Gruezei mitenand (Hi folks)
We have finally arrived in Switzerland. Lagged to the bag, but pretty excited to be here nevertheless.
The trip went well until we got to Dubai where Volker left a packet of tablets in the plane. Phil does a U turn to retreive them and this is where it got exciting. Now getting back on a plane after you've disembarked is a NO NO!!. Elbowing her way against the people coming off the plane, she gets back on and says something like "I need to get back on the plane cause we forgot our drugs!". This illicited a predictable response from the head cabin attendant which went something like this.
"STOP" with a very firm hand motion in case there was any confusion. "You can't get back on the plane madam!" using the PA system she announced to the remaining crew "We have have an intruder on board"
"But I need to get the drugs"
"Are you sure"?
"Och aye" says the Scottish Terrier
"Just what sort of drugs are you trying to retrieve?
" Just the presciption ones, what'd think? The good stuff is in our main luggage, so that's OK "
"Are you sure?"
"Course I'm sure ye de think am daft?"
"Well OK - I guess it's alright then. Your not carrying anything dangerous are you?"
"Och nooo. I dinae think so laddie"
The wary cabin attendant informed the crew by PA system "there's a lady coming in to pick up some drugs she left behind. Keep an eye on her. By the way - she's Scottish, so handle with care OK!"
After picking up the said drugs she was given wide berth and made her way out of the plane and we carried on our merry way again into the biggest airport we have ever seen (Dubai) it was HUGE. I mean seriously huge. When we left Adelaide International we struggled to get something to eat despite it being only 7.30pm as most things were closed. We get here at 5.00am and the place is a bustling metropolis complete with trains to take you where you need to get to. Talk about a contrast.
3 hours later we are back in the air watching "The Lone Ranger" and "Philomena" (guess who watched what?) heading for Europe. We spent time trying to talk to each other in German for some practice, chatting to the lovely cabin attendant from Melbourne, trying to sleep and getting sore arses as one does when on a long flight. Crossing the Alps is an awesome sight from 35,000 feet and never fails to bring forth much ooooohing and aaaaaahing. Stunning!!
Landed at Zurich International where everything is so orderly in a way only the Swiss can manage. As I now have a German Passport, the waiting time to get through Customs was reduced by about 90%. Phil has a UK one so that helps as well. Big time! Well done to the EU. Onto a train we go headed into Zurich then out to Rutti where we were to get picked up. The Swiss trains run like clockwork - yeah I know! I mean they pull out dead on the second. Incredible. Try getting that sort of service at Noarlunga Station! This is not just a fluke either - it happens every time. We were here 2 years back and the same thing. As soon as the second hand on the platform clock hits the 12, off it goes.
Well the trains may be efficient, but we weren't. Got onto the right one, but got off at the wrong stop so had to wait for the next train to take us to our destination thanks to some not so brilliant urban navigation by Volker. Fortunately our pick up waited the extra 15 minutes it took to get there, so all was good. He took us from the station to out new abode in Wald, a small village set in a beautiful valley, but we were too stuffed to admire the scenery and just wanted to get to bed. It had been about 30 hours travel and we were shagged! So, with a hefty celebratory duty free single malt for a nightcap (well - afternooncap actually) we crashed out for the next 10 hours.
Hope all is good in your part of the world. Until next time - auf weidersehen, adieu & tschuss.
Philomena & Volker
