After months of planning and preparing, yesterday - April Fool's Day, 2011 - I finally grabbed Flight 710 from Philly to Zurich. The official reason for this trip is to help my friend Christophe with some strategic planning for his software firm in Zurich. Of course it doesn't hurt that it gives Lynn and I a great opportunity to wander around to our favorite Euro-haunts for a couple of months, and of course visit as many of our friends on this side of the pond as we can. So, I'll be spending a couple of weeks by myself getting things organized, and then Lynn will join me April 20.
Our dear friend Thomas was gracious enough to chauffeur me to the Philly airport, which took some of the sting out of having to leave the comforts of home and Lynnie on a rainy, gloomy Friday afternoon. Thanks to Thomas' good wishes, I had a great flight. I breezed through bag check-in and security, and settled into reading 'China Road', a book my brother David was kind enough to give me. I wasn't able to get an upgrade from coach, but in the end the flight wasn't very full, so I ended up with a very comfortable two-seat berth for the eight-hour overnight flight, which actually arrived a bit early. I was able to get through most of 'China Road' and also get in about a 3-hour nap - not bag for flying economy :-)
After we landed in Zurich I also breezed through immigration and baggage, and was promptly picked up by Christophe at 8:30a. We dropped by my apartment sublet near Toblerplatz in Kreis 6, and then Christophe whisked me off to a sumptuous breakfast buffet in a hotel on a mountain overlooking Lake Zurich and the city.. And did I mention it was 72F and sunny?? :-) So, we ate on the hotel terrace, soaking in the spring sun and stunning views while catching up on our personal news.
After breakfast, Christophe dropped my back at the apartment so I could settle in. The apartment is simply wonderful. It's in a charming and very convenient neighborhood near the main university area, and only about four blocks from the Jaree office. It's full of light and air, with many windows and pleasant views. It's in a very nice older six-flat building, but with everything recently renovated. The furnishings are simple but very functional, giving the whole place a very spacious and elegant feel. The owners, Juan and Bettina, are a really nice couple who run a restaurant and catering business. They dropped by to check up on things, and we had a very engaging chat about all sorts of things. I think we can easily add them to our list of local friends :-)
Anyway, I quickly unpacked and arranged things very comfortably. I went grocery shopping and even cooked myself a couple meals. I had a great night's sleep and, except for the usual expected jet-lag symptoms, have already started to feel at home. Today, Sunday, is another warm sunny day, so I walked downtown towards the old city and main train station (Hauptbahnhof) to do a little more shopping take in some familiar sites. This afternoon I plan to go wander along the lake and maybe take a boat ride, then have dinner with my friend Maxi, who just moved here from Padova, and is currently consulting to Jaree.
