September 20, 2009

The road to Zurich

Fresh off a great Paris trip, I embark on a LONG LONG train ride to Zurich. The train ride was fine. The first class on the Swiss trains is really nice. Aside from the train ride from London to Paris I haven’t really noticed the difference in first and second class. In fact looking back on booking my tickets, the price between first and second didn’t seem to be that drastic.

So, the service on long train rides is when it matters the most.  You can imagine.

My fun training experience happens on the train ride itself. It turns out I’m sitting in the wrong seat #41. I’ve been here the entire day. OK, so a lady taps me on the shoulder and says that this is her seat. I’m like, I’ve been here all day and have been checked by train attendant etc. Long story short. I had the correct seat, but wrong car. This happens frequently. I’m just surprised that no one verifies anything. You only find out by another person.

So, I get my stuff and go to my car. Of course someone is in MY seat. A grumpy old man. I’m like, I’m not touching this one. I get the train attendant and explain to him the situation. He said, he would walk over with me. Perfect.

So, the guy is told that he is in wrong seat and that he has to move. This is all being spoken in German. There definitely was grumbling. The guy apparently should have been in 2nd class. He did not like having to move. It was pretty classic. The train attendant was flawless in his delivery. LOL

I make my connections as planned. All is right with the world. UNTIL….

I’m now at the Zurich train station. The directions to hostel were not the best. I see no information booth and everyone speaks German. NOT starting out as a fun place.

I leave train station ask a tour bus ticket guy and he’s like, “I’m not tourist info”. I walk back to train station and continue to walk around. I hit the jackpot and see another section of the train station. I find the tour office and all is right with the world.

The place I was staying has taken the prize for least favorite place I have stayed. At first I was a little hard on them because of the price, but having experienced the rest of the area, I now understand why the hotel seemed expensive. The prices for everything there are the most expensive of anywhere that I have been.

My Venti coffee cost 5.60. Bottled water was 6.00 CRAZY.

The city itself was pretty. I was only there for a short time so I can’t really make a detailed assessment. I would go back at least for a day. :)

I’ll post a couple of pics.