When I was 18 years old I backpacked around Europe with a friend. We saw the world, experiencing different cultures, landscapes, foods, and languages while we still had a chance. Before life got busy with responsibilities and roots that grow into the ground and keep you firmly planted.
During that trip 25 years ago, one place stood out among the rest and grabbed up my heart. Switzerland! I loved every bit of it during that trip and have talked of it many times since.
Today, I am in Switzerland once again. Not with a backpack and a friend, but with a grooming bag and a husband. I came here this time not for a teenage adventure, but as part of my job. I came to teach a workshop for the folks of the Maine Coon Society of Switzerland. I will confess though, that after the work is through, I will sneak off for a few days on an adventure – this time with my husband as we celebrate our 24th anniversary in one of my favorite places on the planet!
The trip here took way longer than expected. Delayed flights, missed flights, a re-routing to Amsterdam, and some 26 hours later, we are here at last! I’m short on food, short on sleep and screw the coffee. Where’s my Starbucks latte??? I think it’s sometime in the middle of the night still in South Carolina. And did we miss 1 night of sleep or 2? It feels like 3.
No matter……we are here at last. Before I go to bed, I want to share some of my observations from this rather lengthy travel experience. I’ve had plenty of time to think about all of this.
1. I should get a job for Delta on the spot because I know WAY more about their flight schedules than the dude from India that answered the 1-800 phone line when I called to attempt to sort out the eventual mayhem of a delayed flight email notice.
2. The words “pleasant” and “flight” do not fit in the same sentence together. “Pleasant flight” is an oxymoron. Or a big fat illusion. Or a big fat lie. I can’t decide which. I wish the super cheery people that work at the airlines would quit telling us to have a “pleasant flight.”
3. The most readily noticeable differences between Europeans and Americans: the Europeans wear skinnier jeans and the Americans drink taller lattes. (Whether the two are directly related is unknown.)
4. The pilots in Amsterdam take much longer than usual to get a flight off the ground because they must introduce themselves and give all their flight information to us oh-s0-interested passengers in 3 languages. Repeating things 3 times takes, according to my math, 3 times longer than necessary.
5. A word that sounds something like “usterflagen” is Dutch for something having to do with the drop-down oxygen mask in an airplane.
6. Starbucks is doing a fantastic job of keeping uniformity and high standards no matter where I visit them, in whatever parts of the world. However…….they still have one problem: the gold card and iPhone app don’t work in these non-American regions. This must be fixed asap.
7. It’s probably not a good idea to pay for something in US dollars and receive Euros as change when one has been severely sleep deprived. For me personally, currency exchange rates combined with quick math equations seem too daunting a task when my sleeping patterns have been screwed with. Looking back on it, that cup of coffee seems to have cost the better part of 20 US dollars.
8. I found this barf bag in the seat pocket in front of me on KLM Air. And for some reason it made me laugh.Maybe it was the fatigue or the ridiculousness of the whole trip up to that point. Maybe it was the nice message printed on its bottom. Like, “Welcome! We love YOU! We’re so happy you’re here. Now if you need to puke, here’s a special bag just for that. We hope you have a pleasant flight.”
9. Wing shot…….just because I like to take wing shots of places I go.
10. And lastly……there is some irony in arriving 6 1/2 hours late to a country famous for its impeccable punctuality.
Welcome to Switzerland!