On The Road Again

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” ~Unknown

Tuesday April 16, 2013Last night, I skyped with my friend Bryan until almost 5am. Not my smartest move, but since class didn’t start today until 1pm, I figured I could sleep in to make up for it. Waking up a little groggy, I went to my HR class from 1:00-5:30.

When I got out of class, I had an email from Mary.  She’d sent me information on the Zurichcard Train pass. The Zurichcard gives tourists access to all of the trains around Zurich for 72 hours. I decided to figure out where the computer lab in the dorms was and go try to buy the train pass. It turned out that the lab was in the same building as the dining hall (which I also discovered in this process…not the best food, but pretty cheap.) Sitting at a computer, I logged in to try and figure out how to buy this ticket.

As Mary had warned me, the website was in German. I played around with it for a while. I figured out how to switch some of the pages to English, and used Google Translate to click around the other ones. I couldn’t actually find a place to buy the ticket however.

I emailed Mary back to see what I was doing wrong. While I waited for her reply, I clicked around on a few of the Switzerland Tourist pages. I didn’t really know much about Switzerland. My knowledge base pretty much consisted of

(1)    Swiss Army knives

(2)    They were neutral in most of the 20^th century wars

(3)    They were famous for chocolate

(4)    American politicians tend to have bank accounts there

(5)    Everyone says it is super expensive to visit

I wanted to see what exactly I could see in Switzerland before I got on the ground. I figured that Mary and her family would have their own routine. If they had things planned for me to do, that would be great, but if they wanted me to explore on my own, I wanted to be armed with a plan.

What I found was pretty brief but pretty cool. Switzerland tourism pretty much consists of three things (1) Hiking in the Alps (2) Skiing in the Alps (3) taking train rides through the Alps. Zurich and Lucerne were the “historical” cities to see with an eclectic collection of churches. They also weren’t on the Euro. They weren’t even a member of the EU. Their currency is the Swiss Franc.

While packing, I started figuring out my tactical strategy to get to Switzerland. Between Amsterdam and Zurich was my quickest turn around time so far. Most trips I had three or four days between; this time I'd only had two. I'd gotten my laundry done, groceries bought, and homework was up to speed. Now, my biggest problem was getting to the airport.

My flight was at 2:45pm. I had my International Marketing class from 8:00-12:00. During that class, I had to give my final presentation. From school, it takes about 80 minutes to get to the airport. If you’re following my math, 80 minutes after 12:00 is 1:20. That was if I caught every tram, metro, and bus exactly on-time and without waiting. Each one I missed would add 15 minutes. Miss one and I’m at 1:35. Two and I’m at 1:50. Boarding would be at 2:10. I’d have to get through security, and now I’m travelling in the middle of the day.

I decided to be completely packed and take everything with me to the airport. I’d printed my boarding pass and if I left class by 11:00, worst case scenario, I’d make it to the airport by 12:50, with two hours to get through security before boarding started (I had no idea what security would look like during regular daylight hours.)

 In the process of packing, I checked my email and saw that Mary wrote me back. She’d bought the ticket for me and attached it to the email. We exchanged a few more notes and figured out how to text when I arrived in Switzerland. I’ve shut off service to my Europe phone (by not paying the bill) but when I can get Wi-Fi, I can text from my iPod. I got Mary’s number and gave her my Apple ID.

Now (since the computer lab was closed for the night) I just needed to figure out when to print that train ticket.

Wednesday April 17, 2013I got to class early to ask our professor if my group could go first to present. I’d emailed all of them and they were all good with that plan. My professor however did not show up until 6 minutes after class started.

When he arrived, he announced that we as a class had to decide which group went first. The group sitting next to me (all Americans) began talking about how they “totally had this” and wanted to “nail it right away.” Before they could volunteer, I turned around and asked if we could go first.

“I have a plane to catch,” I said. Being fellow travelers, they understood.

We went through our presentation—which was on why Wal-Mart failed in Germany but succeeded in China. At the conclusion, our professor said it was the best presentation he’s seen.

The American group went after us and presented their argument for why Chipotle should expand into the Czech Republic. Apparently Chipotle has only opened two international stores (London and Paris) and this group believed that their “fresh ingredients” and “healthy menu” would go over well in other parts of Europe. My professor applauded their ideas, while in my head I kept thinking “Isn’t most food fresh and healthy in Europe?”

After that group had presented, it was going on 10:00. I still needed to print my Zurichcard. I also hadn’t had breakfast. So I decided to sneak out a little early to go resolve both of those dilemmas.

When I arrived at the computer lab in school, I discovered that it was closed. I couldn’t read the sign on the door, but from the looks of the torn up insides, it had been and was going to be closed for some time.

I had an extra hour now so I decided to go back to the dorm lab to print the card. It would be 20 minutes back, if I printed it within 20 minutes, and then had 20 minutes to get back to school and head to the airport from there, I’d be back on schedule to “leave school” at 11:00.

