and the safety information.

Fire extinguishers are located:

• On the ground floor: by the entrance to the living room, on the left behind the green clock, and at the end of the guest room corridor in front of the emergency exit.

• On the upper floor: opposite the stairs.

• In the basement: to the left of the lower staircase and in the office.

Garden

Tables and seats for garden use are available in the pergola. We also have a boccia court and loungers in summer. The garden has been tended organically for over 50 years, using no pesticides or weed killers. The grass is mowed only twice a year, to preserve a diverse range of flowers and insects. We would be very grateful for you using the path and not walking across the grass.

Guest book

There is a guest book located in the living room. We would greatly appreciate it if you could take some time to help make it an interesting read for all the guests and the Looren team.

Hair dryers

There is one hair dryer on each floor, kept in the first room of each corridor, where cleaning equipment is also stored.

Heating

The house is heated during the cold period. Please close windows after ventilating your room for a short burst, rather than leaving them open. If your room is too warm, feel free to turn the radiator off to help us save resources.

Hiking poles

Hiking poles are available for hiking trips. If you need help adjusting the height, feel free to ask the caretaker or in the office.

History of the Translation House

The Looren house was originally designed by the publisher Albert Züst together with architect Oskar Stock. In 1958 the Züst family and their six children moved in. The building served as both the family’s home and the offices of the Albert Züst publishing company. Books were always important in the house. When Albert Züst died and his wife moved away, members of the Züst family looked for a new and worthwhile role for the building.

The translator Regula Renschler suggested creating a translators’ residence, and Brigitta Züst gradually put that idea into practice. The house was renovated and adapted to the new requirements. Translation House Looren has existed in its present form since 2005, and is run as a non-profit organization.

In the Züst house, great value has always been placed on caring for the environment. The layout of the building was arranged to catch the maximum sun throughout the year, so that no insulation is needed on the southwest and southeast external walls. The rooms and water are heated using passive solar energy, with additional heating provided by wood pellets, a renewable energy source. Rainwater is used in the bathroom plumbing, laundry, and garden. The garden has been cultivated on exclusively organic principles for more than fifty years.

“Looren” is a common name for plots of land in the Canton of Zurich. It means “stony ground” and indicates rocky or gravelly terrain.

Internet

All rooms have internet cable connections and WiFi. You can obtain the password from us.
You will find extension cords, network cables and adapter plugs in the blue box next to your desk.

Insurance

Translation House Looren is not liable for any damage, accidents or illness suffered by the guests.

Keys

When you arrive, you will receive a key to your private room and the main door. The key also locks the drawer in your room. We ask that you sign for your key upon receipt and return it to the office at the end of your stay.

Kitchen

All appliances, crockery etc. in the communal kitchen are available for general use. Please keep the kitchen tidy and clean. All kitchen users are grateful to you for this.

Laundry

You are welcome to use the small washing machine in the laundry room for your personal items. Bed linens, hand towels and kitchen towels are provided and laundered by us. (One laundry strip is sufficient for a full load.)
For wool and silk, you can get a mild detergent from the caretaker.

Contact the caretaker if you require fresh hand towels, bed linens or an extra pillow.

Library

Translation House Looren library > online catalogue

You can search the catalogue by keyword, and also by language, publication date, etc.

The Translation House library is spread across several rooms, as follows:

• Dictionaries: in the seminar room in the basement, arranged alphabetically by language

• Specialist encyclopaedias and reference works: in the basement opposite the laundry room, arranged by subject

• Books on translation: on the upper floor
• Swiss literature in German (call numbers A-K): in the ground-floor library room (next to the foyer)
• Swiss literature in German (call numbers L-Z): in the living room
• Swiss literature in Italian and Rhaeto-Romanic: in the ground-floor library room (next to the foyer)
• Swiss literature in French: on the upper floor
• Children’s and young adult books: in the ground-floor library room next to the foyer

(Translations of Swiss books are shelved with the originals.)

