I thought the night train would have seats for waking hours, then sleeper cars for sleepytime. Nope. You either get a reclining seat (less refreshing to sleep on) or a cot with no seat (not as great for watching scenery). They were out of reclining seats (more affordable), so I got a hard, narrow cot in a room with 3 others. Since the train left at 8:30, I thought people would stay up for a while. Not the guys in my room. When in Rome . . .
It was fun to finally sleep on a train. I’ve heard of these sleeper berths and always wondered what it was like to snooze in one. Verdict: it’s about ten times better than trying to sleep in an airplane seat. I recommend it, only not in Norway, where it costs $150 extra. My cot last night was only about $55 extra, or similar to some hostels. Arriving hundreds of miles away fully refreshed is definitely a picker-upper on a long journey like this.
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| This is the cabin with only 4 beds in use. They actually have 6 available. Mercifully, only four of us sardines were packed in there. |
I needed the sleep, apparently, as I got over 10 hours of it. I slept all the way through Germany, sadly, and saw none of it. I got up about ½ an hour before arriving in Zurich. Speaking of . . .
Zurich
You may recall that I saw Zurich from the air on my way to Europe and thought that I would like to visit someday. I’m so happy that I was able to do that because of this Plan B journey to Nice. The lockers in the train station worked, so I was able to tour downtown without my shoulders protesting under the strain of carrying my pack.
Zurich was the most “European” feeling city I have yet visited. Pretty architecture, narrow alleys, windy streets, all that stuff. It was also very clean and tidy, unlike A’dam. Humorously, watchmakers seem to be the most common kind of shop downtown. Like in Norway, there were also all kinds of outdoor apparel and supplies providers. Fact: outdoorsy people keep their cities clean.
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| Can't say I've seen a store like this before |
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| These are delicious! |
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| In a city known for its huge market in the financial world they keep an AED by the phone . . . apparently some people get some pretty bad news from time to time. |
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| Another nice 1st-class lounge at the train station. Yes, those watches in the display case are for sale |
Swiss Visages
The Swiss have a distinct look. They look just like their position on the map would suggest: German, French, and Italian influences all appear, although they look distinct from each. One interesting Swiss feature I saw over and over is a general pointiness to their faces. Noses and chins just seem pointy. Even their brows seem to point, because their eyes are sunk deeper in their sockets.
But I’m sure that’s all you wanted to know about Swiss facial features, or probably more.
So let me move on to their bodily proportions, then.
Haha just kidding, I won’t go into it. Although they do seem a little bit short, unless that’s just their contrast to the (tall) Dutch messing with my head.
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| The use of life-like mannequins is also a first! |
Zug
It amuses me very much, as a potential future tax attorney (plans subject to change without notice), to have just ridden through the Swiss town, just south of Zurich, of Zug. Zug has gained a lot of notoriety lately as a tax haven town, and some Americans aren’t happy about it (especially those who work at the IRS and those who don’t like it when businesses save money legally instead of giving it to the government to buy votes with entitlement spending wisely allocate). Some US companies have “located” in Zug, where they are taxed minimally, to save money. They typically have to move a single employee to Zug. What a job that would be: “What do you do?” – “Oh, I’m a patsy. I relocated here so my company can say it has an office here even though all the work is done in the USA.”
Sadly, my camera was acting up again in Zug, and my photos were all garbage.
Swiss Scenery
Norway was beautiful, but Switzerland is amazing. There are breathtakingly pretty lakes everywhere. Cute alpine cottages dot a landscape replete with treed green hills and meadows framed by (sometimes snow-capped) craggy mountains. Of course, waterfalls and plunging river gorges frequently whiz past my window. Unfortunately, they whiz past so quickly that I can’t seem to get any of them on camera. I will persevere and try to find you a few. I’m not one to buy souvenirs for everybody, but I certainly do like to obtain cool photos for you.
Crazy Train
This Italian-run train from Zurich to Milan is pretty crazy. Their “1st class” seating has less room than does German 2nd class. Some of the doors to get in (and out!) of the train don’t work, 2 of 3 restrooms I tried were out of order, and the one working restroom I found was out of handsoap, while its water barely trickled out of the faucet. There is no internet available, even though it’s supposed to be a top of the line international train. While first class seating in every other country includes unlimited hot drinks and sometimes a snack, here they want $6 for a small brewed coffee. Even in Norway it’s only $4 if you really must pay. Go Italy.
Moments Later
The next train was even awesomer. Pulling into Milan 10 minutes late left me with 10 minutes to find my next train. Thankfully, Milan was the first station I’ve seen where all the tracks are actually in numerical order, with none hidden beyond corridors, escalators, tunnels, or stairs. The only obstacle here was several tons of biomass moving very slowly, apparently with much time to make its next train. I did manage to make it on with time to spare to fight over my seat. The man knew the word in Italian for 24, he just couldn’t seem to read the number posted next to the seat.
My new train, from which I currently write, has less space and less efficient air conditioning. It’s a good thing my computer has batteries, too, as the power keeps cutting out. The restroom toilet has only a hole leading to the tracks below. Sorry for littering on you, Italy, but you left me no choice.
Next stop Ventimiglia, on the French border, from where I catch a local train into Nice.
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| Ancient structure at Milan train station. I wonder what it was used for. There were at least a couple of them, maybe more. |
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| about 1/2 the Milan station. So old-fashioned, so navigable |
Things are looking brighter
No, really, things do look brighter here. As soon as we started descending into Italy from the alps, I could tell the sun shines much hotter here. The colors are warm, not gray. It’s the first I’ve seen of such bright, warm colors in a long time. Hooray for shorts and t-shirt weather!
