The flight to Milan was 7.5 hours. 7.5 long long hours. For the last two hours of the flight I was completely miserable. Just tired and sleepy, I guess. My legs hurt, my back hurt, my mind hurt. We left New Jersey at 10 pm, so that means we arrived without any sleep in Milan at 5:30 a.m. New York time. 12:30 p.m. Milan time. And now it's 1:30 p.m. and still no sleep. Our plane doesn't leave Milan for Zurich until 4:15 p.m. Needless to say, I think we'll be hitting the hay very early tonite. I know it's best to stay up as long as you can, so you can get on European time, but I don't know. Jim is dozing right now next to me here in the Milan terminal. So, hopefully he'll be able to catch a few more winks. He can sleep sitting up, though, I can't. Lucky him.
We can sure tell we're in Italy. The airport shops definitely reflect that. A world of difference from the shops in the Newark airport. Well I guess! Beautiful stuff here. All the Italian designer shoes, accessories, clothing, jewelry. Expensive too, of course. It's a lookie-loo world. I love watching the people, seeing the differences in dress and manners.
I think I could go to sleep if I could just lie down. All these seats here in the lounge have arms that don't raise up. If you're very thin, you could slip under them and stretch out, like a few young girls are doing. But that leaves me out of the equation. Maybe, If I lie flat on my back, I could do it. And then maybe not. Jim probably could, but then it would probably feel too vulnerable I would imagine. Oh well, just 2.5 more hours of waiting.
May 7
Finally, we're in Zurich. I've spent the worst night of the trip, a doggone "bug" of some kind. Not good. Must be like the one Jim had in East Hampton. He must be healthier than me, because his didn't last as long. Anyway, we just returned from a very light meal downstairs - two spoons of soup and some bread for me, Jim finished my soup and his - our first meal after sleeping 22 hours, yes, we slept 22 hours after we arrived. Neither of us has much energy, the altitude, no doubt. But, we're here! In Switzerland. And it's almost 9 pm. We haven't seen anything yet, will begin tomorrow. Today was totally missed. Tomorrow will be a much better day, I'm sure.
May 8
Well, today we finally stayed awake long enough to take a look around town. Got downstairs about 1:30 or 2 pm, had some coffee, no breakfast. Food isn't too appealing on the menu in the CRAZY COW restaurant, which is next door to the hotel. Although like I said, the tomato soup was delicious yesterday, didn't sound good for breakfast today, though. After coffee we took a trolley, a cable car, usually two or three hooked together, down to the river which leads into the lake. Don't ask me which lake it is at this moment, I really don’t care. The river is Lemmat. Goes right through town.
We walked around gazing into windows and venturing into some of the stores until 4 pm, everything closes at 4 pm on Saturday through Sunday. Only restaurants stay open, and we found a really quaint coffee/wine bar where we both had apple strudel and coffee. Jim can't quite handle these prices, 3.50 for one cup of coffee, and "not even a mug" (he says) “and no refills”. Ayeeechee wawa! He's having a hard time dealing with the price of everything (but then, what's new, he's that way at home too), and I just keep reminding him we're only in the most expensive country in Europe - Switzerland. The bottled water, a quart size, is around $5.00. That is really burning his arbuckle, and I find it a bit steep myself, as a matter of fact. But, we're leery of drinking local water. Of course, we're doing it in the coffee, but it's heated. Maybe we should take a chance. Who knows? I know we aren't supposed to drink the water in Russia, all the literature says that.
We've decided to stay another night in Zurich. Since we lost our first day here to jet lag and sickness, we didn't really get to see anything. So, we'll be heading for Saltzberg on Monday instead of Sunday.
So, tomorrow we're going to JUNGFRAUBAHN. We leave early in the morning around 8 a.m. and will be away for eleven hours. The web site to the most beautiful place we're going is: http://www.jungfraubahn.ch/
Jungfraubahn is only the highest point a person can travel in Europe and is called The Top of Europe. We're so excited, and we're all ready, have our warm stuff laying out ready to jump into in the morning. An Alp adventure! We had to stay to see it. Can't be this close and not do it.
