In Switzerland!

Well, I finally arrived, after nearly 20 hours in transit. I won't go into the harrowing details, but let's just say that a 4-hour flight delay right at the beginning of the trip that resulted in me having to stand in an exceedingly long "customer service" line at the Delta terminal at LAX was not a good start. On the other hand, the ticket agent ended up being a wonderful person who bumped me up to business class for the domestic leg of the flight she had to switch me to, and then the emergency exit row seat of the international portion. On another other hand, though, I would simply like to ask one question: when was it exactly that flight attendants on U.S. carriers started attending the how-not-to-give-customer-service school? Just curious.

But the flight itself was pretty smooth, and the view from the plane as we descended into Zurich was very pastoral and green, which was soothing until we were nearly on the ground, at which point I thought for a moment we might actually end up landing on a grass field, because that's all I could see below us until about 30 seconds before touching down.

When I first stepped out of the terminal at the airport, I took a deep breath, seeking to fill my lungs with the pristine air of Switzerland. That's when I discovered how many people smoke here (answer: a lot). So yeah, the pristine air idea didn't really work out. Oh well.

Anyway, yesterday my brother took me on the tram to the downtown center, the Niederdorf, where I marveled at the sights — specifically the sight of the price tags on things. Let's just say most of my souvenirs will probably take up more room in my memory than in my suitcase. We also walked near the river to where it becomes the lake, and had dinner at a sort of outdoor cafe right there by the water. Actually, pretty much every restaurant and bar gets turned inside out for the summer, and everywhere you go people are hanging out at tables on the sidewalks. It's great!

Unfortunately, my energy began to flag in a major way long before we started heading home to my brother's place, and by the time we did get back I could barely move. (Even though I'm done with chemo, it seems there are some ways in which chemo is not quite done with me. Grr.)

But I'm feeling better today after a good night's sleep, and am looking forward to exploring. My brother had to work today, so I'm on my own. Planning to take a trip to St. Gallen and check out the Stiftsbiblioteck at the Abbey. (Hmm, went to Portland to see Powell's Bookstore; and the first thing on my list here in Switzerland is a library. I'm even nerdier than I thought!)

More to come...