[CR Switzerland] Day 00-2

September 16, 2006
Arrival in Zurich

I love Zurich-Kloten International Airport. ::nods:: Really, I do. One of the easiest airports I've ever had to navigate with senior citizen parents in tow, and therefore, it gets my vote of confidence instantly. The immigration check, usually a time where one holds one's breath, was courteous and easy and fast. All our luggage was present and accounted for, and we walked out of the airport into the most perfectly chilled weather I've ever felt. After traveling for at least 18 hours (including the layovers), the last thing I thought I would feel was *bouncy*, but I was! I took a deep breath of the cool air and it was heaven after all the humidity we'd left behind in Manila.

I'd asked at the information desk to confirm where we were supposed to stand for the airport shuttle, and the lady was really nice about pointing out the way. We parked ourselves on the nearby bench, and within a few minutes, the Movenpick Airport Hotel shuttle arrived. The driver and I had a bit of confusion over the vouchers; it seems what was written on the cover voucher was for a transfer to Swissotel. But once we went over the particular voucher for the pick-up, which specifically said MOVENPICK, everything was quickly sorted out. ::insert big sigh of inward relief::

Naturally, since we arrived at the hotel at 7.30 AM, we couldn't get into our rooms till past 12 NN. So - thanks to information gleaned from the board - I bought three Tageskartes/transport passes from the front desk; our baggage and the carry-on bags went into the concierge's locker, and we waited for the hotel shuttle to bring us back to the airport so we could get to the train station there.

While waiting, we met a very nice Singaporean couple who will be our traveling mates for the tour. They had also flown in that morning, and like us, were all set to spend some time downtown while waiting for our rooms. Back we went to where we first arrived, crossed the street into the shopping mall and had ourselves something to eat the little food court. As per instructions from the hotel, we went down one level to the train station level, where we asked how to validate the transport passes. Took the time to change money as well.

At the station, while taking pictures of the timetable boards and generally orienting ourselves, we ran into a nice young Filipino grad student. He'd just finished his masteral dissertation and was making use of the term break to hop around Europe. He'd just come up from Rome and was headed for Amsterdam. After a short chat, we wished each other well, and my parents and I headed for the Banhofstrasse.

Thanks to prior research - gotta love the Internet for making this a breeze! - it was easy enough to get to the Banhofstrasse after getting out of the station. Even though the weather was grey and chill, it wasn't raining, at least, and we managed to walk nearly the whole length of the street (avenue?), often stopping to admire the window displays of the big name stores.

Mama made the Bally store happy by getting herself a bag. ::grin:: We walked into a store where one of the sales people was a Filipina. Looked into the Bucherer windows at the high-end watches, and sent a text message to my friend Desiree about the watch she wanted. Would have sent her an MMS picture, but taking the pic would have looked a bit odd, right?

Got all the way down to Paradeplatz, stopped to rest and use the incredibly clean public washrooms, and then hopped on a tram back to the Banhofplatz. We solved the question of where to eat lunch by stopping at a Nordsee outlet, and made an extremely good lunch that included soup and huge (for the average Filipino tummy, anyway) servings of fish. As Desiree was still replying to my text messages, I sent her a picture of my lunch plate before I went diving into the food. ::grin:: There is definitely something in the air here that gives me the appetite of a hungry bear. Good thing there's a lot of walking in store to keep my weight in check!

After lunch, back onto the train to the airport. This time we wound up in the first class coach, where we had our tickets looked at by the nice conductor. Dropped by the Migros at the airport to buy water and cold cuts to go with the instant soup packs I brought with me from Manila. Bought croissants to add to the meal, then caught the airport shuttle to get back to the hotel.

Checked-in without further ado. The room is nice, and the extra bed, always mine by default, is an excellent one. I will definitely be getting a good night's sleep on it. Sent an MMS of myself to my husband, to prove that we had indeed arrived safely and were comfortably esconsed in the hotel.

Tomorrow is the official first day of the tour. Looking forward to see what the group and Tour Director will be like!