• Journals and magazines and the Züst Collection (a selection of works published by Albert Züst Verlag): in the living room

• Looren Collection (books translated at the Translation House by our guests): in the foyer

We would be delighted to add a book of yours that was translated at Looren, and ask you to send us a copy when it is published (two copies when it is a book by a Swiss author).

• Books given to the Translation House by guests: on the shelves next to the office entrance, in the basement.

If you take a book to your room, please fill out a placeholder card and leave it at the location where the book was shelved. Please replace books at the correct location after use.

If you find that a particular standard work for your language combination is missing, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to get the book for you.

Zurich Central Library and university departmental libraries (including other universities and research institutions) > online catalogue

Central Library > issue desk

Monday to Friday: 8am – 8pm

Saturday: 9am - 7pm

Address: Zähringerplatz 6, 8001 Zürich, Tel.: +41 (0)44 268 31 00

Translation House Looren holds a library card for the Central Library, which our guests are welcome to use.

If you encounter any problems with your research, we are more than happy to help you.

Lights

Please turn off the light when you leave your own room, and when you’re the last person to leave any other room.

Light bulbs

Replacement light bulbs are kept in the red cupboard to the right of the kitchen. Please let the caretaker know if you’ve changed a light bulb.

Medicines

There is a container of disinfectant, plasters and hygiene products in the red cupboard next to the kitchen door. Please ask the caretaker or in the office if you need any medicines.

The nearest pharmacy is in Hinwil at the bus stop “Gstalden”:

Apotheke/Drogerie Apodro, Dürntnerstrasse 19, Hinwil, Tel. +41 (0)44 937 24 88

Membership

Membership of the Translation House Looren Association is open to anyone interested in our work who would like to support us. Members are invited to Translation House events and kept regularly informed of our activities. Annual membership costs CHF 60 for individuals, CHF 120 for institutions and CHF 500 for patron members.

You can sign up here.

Office in the Translation House

Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 9.15 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Our office is closed on weekends and public holidays, but the seminar room where the dictionaries are shelved is always open.

Photocopying

There is a photocopier in the basement, for which you’ll be given an access code with your room key.

Printer

A laser printer is available for use, next to the office entrance:

Name: Brother HL-L2375DW series

IP-Adress: 192.168.75.187

Instructions Mac

Instructions Windows

50 copies are free of charge. After that, each additional copy costs 5 centimes (CHF 0.05). Please make a note of the copies in the booklet next to the printer and pay before departure with your residency fee.

Postal services

Post is delivered at around noon. Letters addressed directly to guests are placed in their personal mailbox. Newspapers are laid out in the dining room.

The nearest post office is in Hinwil, at Bahnhofstr. 10.

Public holidays

Shops, banks and offices are closed on public holidays. Our office is also not staffed on these days.

The following are the general public holidays in the Canton of Zurich:

• New Year (1 and 2 January)

• Easter (Good Friday and Easter)

• 1 May (Labour Day)

• Ascension Day (40 days after Easter)

• Whitsun (Whit Monday)

• 1 August (Swiss national holiday)

• Christmas (afternoon of 24 December, all day 25 and 26 December)

The following are regional public holidays in the City of Zurich:

• Sechseläuten spring holiday (April)

• Knabenschiessen shooting festival (September)

Public transport

Trains

The S14 runs from Hinwil to Zurich every 30 minutes. Depending on your destination, you may need to change lines at Wetzikon. Information is available at www.sbb.ch.

Tickets

Ask at the office for a complimentary day pass covering the whole Canton of Zurich.

Bus/Buxi

Bus: A bus departs Wernetshausen for Hinwil once an hour. Between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., the bus leaves twice an hour. You’ll find the local bus timetable on the notice board near the front entrance and here:

Hinwil > Wernetshausen
Wernetshausen > Hinwil

Buxi: Between 8 p.m. and midnight (on weekends until half past midnight), a minibus offers a shuttle service, the “Buxi” (a combination of bus and taxi).

