Switzerland...
Have you ever been there? Not me. This was my first time. I wish we had allowed a few more days, but I was pushing my luck to get the rancher to leave for 3 weeks at one time. In December it is pretty chilly. I was shocked to see that it was warmer there than it was when we left home. But this was moist, cold air. When I left home, it was about 16 degrees Fahrenheit. Here, it is above freezing, but I haven't figured out the dress code yet. Glad I brought my cozy warm boots.
This was the totally fogged in London Heathrow Airport. Lots of people...
Getting here was a bit of an experience. I enjoy talking about travel, because everyone has a story. Usually, you are in the minority if you make a trip and don't experience any hiccups. There were tons of delays in the U. S. on this day, and luckily they didn't affect our flights. Until we hit foggy London Heathrow. That's right, the sneaky airport that doesn't give you your gate until 15 minutes before boarding, then you have to run to the gate, literally. On the flip side, they have wonderful shopping and entertainment. Makes any two hour delay no problem at all. Even if it turns into four hours. They have several nice British Airways lounges. No better way to keep me calm. Let me shop, or put me in a lounge.
During the crazy Christmas season, I think the people-watching is at its best. People are stressed, parents are frustrated, and some people just don't pay any attention to what's going on around them at all. We entertained ourselves watching this 4 year old girl completely cause chaos and run through barriers that said, "Do Not Enter." All the while, her dad talked on his cell phone and pretended not to notice. Three attendants at the gate were chasing her as she laughed and thought it was a game. At one point, she took off down an escalator to a boarding area that was roped off. She just pulled up the rope and went under it. Oh. My. Gosh. Be a parent. I am now one of those old people that can't believe some parents ask their kids to "please come over here," and then not enforce what you ask them to do. "Oh, you don't want to do that? Okay, so what do you want to do? Run all around wild? Alright, please do it quietly. Oh, you want to scream and laugh while you do exactly what we asked you not to do? Well, okay. It's simpler for me to not try to disagree with your little four year old personality." Because I don't have small children, it is easy for me to say, "be the parent, not their friend."
You know I am familiar with my aircraft. I don't go anywhere that I haven't looked up the equipment we are flying. So from Heathrow to Zurich, we are on one of the oldest Airbus planes still flying. Okay, fine. They tell us it's foggy, but we're going. Okay, fine. Smooth, clear flight. I can see lights on the ground the whole way. Soon, we are descending to land, and where did these clouds come from? Good grief, it's super bad visibility, but I figure these guys do this everyday, and I'm feeling pretty good. I make this reference because I used to be very afraid of flying. A couple of bad commercial flight experiences, okay, three -- but I've put those behind me. We are dropping down through the clouds, when all of a sudden, the captain makes a maneuver that I have had before. Okay, it's one thing to perform a steep climb in a fighter jet, you know, because you are expecting it. It is quite another to perform a steep climb when you thought you were landing and close to the ground. Yep, so the ridiculously old Airbus 319 pulls about 3 G's in a sudden climb that sets you back hard in your seat. Bad words might have escaped my lips and my knuckles were tight and white, grabbing whatever was within reach. After several minutes, the captain came on the intercom to explain the situation. Apparently, air traffic control radar had picked up some kind of "target" on the runway. "Probably just an animal," but we had to do another 30 minute fly around and be put back into the pattern. A "target"? A "TARGET"! What is that? Never heard that one before. Really. A deer, bird, bobcat, chicken? About 45 minutes later, they finally put me on the ground. I quickly cheered myself up as we walked up the ramp and into customs. I couldn't help but look outside and try to see any hint of the mountains because I so wanted to belt out, "The hills are aliiiiiiive...." Just had watched The Sound of Music a couple of days before. Wrong country, I know, but it just felt right.
We get checked in to our hotel in the center of the city well after dark. Found a bit of a snack supper, and local beverages of choice. We were wiped. I couldn't wait to see the mountains and scenery the next day.
