Arrival

Tuesday, July 05, 2016
Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Needless to say, when we arrived in Zürich we were more than ready to freshen up. We got through customs without incident. Bryan gave the woman the information of where we were traveling and that we would be returning on the 21st. "The 21st?" she parroted. "Of July, August, October? Every month has a 21st." I'm not sure if they are supposed to be a bit abrasive to provoke reactions from people or what, but every customs person I've run into have been mildly unpleasant. At least she stamped Desmond's passport. His first stamp! :D

We found the Swiss arrival lounge and got our key cards for the showers . Bryan took his shower first and I entertained Desmond with some finger puppets that Aunt LeeAnne had sent with us for the trip. He reported back that it was like having a key card to just the bathroom of a hotel room, and switched with me so that I could take a shower too. It felt wonderful to have a moment of peace and be clean again.

Unfortunately, Desmond was still way past being tired. He kept running off to go see a fountain in another part of the club. I took over at this point. I was amused to find there were fresh flowers in the restroom where I bathed Desmond in the sink. I got him dressed and put him in the carrier to contain him.

We also got ourselves some breakfast and smoothies. There were eggs, sausage, pastries, fruit and all sorts of beverage options. Desmond requested two plates of food and then refused to eat any of it. Even the "hot dog" (sausage) he wanted so badly. While we were there, we used the Marriott app to mobile check in to our hotel and request a noon check in (instead of 4pm) .

Unable to stay any longer with a cranky Desmond in the lounge, we gathered our things and went back out into the airport. He immediately fell asleep. Thank you, Jesus.

We rode the train to Luzern. Desmond, who had been so excited to ride a train, slept through nearly the whole thing. We enjoyed the quiet.

We got to our hotel at 10:30 hoping to have them watch our bags until whatever time they could check us in. Instead they said, "Ah, yes. Schmidt. Mobile check in. We have the room all ready for you. We upgraded you to give you more room for the crib." And as easy as that we found ourselves in a very comfortable hotel room, almost 6 hours ahead of regular check in time.

The crib was all made up for us with teddy bear sheets and a very thin little pillow. Soon enough we were all sawing logs in our dark, cool room.

We awoke with a start when a member of the housekeeping team stuck her head in accidentally . Apparently she wasn't in the know about our "mobile check in." However, we all managed to fall right back asleep until the alarm we had set for 1:30pm went off.

We got up then and went for a walk around town feeling 1000 times better than we had just hours before. We ended up over at a park that we had remembered from last time. It had a play ground for Desmond to play in. We munched on strawberries while he played. First scooping and dumping the gravel, then exploring and watching other children play, and finally riding the bouncy ducks and the merry-go-round.

The highlight of this park trip was definitely feeding the finches. Desmond kept pointing out which one was hungry and I'd throw a bit of my Pringles chip that direction. By the time we stopped there were at least 45 little birds around his feet.

Because food is so expensive in Switzerland we got ourselves one order of Chinese takeout to share . Even this was about $20. But it was flavorful and filling and fit with our plan to spend a quiet evening at the hotel and retire early.

~ Merilee

Up until about 2 months ago I didn't know things like arrival lounges existed. If you've ever flown an international red-eye, you know that you don't exactly arrive feeling refreshed. We expected not being able check in to our hotel for awhile and the arrival lounge gave us the chance to clean up, eat, and get a good start to the day. Great for another perk included in our ticket.

Another thing we really enjoyed was having cell service as soon as we got off of the plane. T-Mobile offers free data and texting while in Europe. That wasn't an option 4 years ago and we were always having to look around for free wifi to get online for information. Always being connected helps with maps, train times, and hotels.

Our hotel in Luzern was really nice and well out of our normal price range. We were able to pay for it with points from a Marriott stay last summer and by transferring some other points from our Chase accounts. It was a great value and the customer service was top notch. They asked if I needed a map and I related it was my 3rd stay in Luzern. He jested that I was practically a local.

We really enjoyed being in Luzern again as it is so beautiful. Also, as we'd already been we didn't feel pressure to explore and were able to relax

~ Bryan
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Comments

Foremans
2016-07-07

How fun! I remember that bridge... having been there 45+ years ago. Somewhere, I have the photo.

Enjoy!
And.. a passport stamp! wow!

Andrea
2016-07-07

So glad Desmond finally slept a little! (And random tidbit - I know those flowers! I have the same ones growing outside my door!)

Have fun, guys!

2025-02-16

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