fur de laste week...
Or at least that's how I imagine it might be said, anyway...
On assignment in Switzerland this time, a week in Zurich and then a week in Lugano (on the Italian border), doing the same sort of thing I did in Luxembourg recently.
Things are going good, on the work side anyway. On the personal side, it's difficult to be away from home for such a long period, but each passing day brings me one day closer to coming home so I'm okay with that.
Unlike the last trip, the flight over was nice and quiet, no problems. I ended up sitting next to some South African guy who was coming over to Germany on business. I couldn't figure out what he did for a living but it sounded like it was something in the motor industry. Once he found out I worked for IBM, he automatically assumed I knew all about everything to do with computers and kept asking questions. Luckily I could answer most of them truthfully, but for others I could bullshit my way out if without any difficulty. After all, I'm a consultant and I tell lies for a living...
I didn't get much sleep on the flight, which is pretty much normal, but I reckon I got about three hours in total. Enough to keep me going when I landed, which was the main thing. The trip into Zurich on the train was boring as the scenery is just buildings on all sides, but luckily the trip wasn't very long. Actually, the taxi that I took to the hotel from the station (Hauptbahnhof, as it's called here) took me, I reckon, about half way back to the airport alongside the very tracks I'd just come in on...
I arrived at the hotel just after 8am and ended up sitting in the hotel lobby for about three hours while they got my room ready. If I'd taken it earlier, they would have charged me per hour until the check-in time....not sure IBM would have paid for that, so I didn't bother. At 3 minutes past eleven, I got my room key and went up to freshen up and unpack some clothes, after which I took off for a walk along the river which is about 500m from the hotel.
I bought a falafel (schwarma thing) for lunch, took a walk along the river and sat down on the bank to eat it. Even though I was sitting in bright sunshine, I still had a jersey on as the wind is quite cool due to the snow on the mountains (which, as you know, are not that far away).
I found a tram that was going into town, so I bought a ticket from a machine, forgetting that the traffic drives on the wrong side of the road here compared to us. It turned out that I bought a ticket for the tram going the wrong way...ah well. In the end, I thought fuckit, I've bought a ticket for the distance so I'm getting on the tram to town and if I get stopped by a conductor, I'll put on my best Scottish accent and plead ignorance. Luckily, I didn't have to and I jumped off at the hauptbahn.
From there, I took a walk to the lake, jumped on a ferry like we did three years ago on our holiday (damn, but time flies) and took a short trip around the lake. Halfway through the trip it started raining and there was some small hail too, so everyone ended up indoors. As I was on my own, I ended up standing the rest of the way, freezing my butt off. Luckily I had a jersey in my bag and my beanie which kept me warm-ish.
How about this fuckin' pervert, showing his willy to an eagle, of all things?
After the boat trip, I took another tram back to the hotel, sat down on the bed and fell asleep without even knowing it. I don't even know how long I slept for, but it couldn't have been more than a half hour and I was woken by Arjan and Lex knocking on the door.
Apparently they had tried to phone my room, but I didn't even hear it ringing. We took another trip back into town on the tram, walked around a bit but everything was closed because of Easter Monday holidays. After a while, we walked back toward the hotel (a couple of km's, which in the black shoes, gave me blisters), found a little Italian restaurant open and had some dinner, after which we walked back to the hotel and said goodnight. Needless to say, it didn't take me long to fall asleep. Even still, I woke like I hadn't slept at all.
We were up around 07h30, had breakfast and took a tram into town and the office, which is on the tram route which was nice and convenient. We had a couple of interviews, took some notes, made some initial findings and then called it a day, even thought it was already around 16h30. Back to the hotel on the tram to get changed, and back into town on the tram again for dinner. This time we found a whole sidestreet full of restaurants, across the river from the train station, with everything from local food to Italian and American diners.
We sat in a little German Bierhalle, had some nice food and a couple of beers, then made our way back to the tram and the hotel.
Up at around 07h00 as we had an earlier interview, had breakfast and took a tram into the office. It's so easy to move around here as the public transport system is so good and easy to use. Had a couple of interviews, plenty of strong (also free) coffee, then called it a day, again around 16h00. On a tram to the hotel, changed and back on the tram into town. This time we ended up walking around the same sidestreet as the night before, trying to find a waterproof jacket for me...luckily we did, cos as we found a place, it started raining. The credit card system the shop used was excellent as the amount I bought the jacket for not only showed up in Swiss Francs, but also on the screen the amount was in SA Rands too. We need technology like that... Anyway, we ended up back at the station for the evening food market like we had a few years ago, had some curry, some bratwurst, and a couple of beers with some local smelly cheeses...yum. We ended up back at the hotel at around 10pm, had a quick beer in the pub and headed off for bed.
Again we were up around 07h00, had breakfast and jumped on the tram to the office. A busy day, even though we only had two interviews, they were intensive.