I got back to the dorm, and raced up the stairs to the lab. The metal door screamed when I opened it. Both the kid and the receptionist behind the desk looked up. I smiled and walked passed them into the lab.  As I passed their desk, they both started yelling at me. It was in Czech and the puzzled/scared look on my face must have given me away. They pointed to my backpack and then to a wall across the room. It had lockers in it. Handing me a key, I got the clue that I couldn’t take my bag into the computer lab.

I went over and opened locker 43 that I had been assigned. The problem was, with my backpack loaded with my computer and 4 days’ worth of clothes; it didn’t fit in this little locker.

Returning to the reception desk, I made exaggerated hand gestures and said, “It’s too big. Can I just leave it here?”

She nodded and pointed to the wall next to her desk.

I set my bag down and went over to a computer. I couldn’t actually see my bag from the computer which was a very eerie feeling. Rushing a bit, I logged into my email. I still had to copy and paste the “@” symbol from a word document. The entire time I was working, I watched as a few people trickled in and out of the lab, wondering if my bag would stay in its spot.

I printed the PDF card that Mary had sent, and logged off. Sure enough, my bag was still in front of the counter (although both the kid and receptionist were gone.) I picked it up and headed out to catch the tram.

It was nice and sunny out and I made great time getting back to school. Continuing on to Wenceslas Square, I transferred to the metro (which was running late) and took it to the bus depot.

After being lost in the bus depot on my way to Amsterdam, I decided to be a bit stealthier this time. I knew that when I entered the metro stop coming back from the airport, the trains arrived on the left side of the platform. Reversing this in my head, I figured if I went up that same set of stairs I came down, I’d be right where the bus should be.

Following this logic, I went up the stairs I’d previously gone down. Taking the escalator up into the sunlight, I immediately realized…I had no idea where I was.

I laughed. “This is so much fun!” I said to myself. It really was. I love getting lost and finding my way back. It keeps the adventure alive.

My conclusion was the airport bus must drop off at a different point in the depot than it picks up from. Doubling back, and crossing a few streets, I found the sign for the 119. It pulled up within 10 minutes. I found a seat, and enjoyed the 40 minute ride to Prague Ruzyne.

It really was a hot day. The sun was beating through the window and my blue dress shirt felt heavy against my skin. I was sure I’d sweat through it by the time I got to the airport.

When we arrived, I went inside and found a spot in the corner to adjust my things in my bag. I pulled out my boarding pass, removed my passport from its little keeper, and got ready to go through security. Initially, I was proud of myself for allowing so much extra time to get through the line. There was a school group ahead of me, made up of 20 or so kids, and I was glad I had given myself a large cushion. That said, aside from the school group, the line moved incredibly fast.

In fact, it was a “slow day” to be a security officer at PRG airport. They had enough people working shifts that several guards were actually helping people arrange their coats, jewelry, laptops, and liquids into trays. They were very helpful and supportive…but clearly bored.

I got through security without a problem. This time, I was at a new gate (C6) on the opposite end of the terminal so I got to walk around a little more than usual to find my place. When I arrived at the gate, it was 12:50. Made it…with 115 minutes to spare!

I still hadn’t eaten anything so I went to the terminal restaurant to get some food. I was shocked at how expensive it was, and went with the cheapest thing on the menu (chicken noodle soup) and a cup of tea. My throat was a little sore, and I didn’t know if I was catching a cold—probably from being in a different country every 72 hours—or just a little dehydrated.

As I was eating, the waitress went to clear some plates from one man’s table. He was preparing to pay his bill. As she stacked the plates on her tray, the suddenly tumbled off and shattered on the ground, spilling their contents all over the man as they fell.

She was very apologetic, and spent a lot of time cleaning up the broken glass.  In the process, she neglected the other tables she’d had, so I and the rabbi across the room from me sat waiting for our bills for some time.

After I paid, I went into the little Duty Free shop and bought a soda and some Czech brand chocolates to take with me. In the bathroom, I resituated my things inside my bag, and then went back to the gate to journal a bit before my flight.

As I was making notes about my adventure through the bus depot and to the airport, my plane arrived. The thought that went through my head was you’ve got to be kidding me!  This little matchbox was the tiniest aviation craft I’ve ever seen. When we boarded, it got even better. There were two seats on either side of the aisle. Luckily, I had a window (right UNDER the wing) in seat 9A.

The seat however was the comfiest chair I’ve ever been in on an airplane. The chair was leather and there was tons of leg room. While I slept for most of the flight, I woke up long enough to enjoy the apricot tort and chocolate that was served in flight. Swiss air gets a huge thumbs-up in my book.

Really the only noteworthy parts of the flight were the takeoff and landing. When we accelerated for takeoff, I swear we taxied for over a minute, gaining speed the entire time, before we pulled back and into the air. As I said, I slept for most of the flight, listening to my iPod for the portions I was awake for. During the landing, I had to turn off my iPod and I noticed how green everything was outside my window.

When we landed, we exited the tin-can plane down a flight of stairs onto the tarmac. The fields around the airport were incredibly green and beautiful. There was a bus that took us back to the terminal. When I got inside, I went up the escalators and exited the secured area into the main terminal. At that point, I logged into the Wi-Fi, so I could contact Mary and set out on the adventure into Zurich.