Not Touring Zurich and Flying Home

13 November 2022

I didn't sleep well last night.

I got an email that I could check in to our flights tomorrow (we leave here at 3:50 to get to the airport by 4 am). So when Lesley and Mike came up (they are on the second floor and I'm on the 4th) I was trying to check in to the first flight and the airplane website wanted my passport number.

But I stopped doing that and went with them to breakfast.

Breakfast buffet

There were steps down into the dining room but they put a ramp in so I could go down therm.

Lesley at breakfast

Lesley brought me cranberry juice and some food including a piece of chocolate bread from the buffet.

The schedule for today was a scenic drive and a couple hours walk, and I just wasn't up for another walk on cobblestones particularly as it is a cloudy cold day. So I didn't go - Mike and Lesley went without me. Lesley took pictures

Poster said "Are you looking for your dream job?"

Walking tour

Shops and Statue on the side

Omega store

Steps

Looking down

Mike by the fountain

Zur Zahmen Taube (Number 13)

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Is that the time?

What are we standding on?

Mike took a photo for Bob.

Cat ladder

It is a cat ladder which enables cats to get up to their owner's apartment where there is a cat window. Each cat is chipped so that only the cat with the correct chip can get into any of the windows

When they came back, they said that it was cold and windy and the scenic drive drove past our hotel 3 times and also that all the walking was cobblestones. So I was glad I hadn't gone

Particularly because I had a severe bathroom event and needed to call housekeeping to deal with it.

We had planned to eat in the hotel restaurant, but it was closed on Sunday. So Lesley and Mike ordered pizza and I ordered a cheese sandwich and chocolate mousse from room service.

Room service

I had to wait for mine as room service didn't open until 5ish. But it came on a tray with a rose in a glass on it.

We have to have our suitcases out at 3:50 a.m. tomorrow morning for a 4 am transfer to the airport. So after everything was in a suitcase, we all went to bed early. The bellman tried to give me another chocolate bar, but Mike said I didn't want it.

Timetable for leaving Zurich

14 November 2022

Lesley gave me a wake up call and Mike came up and finished packing the stuff I used last night and helped me put on my compression stockings. We went down to the lobby and they gave us a bag with breakfast - a long roll sandwich and OJ. Neither of which I could eat although I took a couple of swallows of the OJ. Frederico was outside looking for our ride, which arrived at 4 as scheduled and I walked down the hotel steps and Mike carried the scooter down. (which we thought was easier than going around back of the hotel for the little lift and then coming back through the back of the hotel) and we all piled into the van after saying goodbye to Frederico.

We got to the airport about 4:30 - not the 3 hours in advance for an international flight, but we were only going to Amsterdam so it was international but not intercontental. The airport was pretty empty at that hour - no lines. First we had to deal with checking all our bags. I had two and Mike and Lesley had two each. They deemed the rollator bag as oversized so it went to the oversized luggage place. I don't think it really was, but it wasn't the usual shape. Next we had to deal with the scooter. I had to go sit in the wheelchair assistance area so Mike could take the battery out and fold up the scooter. He folded it as a wheelie bag instead of flat. Then we needed a wheelchair but the wheelchair people did not open until 5:30. Someone came and unlocked them about 5 and finally they asked if Mike just wanted a wheelchair and he said yes.

We went through security with Mike pushing the wheelchair and I think we were at the gate by about 5:35.

Early morning in the Zurich airport

We were late taking off - the Captain said something about waiting for a piece of luggage - and I was worried because of the short time we had to change planes in Amsterdam which is one of the busiest airports in the world.

Rainy morning

It was raining and we didn't take off until about 7:30.

Taking off

They gave us breakfast - yoghurt with nuts, cut up fruit and 2 cold pancakes with raspberry jam.

Breakfast

I ate one of the pancakes, a little of the fruit and one of the rolls. I put the other one in my pocket. We landed about 8:40, and then had a l.o.n.g taxi to get to the terminal. Mike and Lesley had a window so they could see the landing this time.

Landing

They had asked me if I could do steps (this was a little commuter plane) and I said I could, but they apparently didn't believe me and they got a lift to get me off the plane. Problem - I was sitting at the front, and the lift was all the way in the back and my leg hurt I had to walk the whole length of the plane to get there. I would rather have had a shorter walk and gone down the steps.

But the lift had advantages which I didn't appreciate right away - after we got on and sat down the lift went down to ground level and he drove it all the way into the terminal where a lady with a wheelchair was waiting for us. She took us up from the basement to the main floor of the terminal and then we got on one of those carts - she hooked the wheelchair on the back. First we had to drop off a couple who were going to Guayaquil at a D gate,

Speeding through the airport

and then she drove us (dodging people who were walking or strolling or darting from place to place) to the international section to gate E18. She dropped us off with the wheelchair there.

We boarded the Delta flight to Boston about 11:30. I had a single window seat and Mike and Lesley were in the center seats a little way ahead of me.

Mike from Lesley's seat

Leaving Schiphol

I took out my Kindle to plug it in and it gave me the message that I would have to eject it from the computer in order to read my book, and that it was not charging. I didn't know how to do that. I tried to play the games, but none of the ones I tried would work. I put 'my flight' on the monitor and it wasn't very colorful and didn't have as much information on it as other flight monitors have.

About noon they served us Dinner.

Nuts and cheese

First some nuts, Then I got the beef which was very tender with peas and beans and some kind of nut salad with a pink dressing that tasted a little like raspberry. And a hard roll.

Dinner

Dessert

I ate most of the beef. I picked the ice cream sundae for dessert. Then I finished the book I had started and read another one and left the Kindle plugged in - it actually DID charge even though it told me it was not going to do that.

About 4:30 Zurich time they gave us

LUNCH?

I didn't care for it at all. There was dark bread with some kind of cream cheese or something on it. a bowl of fruit (which I ate most of) and a salad which had figs and nuts and goat cheese in addition to the greens with that same pink dressing. I ate some of the greens but I wasn't too thrilled with the figs in a salad although I like them ordinarily.

Getting to Boston

We got to Boston after a 6+ hour flight about the time we left. Gathered our luggage and got the shuttle to the Hilton and checked in. I took the compression stockings off. Lesley took a nap after she sent Mike out to get some things. We went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. I ordered a bowl of tomato soup - it was only a cup and I hope they didn't charge it as a bowl. Although it was good. And then I ordered chicken tenders thinking they would be honey BBQ wings. I like wings, but not hot wings which were on the menu. And I could only eat one of them. Lesley was comforting and said that Mike would probably wake up and eat them sometime during the night.

Lesley turned on the Commanders/Philadelphia game on the TV and we went to bed early. I waked up 6 or 7 times that night to pee. And then my right leg hurt and it was hard for me to sleep.