For trips from Hinwil train station to Wernetshausen, the Buxi waits at the station every half hour from 7.55 p.m. Passengers simply inform the driver of their stop when getting on the bus. The driver will then adjust their route accordingly, and depart shortly after the arrival of the train from Zurich. There is no additional charge for the Buxi: just show your train ticket.

For trips from Wernetshausen Dorf (by the village shop) to Hinwil Station after 8 p.m., you’ll have to order the Buxi by telephone (half an hour before your departure time): +41 (0)44 938 00 44.

Buxi timetable

Repairs

If anything needs repairing in your room or anywhere else in the building, please notify the caretaker.

Restaurants

in Wernetshausen and the surrounding area:

Bachtel Ranch, Orn, Tel.: +41 (0)44 937 31 87

Bachtel Kulm, (on the Top of Mount Bachtel) Tel.: +41 (0)44 937 33 88

Hasenstrick, Höhenstrasse 15, Dürnten, Tel.: +41 (0)55 250 52 52

Maharana, Indian Restaurant (also take away and delivery in the evening), Walderstrasse 17, Hinwil, Tel.: +41 (0)43 960 11 11, E-Mail: info@maharana.ch

Shopping

The village shop in Wernetshausen by the bus stop “Dorf” sells all essentials and basics. The shop is about 10 minutes’ walk away. You can also withdraw cash at the till using your bank card.

Opening hours Wernetshausen village shop:
Mon – Sat: 7.30 a.m. – 12.15 p.m. / 4.00 p.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Closed on Saturday afternoons

The self-service farm shop (Demeter, bio-dynamic) down the hill from the Translation House sells farm products (milk, eggs, meat, etc.). Please pay directly in the cash box in the shop (no change given).

The Coop and Migros supermarkets in Hinwil are open Mondays to Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Migros closes at 7 p.m. on Saturdays).

On Sundays and public holidays, only stores located in larger train stations, the airport and petrol stations are open. There is a small Migrolino at Hinwil Station, which is open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

You’ll find a large selection of chocolate at > Schoggihüsli, Zürichstrasse 55, Hinwil

Slippers

We ask our guests to wear slippers in the house. If you do not bring your own slippers, we will be happy to provide you with house shoes.

Smoking

Please do not smoke indoors. There is an ash tray outside the main entrance.

Taxis

Local taxis: +44 (0)842 10 10 10 / www.tzo.ch

If you wish to order a taxi, please do so no later than half an hour before the required pick-up time. A taxi ride from the Translation House to Hinwil Station costs CHF 25.

Private taxi: For trips from Looren to Hinwil Station, you can also ask Brigitte Sonderegger from the village. The ride costs CHF 10, and must be arranged a few days in advance.
Tel. private: +41(0) 79 614 62 51 / E-Mail: brigitteso@bluewin.ch

Telephones

The Translation House does not have guest telephones. We ask that you use your personal mobile telephone for calls. SIM cards are available at airports, stations and kiosks. We recommend you clarify in advance with your telephone provider whether your phone is suitable for use in Switzerland.

Ticks

Ticks are common in the Zürcher Oberland area. These small parasites can transmit dangerous diseases (Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis). Before you go outdoors in summer or hot weather, use the tick repellent spray kept in the red cupboard next to the kitchen (in the Foyer). You’ll also find special tweezers there for removing ticks.

Waste

Translation House Looren recycles its household waste. Please put recyclable items (see container labels) in the correct Mr. Green containers outside the main entrance. Cardboard, paper and residual waste go in separate containers, also outside the main entrance. We collect organic, compostable waste in the kitchen.

Website

Our website www.looren.net provides information on staying here, grants, seminars, events and useful links. It will also take you to our online library catalogue (> “Service”)

Last but not least...

...we wish you a pleasant stay in our house and are happy to answer any questions you may have!