Today, we finished just after 2pm, so we walked down to the lake, had a bratwurst on a roll, then sat down to make some notes from the interviews. Back to the tram and the hotel, changed into jeans, and back into town to the food sidestreet. This time we had dinner at a little nouveau cuisine Italian restaurant... nice food, but too small with their portions for the ridiculous prices. The entire meal, with one bottle of Chianti between the three of us, came to 120 Francs...about R600!!! I literally had two medium prawns, and four or five small pieces of fish on my plate, with a side dish of spinach that I let Arjan and Lex eat...not worth the price. But we didn't know when we sat down, so it's just bad luck... Back to the hotel, a quick beer in the pub and off to bed.
Up at 07h20, a quick shower and shave and breakfast, then onto the tram into the office. Being Friday, it's quite relaxed here, but we were still in tie and jacket. It warmed up quite a bit since I arrived, so we didn't need our coats. Lex went off to Milan to meet his wife, something to do with them having met twenty years ago and celebrating an anniversary. Milan is not too far from Lugano, so he's due to arrive on Sunday evening on the train. Arjan and I went into the food sidestreet and ended up at a Dutch-themed restaurant just a door away from the Bierhalle we were at the other day. This time we both had some Kassler ribs, boiled potatos and sauerkraut... really nice...and a couple of beers to round it off. After that, we ended up back at the hotel, a quick beer in the pub to discuss the strategy for Saturday's roadtrip to Lugano and then went off to bed.
Got up around 07h30, showered, had breakfast by which time the rental car had arrived, finished packing and climbed into the car for the couple of hours to Lugano.
We stopped off at a little place called Altdorf that Arjan had visited a couple of years ago with the family, took the cable car up to the top and sat and had a coffee at the little restaurant. I thought we were going to take the cable car back down again, but then Arjan said we should walk. Looking at the road, I thought it wasn't a bad idea and that maybe I'd see some snow.
It took us around 5mins to get to the top in the cable car, and the walk was expected to take (according to the information boards) about 2hrs to walk down. In reality, it took us two and a half hours, through some of the most scenic, but demanding (sometimes almost vertical), trails I have ever seen. At times, we had to stop cos Arjan, as fit as he is, also felt the strain and a couple of times my legs were vibrating due to the protesting muscles.
And today, I'm paying for it...I can hardly move my legs without feeling like I'd just had a 50km run. Going up and down stairs (of which there are plenty in Lugano) is absolute hell and I jokingly curse Arjan every step I take.
Lex has just arrived from Milan, says he had a great time. We've just been chilling out for a couple of hours, having been for a walk around the town to see some of the sights. Today was a nice chillout day, as we only had breakfast around 9am, then we walked around a bit, sat at our favourite pub on the piazza (we found the favourite pub as the first thing we did when we got here) and tonight we'll go and have some dinner somewhere.
Lugano is so different from Zurich as it has a very strong Italian influence whereas Zurich has a German culture. Everything here is said and advertised in Italian, so it doesn't feel like we're in Switzerland anymore.
Anyway...just thought I'd give you an update as to what I've been up to, and attach a couple of photos so you could see a piece of the place.
Just before I came down to update the blog on the hotel wireless network, I got my laundry back, and for 5 undies, 6 socks, 1 jeans, 1 jersey and 3 t-shirts, it cost 168 Francs...if my calculation is correct, about R1,008!!!!!! IBM is going to shit itself when I put in the claim for this...but then again, how do they expect us to exist on the shitty per diem allowance they give us?
Stay well, y'all...
I bought a falafel (schwarma thing) for lunch, took a walk along the river and sat down on the bank to eat it. Even though I was sitting in bright sunshine, I still had a jersey on as the wind is quite cool due to the snow on the mountains (which, as you know, are not that far away).
I found a tram that was going into town, so I bought a ticket from a machine, forgetting that the traffic drives on the wrong side of the road here compared to us. It turned out that I bought a ticket for the tram going the wrong way...ah well. In the end, I thought fuckit, I've bought a ticket for the distance so I'm getting on the tram to town and if I get stopped by a conductor, I'll put on my best Scottish accent and plead ignorance. Luckily, I didn't have to and I jumped off at the hauptbahn.
From there, I took a walk to the lake, jumped on a ferry like we did three years ago on our holiday (damn, but time flies) and took a short trip around the lake. Halfway through the trip it started raining and there was some small hail too, so everyone ended up indoors. As I was on my own, I ended up standing the rest of the way, freezing my butt off. Luckily I had a jersey in my bag and my beanie which kept me warm-ish.
How about this fuckin' pervert, showing his willy to an eagle, of all things?
After the boat trip, I took another tram back to the hotel, sat down on the bed and fell asleep without even knowing it. I don't even know how long I slept for, but it couldn't have been more than a half hour and I was woken by Arjan and Lex knocking on the door. 
Apparently they had tried to phone my room, but I didn't even hear it ringing. We took another trip back into town on the tram, walked around a bit but everything was closed because of Easter Monday holidays. After a while, we walked back toward the hotel (a couple of km's, which in the black shoes, gave me blisters), found a little Italian restaurant open and had some dinner, after which we walked back to the hotel and said goodnight. Needless to say, it didn't take me long to fall asleep. Even still, I woke like I hadn't slept at all.
