2002 Zurich and Sursee

Sat 2002-08-31 {17673}
Taxi arr 10h45 to Luton airport. EasyJet worked OK, except about 30m late & no indication of this, just waiting to be called. Boeing 737-300, nearly full. Raining by Zurich. Met there by K & B in VW Golf; L there too, but didn't find us. Back to K & B's flat, which is a few km outside Zurich, & large & elegant. L met us there briefly. Natter & a beer, then L back with J & M. Both have bought houses, to be signed imminently. K's looks very large, a recently restored farmhouse a few km further out. Then out on a long trek to a restaurant "Lips" that they'd been recommended - the directions were not good, but the restaurant was. Mixture of French, English & Swiss German. Conversation mostly in English, except that J & of course M spoke mostly in French. Parking underneath the flat. K has a Peugeot 206 Cabrio. L had attempted to re-join the old firm when the new job looked a bit rocky a little while ago, but balked at working in Brussels. J has almost no German, and stays at home to look after the child; maybe some friction in the marriage; he doesn't seem keen on living in Switzerland. No moment to oneself, not sure about this, glad it's not all week. K & B are en suite, so we get our own bathroom. They liked the Stuart crystal glasses we brought, & M her sheepdog. Drawing game in French. M trying to operate my LED keyring torch at the restaurant, unable to press hard enough on the button. Bag searched at Luton, had to switch on the Neo to prove it worked. Switzerland opening up a bit to foreigners, eg it's easier for foreigners to work there, and live there if they have jobs. Group of neighbours having a barbecue under a covered area at the back of the garden, in the rain; and singing practice from the flat below. Very tired, all jumped on my suggestion of retiring.
Sun 2002-09-01 {17674}
Very quiet, apart from the sound of the rain, until 08h15, when a church bell started. And it rained all day, which was a pity because they'd planned a nice day out. Leisurely and extensive breakfast, then hoping that the rain would cease. L & M came leaving J at home, but when the programme was finally given up on, & B decided to stay in and watch the football & Grand Prix, J came over, & just K, L & us went out, in J's Audi A6. To a cheese factory with demonstration gallery & shop, where we waited an age to see the final curdling of the milk in a 6000l vat & it being pumped into round moulds. This was at 32T 0526169 5246152. Then to Appenzell, an old Swiss town with some very pretty decorated buildings, not raining hard, but dull & misty in the hills so that the distant mountains were not visible. K had to buy eggs and salad as B rang to say he'd used them for lunch. The eggs were OK, but the salad (lettuce) was begged from a restaurant at a steep price. Lunch quite late at a cafe/confiterie (we paid - last night B/K & L/J paid for us). Then home for dinner (at B & K). Eve dinner was souffle & natter until a little after 21h.
Mon 2002-09-02 {17675}
Up at 06h30, breakfast at 7h, B & K left for work at ~07h30, & L picked us up at 08h as she was going to a Dr appt in Zurich at 09h30; she dropped us just where the lake stops & the city centre begins. Dull & dry & mild all day. Walk along R bank of river, then cross to Haupbahnhof for maps & info. Walk back thro' the old part of the town, then take a round trip on the water bus on the lake for 90 min (got 8km away, up to 23km/h, about 10 stops). Walk along Bahnhofstrasse which has all the posh shops, & lunch at a Pizza Hut, with beer. The museum was closed (Montag), so walk in the park to where the rivers meet. Bridges are very low, & a weir just below the city, but trip boats operate nevertheless with very low headroom (like a narrowboat) & very powerful engines. Some time watching the extensive tram system, & the way the facing points change only about a second in front of the first wheels; the trailing seem to snap across & latch driven by the leading wheels. Back into the old part, now that the shops are open. \theta bought a bright green umbrella. By that time, \theta is getting tired, so onto the (16h03) S3 service from Hbh to Fehraltorf; double-deck trains at 30 min intervals. At the Hbh, seemed to be about one train per 5 mins at each platform (there were 4 S-bahn platforms, 2 for each way). Tunnel under the city, surface elsewhere. Then walk back to the house. Biscuits & scotch given to L (& J). Took another 200SF out of a cash dispenser, hoping for some smaller notes, but it gave me one 200SF note (2.2SF=1L). Eve out to a traditional Swiss restaurant, back nearer Zurich (32T 0469110 5247223) where we had 4 fondues, of various recipes, all sharing all. Bread and small boiled potatoes for dipping, plus one of them had salami as well. B insisted on a recommendation for a red wine, which the waitress thought was wrong, but did bring us a light red (K prefers red). We paid (150SF). High above Zurich, with a view over the city at night. Traffic lights in Zurich seem to be exclusively LED. Swiss lights have a red-amber phase.
