Hello my friends! Day two of my trip and I’ve yet to sleep… I tried. Lord knows I tried on the flight to Zurich. Sleep or no sleep, I can tell you that I shall be choosing Swiss International for all future European trips (and there will be more)!
I paid a premium for extra leg room and boy did I get it! (I shall be working on getting upgraded to Biz Class in the future… Wow! What a setup they had!) Anyhoo… I had Seat 40D, which is an aisle seat in the middle section next to the Emergency Exit. A gentleman was sitting in my spot so I had him scoot over. The lady in the aisle seat next to the Emergency Exit (with waaaaayyyyy more leg room) did not want to sit there as there was no pouch in front of her to put her paraphernalia. I gladly took her spot and the gentleman managed to convince her to sit in his seat so he got mine! Musical seats and all were happy and that’s what mattered.
So, once settled and in the air, we were given some rosemary-flavoured crunchy things and a drink. An hour or so later, supper was delivered. In hard, reusable plastic dishes with real cutlery. Salad, chicken curry with rice and string beans, bread, cheese, chocolate cake… deelish!
Everyone has their own screen to watch whatever movie or show or listen to music or play games. I chose to watch “The Boss” with Melissa McCarthy (what a hoot). This is when dinner was served. I started to watch “A Bigger Splash” with Ralph Fiennes, and Tilda Swinton then told myself to smarten up and get some sleep. Yeah… No. I “may” have dozed but frankly, don’t think so. By 5-ish a.m. local time, breakfast was served! Mini croissant with butter and jam, orange juice, yogurt and a coffee. Did I mention how impressed I was with Swiss?
Getting off was a breeze. Once you collect your bag – and in my case, I had none as it was making its way to Firenze – you can choose between the entrance that says: nothing to declare or the one that says: something to declare. Trust and no paperwork. I like that. I stopped off to get some Euros from the ATM (as was suggested to me by a few people) and found Urs waiting for me. Who is Urs? A guy I met in Montreal back in April… serendipity and all that…
Big smiles, hugs and kisses and we were off. He showed me where he lives (very nice) and then we made our way to Zug (pronounced Zoog) the city just past Zurich. I don’t know if it has a more modern side to it, but we went to the older section with the classic “Swiss” look. There was also an organic market complete with two llamas making the rounds!
There were dancers and musicians and I so loved hearing the quintet of men playing a lovely song. The attached video is the same tune they played!
We had lunch in a lovely little outside terrasse – a tapas meal with a glass of white wine and resumed our walk.
*** ran out of juice – both me and the computer! It was 1:00 a.m.! ***
Walking along, we came upon the fountain of Gret Schell (I Googled it, seems there is missing an ‘h’); a woman who had to carry her drunken husband home as he is wearing a jester’s hat and bearing a rod – apparently this was statue-worthy and is celebrated yearly.
I love the cobblestone streets and various buildings
Urs wanted to introduce me to the local renowned dessert called the Treicher Zuger Kirschtorte. A cherry schnapps loaded sponge cake… yum!
My feet were pretty much done and we had an hour to kill before I had to be back at the airport so we sat by the Zug Lake and watched the ducks and swans and enjoyed the shade.
My visit with Urs was over and it was back to the Airport to wait for my next plane. Sitting on the floor as there were no more seats!
How exciting!
Ireland’s only a hop away, you know but it’s the other ‘I’ that’s calling you. Enjoy it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ah my dear Jean! ‘Tis but for another time – on my list!
LikeLike
The main thing is that it’s on your list and that you enjoy this trip to the fullest!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely!
LikeLiked by 2 people
You must be exhausted! Oh you lucky thing! Can’t wait to see Florence again through your eyes. Wishing you a safe onward journey. Px
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was up for over 36 hours! Slept like a log… for 7
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow–you packed so much into a day. I’m exhausted from reading it, but it all sounds fabulous! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wasn’t too bad, really!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks like you had a great day, Dale!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You seems to be enjoying yourself….. envy you the “cake”…
Met by a Bear?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha ha! Good one, David!
LikeLike
Oh…so with you in spirit! xoxoxRRR
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay!!! Xoxo
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Dale,
Glad to see you finally got some sleep. Thank you for taking us along on your dream trip.
Shalom,
‘
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
More to come!
LikeLike
Tired and all, you are off to a good start …. and you will soon acclimate to the new time zones. … and that dessert looks awesome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Won’t take long!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Safe travels my friend…..indulge & ENJOY!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sheila!!
LikeLike
Great story of your flight and touring Zug. I love to see you having so much fun. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, ma’am! 😉
LikeLike
Sounds like a great time. Can’t wait for post #3
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eventually… when wifi is not so sketchy!
LikeLike
Woohoo ! On your way to the lovely Tuscany! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Am here now! And soooo happy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The mist beautiful place on earth!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Couldn’t agree with you more!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😉😊😋😎😍😘🤗😇
LikeLiked by 1 person
😆😁😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tuscany…sigh…soo beautiful, enjoy every minute!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fear not!!
LikeLike
Ooh! An adventure:). I love that. I will absolutely keep Swiss Int. in my future list for travels–the food alone sounds great! I hope you have a lovely jaunt:).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes!! Not the best wifi so I can’t post like I had planned…
LikeLike
We’ll take what we can get:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
😆
LikeLike
That was before fibre connections…. now you’re fine just about everywhere.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Just Before Cook in Tuscany | A Dalectable Life
Pingback: Cook in Tuscany – Il Primo Giorno | A Dalectable Life
Pingback: Cook in Tuscany – Pici, Canneto & Montepulciano | A Dalectable Life
Pingback: Cook in Tuscany – Cantucci, Bagno Vignoni and Beautiful Pienza | A Dalectable Life
Pingback: Cook in Tuscany – To the Farm! Then Hunt For Truffles! | A Dalectable Life
Pingback: Cook in Tuscany – Cortona – Yes! Cortona! | A Dalectable Life
A statue to commemorate a wife carrying her drunken husband home, that is priceless! In South England somewhere i think, they have wife carrying races, which is different but worth a mention I think.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Crazy, eh? I couldn’t resist including that one!
Carrying races?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your Urs looks a bit of alright and trustworthy enough. You hav3 my post blessing. Yes, Zug is a pretty little place and only extremely well to do ppl live there as many, many international companies have their HQs there. Very low taxes. Lovely lake, surrounded by high mountains. And the Zuger Kirschtorte…. you described it aptly!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He’s a nice fellow I met in Montreal when he was here for work. The opportunity to see him again arose so I took it.
It is a very pretty place indeed.
It was delicious!
LikeLiked by 1 person