We were up around 07h30, had breakfast and took a tram into town and the office, which is on the tram route which was nice and convenient. We had a couple of interviews, took some notes, made some initial findings and then called it a day, even thought it was already around 16h30. Back to the hotel on the tram to get changed, and back into town on the tram again for dinner. This time we found a whole sidestreet full of restaurants, across the river from the train station, with everything from local food to Italian and American diners. 
We sat in a little German Bierhalle, had some nice food and a couple of beers, then made our way back to the tram and the hotel.
Up at around 07h00 as we had an earlier interview, had breakfast and took a tram into the office. It's so easy to move around here as the public transport system is so good and easy to use. Had a couple of interviews, plenty of strong (also free) coffee, then called it a day, again around 16h00. On a tram to the hotel, changed and back on the tram into town. This time we ended up walking around the same sidestreet as the night before, trying to find a waterproof jacket for me...luckily we did, cos as we found a place, it started raining. The credit card system the shop used was excellent as the amount I bought the jacket for not only showed up in Swiss Francs, but also on the screen the amount was in SA Rands too. We need technology like that... Anyway, we ended up back at the station for the evening food market like we had a few years ago, had some curry, some bratwurst, and a couple of beers with some local smelly cheeses...yum. We ended up back at the hotel at around 10pm, had a quick beer in the pub and headed off for bed.
Again we were up around 07h00, had breakfast and jumped on the tram to the office. A busy day, even though we only had two interviews, they were intensive.
Today, we finished just after 2pm, so we walked down to the lake, had a bratwurst on a roll, then sat down to make some notes from the interviews. Back to the tram and the hotel, changed into jeans, and back into town to the food sidestreet. This time we had dinner at a little nouveau cuisine Italian restaurant... nice food, but too small with their portions for the ridiculous prices. The entire meal, with one bottle of Chianti between the three of us, came to 120 Francs...about R600!!! I literally had two medium prawns, and four or five small pieces of fish on my plate, with a side dish of spinach that I let Arjan and Lex eat...not worth the price. But we didn't know when we sat down, so it's just bad luck... Back to the hotel, a quick beer in the pub and off to bed.
Up at 07h20, a quick shower and shave and breakfast, then onto the tram into the office. Being Friday, it's quite relaxed here, but we were still in tie and jacket. It warmed up quite a bit since I arrived, so we didn't need our coats. Lex went off to Milan to meet his wife, something to do with them having met twenty years ago and celebrating an anniversary. Milan is not too far from Lugano, so he's due to arrive on Sunday evening on the train. Arjan and I went into the food sidestreet and ended up at a Dutch-themed restaurant just a door away from the Bierhalle we were at the other day. This time we both had some Kassler ribs, boiled potatos and sauerkraut... really nice...and a couple of beers to round it off. After that, we ended up back at the hotel, a quick beer in the pub to discuss the strategy for Saturday's roadtrip to Lugano and then went off to bed.
Got up around 07h30, showered, had breakfast by which time the rental car had arrived, finished packing and climbed into the car for the couple of hours to Lugano.
We stopped off at a little place called Altdorf that Arjan had visited a couple of years ago with the family, took the cable car up to the top and sat and had a coffee at the little restaurant. I thought we were going to take the cable car back down again, but then Arjan said we should walk. Looking at the road, I thought it wasn't a bad idea and that maybe I'd see some snow.
It took us around 5mins to get to the top in the cable car, and the walk was expected to take (according to the information boards) about 2hrs to walk down. In reality, it took us two and a half hours, through some of the most scenic, but demanding (sometimes almost vertical), trails I have ever seen. At times, we had to stop cos Arjan, as fit as he is, also felt the strain and a couple of times my legs were vibrating due to the protesting muscles.
And today, I'm paying for it...I can hardly move my legs without feeling like I'd just had a 50km run. Going up and down stairs (of which there are plenty in Lugano) is absolute hell and I jokingly curse Arjan every step I take.
Lex has just arrived from Milan, says he had a great time. We've just been chilling out for a couple of hours, having been for a walk around the town to see some of the sights. Today was a nice chillout day, as we only had breakfast around 9am, then we walked around a bit, sat at our favourite pub on the piazza (we found the favourite pub as the first thing we did when we got here) and tonight we'll go and have some dinner somewhere.
Lugano is so different from Zurich as it has a very strong Italian influence whereas Zurich has a German culture. Everything here is said and advertised in Italian, so it doesn't feel like we're in Switzerland anymore.
Anyway...just thought I'd give you an update as to what I've been up to, and attach a couple of photos so you could see a piece of the place.
Just before I came down to update the blog on the hotel wireless network, I got my laundry back, and for 5 undies, 6 socks, 1 jeans, 1 jersey and 3 t-shirts, it cost 168 Francs...if my calculation is correct, about R1,008!!!!!! IBM is going to shit itself when I put in the claim for this...but then again, how do they expect us to exist on the shitty per diem allowance they give us?
Stay well, y'all...
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