Anyway, after 4 pm today when all the shops closed, we went to the train station to pick up our train tickets to Saltzberg for Monday, and I'm here to tell you that Zurich's train station beats every station and airport I've ever seen. Very upscale restaurants and high design as well as regular and low design shops. Really nice. It has the most extraordinary underground shopping mall, and they were having a professional volleyball competition in the center of the ground floor. Amazing! Most of the trains leave from the ground floor where the ticket booths are, but there are other levels of departure too. Just incredible, the stuff to see there.
I lost Jim for about 45 minutes while he was down one floor, thinking that's where the ticket booths were. He takes his time looking at every single tiny little item in every single friggin’ window, so sometimes I'll go on ahead, but I'll let him know where I'm going. This time he thought I motioned to the down escalators. Nope. I motioned to the opposite right where the ticket booths were. He went down.
Anyway, it's great that everything stays open at the station for the tourists (and Locals, evidently), so at least they have a place to hang out & shop on Saturday evening and Sunday.
We shared some potato skins and salad later (nothing in the potato skins, only potato, I guess that's why they call it a potato skin), but it hit the spot, and probably was just as well it wasn't stuffed like Americans stuff them, because we're both still not all that hungry yet. Appetites are still lacking, probably because of the altitude and our sickly tummies. (By the way , we'll be up 11,333 ft. tomorrow in the Alps. Yikes!) But, we're eating bread with the soup and skins and salad.
Jim brought all his vitamins with him too, so, he’s fine. I'm sure each day we'll gain it back more and more. Hey, in New York we ate like pigs. As for me, I wish I'd entirely lose my appetite. That wouldn't be such a bad thing. For a month at least. That should do the trick, get me where I belong, weight-wise.
AND we had a special treat, there was a young pianist playing a grand piano in the very chic grille in a hotel where we lunched. He played the piano well, but couldn't sing worth a dime, poor guy. Or maybe it's just the style over here, I don't know. His tone was mellow, just couldn't hit any of the upper notes he sang. Interesting. Sounded like what's his name who recorded WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD. Remember how he ended the song? Missed the notes, but it was left on the recording because it was charming? Well, this wasn't charming. But he must have thought it was. And he did it in every song. No, not charming.
We left there and took a trolley which was different from the one we took down to the river, we thought it was the right one, wasn't sure, someone had suggested it. But it seemed to travel on forever, went to a terminal and beyond. Just about the time we'd decided to get off and find a cab, we saw our hotel looming ahead. So, the directions we were given were correct. But we were wondering there for awhile. I'm glad we stayed on it, even though we'd thought about getting off, but Jim figured why not take advantage and get a free tour of the city, even though we were lost. Oh, by the way. No one has collected any money from us on the trolleys. We've ridden several and no one comes to collect. It must be the honour system. Hummmmm . . . crazy irresponsible Americans have no honour. We'll order an extra cup of coffee to boost the economy.
May 8
Well, I can't go to sleep. Not that I need any sleep after all that I've had over the past 2 days. It's most likely because I'm afraid we won't wake up in time for the trip to the Mount this morning. I finally called the desk and asked for a wake up call for 6:30 a.m., but it's 5:30 now, so what the heck. I've been editing my book most of the night, and honestly making attempts to sleep on occasion, but to no avail. Probably the excitement of the upcoming tour to the Alps. Anyway, when the last attempt left me thinking of cows, yes cows, not sheep, that was it! Up up up, and here I am.
Let me explain the cows. Inside this hotel, The Leoneck Hotel in Zurich, we're inundated with cows. 101 Dalmation cows. I know, I know . . . they're not, but they're black and white spotted cows, and certainly more than 101. I can't remember the name of the breed. It's not Angus, it's not Guernsey (?), Jersey? What the heck is it? What do I know from cows? Anyway, there are cows all over the place.
In the lobby alone, wooden and metal cows are hanging from the ceiling. Glass, ceramic, pottery, porcelain, and whatever you can think of, are in the glass cases and on table tops. They're painted on the walls, single and in murals. An 18-inch band of fake black and white fur cowhide (which definitely looks like dalmation print) borders the top edge of the L-shaped frontdesk counter. (Jim says it’s authentic cowhide, I’ll have to take a closer look. He’s probably right, usually is.) Cow horns are attached to some of the chair backs, and the furniture is upholstered same as the counter.
Even the rooms have cows . . . on the shower curtains and bath tiles and on the bedroom walls. Wait a minute! Our bedroom wall has a St. Bernard painted on it. What's that all about? Why didn't we get a cow?
