I saw a Volkswagen today. That is, as far as I can tell, an unusual occurence here in Zurich, because most people are driving Ferraris, Bentleys, Maseratis, Porsches, and Jaguars. If you drive a Mercedes-Benz here, you’re probably a taxi driver. No exaggeration. Most of the taxis would be luxury cars in the United States.
I once read a book called The Gnomes of Zurich, which was about the small cadre of Swiss bankers who move markets and control currencies.
These people have money. Serious money. Remember Pig Pen, the Peanuts character who was permanently surrounded by a cloud of dirt? It’s a lot like that here, except the cloud surrounding these people is composed of Swiss francs.
Their socks cost more than my pants. Their pants cost more than my car. Their car costs more than my house.
Good for them. I don’t have a jealous bone in my body. In the words of former Los Angeles Dodgers great Willie Davis, “I ain’t gonna worry about it, because it ain’t my wife and it ain’t my life.”
All that aside, Zurich is absolutely beautiful. And people who know tell me it’s one of the least beautiful places in the country. Hard to believe based on these photos.
Jamie keeps hearing a whisper that repeats the words, “Swiss chocolate. Swiss chocolate. Swiss….”
I finally looked at the lens only to find out that Jamie was looking somewhere else. I promise we’ll get this worked out by the time we get to Sri Lanka.
There’s a festival going on in Zurich’s Old Town tonight. The streets are packed. So is my belly.
I spilled half my dinner on my T-shirt. Jamie is subtly attempting to cover the stain in this shot.
You’ve only begun the Swiss adventure. The amazing thing about Switzerland, especially where you’re headed next, is that you can point your camera anywhere and you’ll end up with a postcard quality image. It’s the only place I know where farmers go out and sweep the dirt hiking paths to keep them pristine.
You must go to the Old Swiss House in Lucerne and have Wiener Schnitzel. Make a reservation and go! You will always remember the meal. Guaranteed!
Zurich is really beautiful. I was there 13 years ago for an exchange of my job. I remember we want at the airport cafeteria and I was shocked about the prices. In Munich, I could live for a week and even McDonald’s was very expensive. So I was really laughing about your comment that a Mercedes must be a taxi.
Denise is half of the great Polish-German couple we met two years ago on the train across Russia (Lars is the other half). We just Facetimed with her a couple days ago and saw baby Julius, who was conceived on that train. Hope I don’t embarrass you by putting that in print, Denise. If so, let me know and I’ll remove that part of this reply.
Keep the pics coming guys! Through your eyes I am seeing places I will never get a chance to visit! The only time I “visited” a foreign country was over 40 years ago, Laos and Cambodia, and I definitely did not see all the tourist sites. I did get to go to Australia on R&R but being a young sailor at the time the only places I visited would shame me if I did so today. (snicker)
Looks like you are having a great time! So nice to see you both doing so well.