On one of my flights to Switzerland, a commuter flight, the stewardess asked someone from the left hand side of the plane between rows 1 & 7 to move to the other side of the plane... to balance it out...
Being a nice guy, I volunteered. Now, keep in mind, I weigh about 135 pounds. I didn't feel very comfortable with the fact that a 130+ pounds was enough to hold up the plane from taking off... scary.
Scarier still was the turbulence we hit on the longer flight going to Zurich. I've only been more scared once in my life (when I was held-up at gun point). I don't like to fly as it is, but this was nuts. People we're screaming and the stewardess was nicely telling people to calm down. Yikes. I was terrified... so much for sleeping on the flight!
The cool part of the long flight was a video screen embedded in the top of the chair in front of me. How very cool! One of the options was a Map that let you track the plane. It actually displayed a little plane on the map as well as the route we were taking... It gave statistics covering time elapsed, miles traveled, current time and estimated time of arrival. As someone who doesn't wear a watch, it was cool to know how far along we were. I was able to sleep for a couple of hours which is good because I lost 6 hours flying over. Got in around 8AM local time then went to work. Got done around 4:30.
As you can tell, I'm in Zurich. I'm in a small town about 25 miles from Zurich. My first impression is that it is VERY, VERY expensive. 4 swiss francs for a cup of coffee. It's good coffee, but with tip (2 swiss francs), that is quite pricey. Steak for dinner, 46 swiss francs. Yikes!
I'm in my very cool, very modern hotel room and the only english channel on TV is CNN. I'm glad I brought 3 books!
My German class has not paid any dividends yet, but I have made a foul of myself once - I said Bitte (please) when I meant to say Danke (Thank you). DOH!
I've not quite adjusted to the time difference yet. Probably towards the end of the week... just when I'm ready to come home. LOL!!!
Yes, if you tip 50% (the coffee) on items where you're not even expected to tip, Switzerland can be very expensive.
Posted by: boo | October 19, 2004 at 02:54 AM
Jon,
Sounds thrilling! I love to fly, but people screaming sounds like a little more than I can handle. And, oddly enough, I was mugged at gun point. So much for my first day in NYC.
Have a blast and report back often.
Posted by: aleah sato | October 19, 2004 at 09:23 AM
Jon,
Having just recovered from London jet lag, I can empathize. Hope you have your iPod with you. :-) I, too, had the screen with flight details on my plane over... having that information is always soothing. And in my estimation, another touchpoint of marketing. :-)
Posted by: Michele Miller | October 19, 2004 at 10:51 AM
boo, yeah, it does get very expensive when you tip a lot. But, I like to tip (years ago I made my living with tips so I am quick to do it)... especially if the service is really good and especially if I know that I will return again or if I will be staying for several days.
Aleah, yeah, the screaming made it pretty bad. I was nervous enough when it started to get bumpy, but the screaming really added to it. Yikes, sorry to hear about your gun experience - that sort of changes you, huh?
Michele, yes, my iPod is indeed my wonderful travel companion! I figured out something very smart as well - I didn't have to bring the charger and risk charging it overseas (not being sure whether or not a converter was needed) - I'm just charging it via USB at night! :-) Plus, it doubles as a portable drive!
Posted by: Jon Strande | October 19, 2004 at 11:18 AM
THats a brutal transatlantic flight. One feature for me is is waking up in th hotel at 2 am after 2 hrs sleep and counting down til breakfast is served. I found the CNN experience weird over there, I was in Copenhagen a couple of years ago glued to it; I found that the dislocaiton takes the news to a new level.
But shoot, youre in Zurich. How very nice.GIve my regards to CG Jung family and all that great culture stuff!
Posted by: John | October 20, 2004 at 02:40 AM
John, yeah, last night I was so tired but when I went to bed I couldn't fall asleep, so I sat and watched CNN for about 2 hours, it is interesting to see the different slant on the news. I'm sort of embarassed that the coverage is so much about the US and the upcoming presidential election...
The good news is, however, that the UEFA games are televised here. There were two games on last night. I watched the Juventus/Bayern game!!
Tonight I'm in for a real treat - Milan/Barcelona at 8pm!!! I can't wait. I was going to go out and explore, but that can wait... I'll be watching the match this evening.
Posted by: Jon Strande | October 20, 2004 at 03:44 AM
Wow Im jealous. I read that Michael Owen popped one in for Real last night, you may have ssen the highlights. Not us back here, of course. Too busy watching the paint dry on the NHL strike.
Posted by: JOhn | October 20, 2004 at 12:55 PM
John, well, every dog has his day... and this is mine! :-)
Yeah, I wish the NHL would get off its ass and get that thing resolved.
It's 11 minutes in on the Milan match, it is pouring at San Siro... but both teams are playing their full rosters!!! This is my first chance to see Jap Staam in a Milan uniform!
Posted by: Jon Strande | October 20, 2004 at 02:59 PM