There are tiny black and white spotted cows painted on wooden cutouts that are used for tokens to exchange for breakfast in the CRAZY COW restaurant next door. Even the room key is held by an oversize cow wooden cutout. There is another discrepancy however, on one side of the hotel entrance, in the planter, a gaggle (?) or flock (?) of chickens. Flock. (Hey, so I'm rummy from no sleep!) Hummmm. The chickens must be by the same metal sculpturer that did the huge metal cow on the other side of the entrance. They all look like they've been done by the same artist.
THEN . . . in the Crazy Cow Restaurant there are cows. I don't mean the two-legged kind, either. It's loaded with them. This is all quite an eye full, believe me. I'm going to keep two of the tokens and I've got my eye on one of the cute little cows in a glass case, must have that one too for our meager collection of cows on top of our fridge at home. A collection I add to occasionally, a collection that was there before me.
Now you ask, did you pick the place because of the cows? Hell no! I didn't even know they were here. But, you know what? It's a fun place, and we'll never ever see another place like this as long as we live, unless we come back to this one. Which we won't. Once is enough, wouldn't you think? However, it's been a pleasant experience, friendly hosts, clean as we were told the Swiss accommodations would be, and a very unique presentation of the beds, with a bath towel shaped like a swan holding our chocolates for the night, not a small towel, a large one. Beautiful. I think I can even do the swan now. And the way they fluff the feather pillows, oversize pillows (king-size), standing up on the long side, then taking the hand and creasing it right down the center, making two peaks like mountains on each side of the crease. Two Matterhorns. Very clever. Now I know how to make Matterhorns and swans for guests at home, if I want.
Okay, Jim is up now too. At least he got some sleep. We're about to embark upon our 11,333 ft high Alp adventure.
May 10
SWITZERLAND IS THE PLACE TO BE!
It is all the most beautiful scenic spots in the U.S. and Canada, Europe and the UK and everywhere else I've ever been put together and more. I would live in the foothills of the Alps in a heart beat! It's that beautiful! Heidi country and Sound of Music country (I know, it was Austria, but they escaped to Switzerland, didn’t they?). Of course I'd have to learn these languages, so that might be a determining factor. Don't know how difficult that might be, but I do have a clue. DIFFICULT! The language is similar to German, but is softer sounding.
Those Alps are absolutely unlike any mountainous region I've ever see. I haven't seen the mountains in Tibet or in South America (Tibet's on my list), so I can only compare them to the higher ranges in the U.S. and Canada. Most other countries don't compare, don't have mountains that high. Italy, France and Austria share the Alps with Switzerland, so I imagine they're all as beautiful.
(Austrian Alps are. We just went through those today on the train. Can you imagine? Fantastic trip. We were in a panoramic car, could see everything. Six hours from Zurich to Saltzberg on the train. Loved it.)
I'll say this one more time . . . the Alps are something everyone should see at one time in their lives. And where we were yesterday, up at The Top of Europe, JUNGFRAUBAHN, the feeling was of unbelievable awe. I took pics on the way up, so I'll send some when we get home. (I brought the wrong digital camera for this laptop.) Although we were disappointed that we couldn't see anything from the viewpoint (which was what we were looking forward to) because it was snowing and cloudy, the trip UP the mountain was abundant of wonderful views. We traveled straight through the mountains in tunnels, mostly. Lots of tunnels, long ones. And when we'd come out of a tunnel it was like seeing Shangri-La each time. Every valley was lush green with charming towns, houses dotting the landscape, cows and sheep grazing . . . Hallmark moments. Then the higher we climbed the more the snow fell, until the entire landscape was snow and snow covered trees, an occasional wooded shed would peek out from under the blanket of snow. No visible roads, no inhabitants except those in the few mountain train stations. We changed trains three times, climbing to the Observatory. The trains are pully trains, or trams, not cable cars, look more like trolleys, cog trains.
Once there, we walked right through the glacier in a section called the Ice Palace where they had carved out animal ice sculptures for added interest, then we took elevators up (two) through the rock or ice, I'm not sure what it was at that point . . . rock or ice, to the observation point. It was there we would have been able to see all the way across Switzerland and the mountain ranges, I'm told, and see the largest glacier field. But darn it, it was snowing, so there wasn't any view or sun, only clouds.
