Into and out of the cold white neutral .... TR - CH - DE

The overcast weather makes it a bit easier to leave this place.   

I realize that by now I have too many clothes to pack them comfortably in my 2 backpacks.  Ah well, I'll just have to be one of the many people walking into the plane with a shopping bag.

I already said Good Bye to Taskin at 12:30 but when I walk down to Halic Staton at 13:15, I hear him calling my name behind me on the street.  He saw me leaving the hotel on his security monitoring system displayed on his phone, LOL.  Three months until I see him again if everything goes smoothly ;-)

The Metro is quick as usual (DO get an Istanbulkart when in Istanbul. It makes life SO much easier).  But there is standing room only and when I finally reach the airport my feet hurt.  One security check to enter the airport, 5 minutes later I have my boarding pass (lovely woman at a check in kiosk does all the work), another 3 minutes later I have the exit stamp in my passport.  The second, proper security check only takes another 10 minutes because I have to get my swollen feet out of and back into my shoes.  Lovely efficiency at this airport.  BEST I've experienced in a long time!

Time to buy some duty free cigarettes.   Cigarettes in the Duty Free stores at Atatu"rk cost 25-30 EUROS per carton.   Check in your local Istanbul Migros store and I'm willing to bet that they're cheaper there. Ah well, still a pittance compared to what Canadians have to pay (try > 80 Euros per carton) !  AND I get the brand that we discovered crossing from Spain to France in the Pais Basque:  Pueblo.  No additives. We'll see what that does to my smoker's cough !

The smoking TERRACE is a sight to behold.  NOT the usual cramped fish tank feeling of other airports.  This one is spacious and out in the fresh air.  People bring their drinks (OMG, alcohol in public, LOL) ....

.... and the whole thing looks more like a garden party.   

Time to bridge some time, give my feet a rest, and drink some wine before my last cigarette.  The glass is surprisingly FULL, the price at 30 TL not bad for an airport, and the waitress actually smiles a REAL smile.  They still exist.  I've whittled away the amount Turkish Lira cash in my wallet down to 10 TL, about CAD$ 3.50. NOT bad ;-)  My Istanbulkart still has enough credit to get me back to Taskin's place next time, so all is good.

OK, I'm ready to leave this country for now.

Istanbul - Zurich

I already feel UNcomfortable when I look out of the plane window at the grey landscape.  It only gets worse when I ride in the friendly inter-terminal train that runs just SOOO SMOOTHLY,

... then a laser displays a Swiss woman on the outside walls and then the train is filled with not only cow-bell sounds but actual MOOOHs of supposedly happy Swiss cows. But let's face it:  Now that Switzerland is no longer a tax haven, what do they have left besides their watch industry and their cow-shit-covered mountains?

Passport control is a breeze.  No human interaction; place your passport in a scanner; a gate opens; your picture is taken; a computer compares the picture to the passport picture; the second gate opens.  Do that a few times and you will LAUGH at the Canadian triple paranoia ;-)

A customs officer takes takes me aside after I whisper the answer "Istanbul" to their question "Where did you come from?".  Can't imagine any Swiss person trusting a Turk, LOL. But it's only a couple more questions instead of a bag search.

Navigating the train station at Zurich Airport is NOT easy.   Which train do I want ? (I looked it up before: S2), where does it leave from?, How the hell am I supposed to buy tickets?   

When I've managed to survive the cold of the 5 minute walk and have checked into the hotel (Swiss Subservience in form of the receptionist in action), I waste no time in unpacking my Istanbul coat and checking it in the mirror.  Not Bad; I will have to go shopping in Istanbul more often ;-)

Zurich is almost the exact opposite of Istanbul.   Men here have expensive clothes instead of Mojo.  The streets are dead-quiet.  Train rides & food are expensive.

When I finally get WiFi again (the airport had one of those stupid send code to cell phone things), I realize that I have WORK.   Not the perfect time, but it's always fun to keep old clients happy.

But not today ....

4:30 ?
Oh right, there is a 2 hour time difference with respect to Turkey.  That's good actually, I have a few things to prepare and translations to work on.  It's going to be a LONG DAY today !

6:00
NO, Zurich really can NOT be described as Exciting ;-( 

The only thing exciting during my 6:00 smoke break on the cold streets is the smell of freshly baked croissants in the hotel lobby.

Yes, I admit that the love of my life had a role in me choosing this hotel, LOL

Over breakfast (not bad but expensive at 12 CHF) I get my train ticket printed out at the reception.  Everything is working like clockwork; I'm just waiting for the big hick-up, LOL.

8:30
It's time to walk to today's appointment..... there is a reason why I am in Switzerland..... I still haven't decided whether I should send the quantity in question to Vietnam or to Canada.....

Seems the Swiss even PAVE the RIVER BEDS

All the Swiss Tourism ads are full of cows and mountains......

.... but all one sees when coming here is CONCRETE !

Mr. S is not as wooden as I expected.  Having lived in Columbia & Mexico for years, he is as open-minded as I did not expect any Swiss to be.  He's fun to talk to.  He even mentioned how DIFFICULT it was for him to return to Switzerland after his time abroad.  Everything so precise, punctual, clean, with everyone watching over your shoulder, with no room left for silly fun ...... I know exactly what he means.

Yes, these are my backpacks resting against the chimney .....
in the private reception room of a bank....

But it's business I'm here for, so that's what we do.

10:45
Done.  Let's take the tram to the main train station. I want to get out of here badly.

a quick fish & chips & bread & wine at the train station

At the train station I have absolutely no problem finding the Spruengli store.  

Alan told me in an e-mail that he misses/craves the stuff and it looks like I'll meet him in 10 days, so how could I not buy any?

The train leaves Zurich BF at noon exactly (how could it not?) and we're rolling towards the German border.

Who ever said that Switzerland is beautiful?

WiFi doesn't seem to be working AT ALL while in Switzerland ....

I try to log in again as soon as we have crossed the border (my cell phone chimed).  NOW it does give me a message: 

WTF ???

The train IS INSIDE Germany ! What are they trying to say?

But 5 minutes later WiFi on the train actually has become a reality.

German customs walks through the train 10 minutes after that.

10 minutes before reaching Karlsruhe, the new neighbour in my compartment starts BITCHING at the conductor woman who just came in to offer free sweets.
WHY?
Because she can't take his order to deliver him a Hefeweizen and the guy who is employed for this is not on the train.

They deliver booze in 1st class?  I'm obviously not 1st class material because this it would NEVER have occurred to me to ask someone to deliver my booze, LOL.

But FATSO is angry now. 

Man or Pig or Both?

 "Why didn't you NOT announce that over the PA system ?  I could have got my own."
"Are you the train manager?"  No, she is not.   "I DEMAND to speak to him!"
He won't come for that....
"And YOUR name is WHAT?"
He is a REAL PIG and I grab my bags. I can't stand staying in the same space as this fuckwit for a second longer !  I'd rather stand at the end of the train to wait for arrival.

Fortunately, it's only a 5 minute walk from Karlsruhe HBF to my hotel ....