Jim did really well. We both lagged behind a bit, held up the group somewhat, but we made it. Two younger kids in their 30s stayed behind with us to assist if we needed it. The guide was appreciative of that. So was I. Especially in the ice palace, the floor was ice, an ice cave, slippery. We walked on it though. It was like walking on an ice rink in your shoes. So, I was glad someone was with us who had the strength to pick us up if we fell. And who knows which one of us would have keeled over first. Well, surprise surprise! Neither of us did. I got lightheaded a few times, thought I was going to faint, so did Jim. But they'd tell us to breathe deeply and go slow. We did do that. Slow we did do. And we went everywhere everyone else did. Well, almost everywhere. Some went up a bit higher, took the outside stairs in the blizzard. Nope, not for us. We saw enough from our vantage point.
When the weather is good there, you can even go snowboarding, skiing, take a husky/sled ride, mountain climb . . . all sorts of physical things. We were happy doing just what we did. And taking the elevators was an option. The rest of them hiked through the mountain to get to the different points. Silly people. Our two helpmates stayed right with us though.
So, we had a wonderful day on the mount! And the bus and train rides were comfy and warm. I'd picked up some gloves and scarves for us on our way up the mountain in Interlaken, we hadn't allowed for weather at 12 below zero. That's what it was up there. But it didn't feel that cold, it really didn't. Jim had on plenty of layers, even wore one of my tops under two of his and a jacket top. So, he was warm. Neither one of us feel a cold coming on, or have the sniffles, or feel any sickness at the moment. That's good.
SALTZBERG
Okay . . . we just had our first meal in Saltzberg, Austria (home of the Von Trapp family) at a very quaint restaurant in Old Town at 10 pm. Can't remember the name of it, but it was something. Very very very good food. Best meal I've had since we hit European soil. I had red trout (looked like salmon to me) and cream cabbage (yum) and boiled potatoes with a fantastic flavor. Soooooo good, it was. I think I was hungry. We didn't eat very well in Zurich. Jim had spinach pasta and smoked salmon. And then we shared the best Apple Strudel ever!!!!!!!
We've booked a city tour bus and boat for tomorrow morning, to get our bearings . . . so that's it for now. We'll start seeing Saltzberg tomorrow.
Oh yes . . . this morning back in Zurich was rather hectic. We decided since Jim wanted to the see the church windows that Chagal did in Old Town Zurich, that he should go do that by himself, because I needed to go to the post office and mail another package of clothes home (am forever lightening my load, when will I ever learn). We couldn't do both together and still get to the train on time, so off he went, after exact instructions on where to meet me at the train station and at what time. I must tell you I worried about that from the moment he left. The train station and old town are at opposite ends of that part of town.
Then I packed up all our stuff, checked out of the hotel, called a cab to take me to the Post office to mail the package (which took at least 45 minutes of packaging and waiting). And then had the cab driver take me to the station and drop me near a baggage cart rack, the kind you rent, you know, like in the airport. I had 4 suitcases, couldn't carry them all myself. So, as he was taking them out of the cab, I told him I'd go get one of the carts and went to do that. Well, the cart accepted the two francs, but wouldn't come loose from the rack. So I went to get the cabbie to help me. He was nowhere in sight, and my bags were piled on the sidewalk all by themselves, alone. I couldn't believe it. Anyone could have taken them. I was in utter disbelief that he would do that to me. I even gave him a tip, dammit! which I wished I hadn't given him. So, I bundled up the luggage, two and two, and managed to get them back to the cart stand. In the meantime someone must've seen my struggle trying to pry the cart loose, because it was standing by itself, disengaged, waiting for me. There are nice people in the world after all.
Then I hurried to where I'd told Jim to meet me, and within 15 minutes he was there, just 5 minutes late. He’s incredible. I was all ready to start worrying. He'd walked all the way from Old Town, he said, couldn't get a cab that was going in the right direction. They have to be going in the right direction, because they don't want to double back. The streets are very tricky that way. Especially if the trip isn't worth it. Obviously that one wasn't. Just to go from the post office, which was right next door to the train station, my cabbie had to go through a different section of town. Crazy. Anyway, Jim was happy he saw the windows, and I was happy I got the package mailed. And then we left Zurich.
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