Tue 2002-09-03 {17676}
Another gloomy morning. K & B off to work around 07h45, leaving us to find our own way later & put the key in the letterbox. The euro is quite visible here, a vending machine at the airport took either, & the restaurant bills last night and lunchtime Sunday both had the total in euro equivalent, presumably accepting payment in euro. You don't buy a house outright in Switzerland, as houses are expensive & interest rates are low (2.5%); you buy a fraction, eg 33%, & a bank buys the rest, & you pay it interest indefinitely. Some change I didn't understand happens at retirement age. Of course, income tax is very low here, making houses a little more affordable, although mortgage interest relief did that in Britain until recently. The postal address covers only the block of apartments; the flats are not numbered, only the name determines which post box the mail goes into. Walk to station, & straight onto an S3 back to Zurich HBf. These are all double-deck trains, in sets with a loco at one end of one unit or central between two units. Very smooth, clean & quiet. 5.40SF each to Flughaven. Have to change to an S16 & 3 more stops to Flughaven. Surprised that there is a lot of graffiti in Zurich, not only on the railway, but even on old painted houses in the city. Collect hire car OK at airport, larger than booked, a black metallic VW Golf estate, VD 515971 (VD for Vaud, the canton for Lausanne). 4 electric windows, air-con. \theta driving to Sursee, via A1 & A2, easy except for a bit of excitement getting out of the aiport & onto the autobahn. Hotel Bellevue expect us, & we're installed in room 21, with a balcony and a view over the lake to the mountains, which we can't see. It's been raining since about mid-journey & the cloud is low. Lunch in the hotel, watch the rain, then it lessened so out for a walk to the lakeside. Later it actually stopped raining, the mountains became just visible, & even a few moments of brightness, if not actually sunshine. And later, a little actual sunshine. Eve eating in the restaurant, watching the sun set behind the mountains, & darkness coming. We eat in a large conservatory, with automatic sun blinds above and automatic ventilators that buzz open and closed as they think fit. Excellent meal & attentive service, but ~100L between us, inc wine before & during & coffee & brandy afterwards. \phi Hummerrahmsuppe, which I have no idea what it is [lobster & cream], crevettes & vegetables in curry sauce with rice, & fruit salad with cream & Kirsch. A couple of beers in the bar beforehand, & a short walk afterwards. A good day.
Wed 2002-09-04 {17677}
Some blue bits at dawn & the mountains visible, but mostly overcast. \phi for a walk into Sursee, Altstadt & a little along the Wanderweg that seems to encircle the lake (which would be about 30..40km). First out to circumnavigate the lake, \theta driving. This car has an awful gearbox, esp on selecting 2nd from 3rd. Then \phi practising on the same circuit up to the Spar just over half-way round, where buy some lunch, water & beer. Then \theta driving again, back onto the autobahn, then into the mountains, climbing along the valley to Engelberg, mountains all around. Park by the station, walk around the town, then up the gondalbahn to Trubsee, at about 1800m. Excellent views, & a walk slightly down to the lake. Ice cream at the top. This is a 2-stage, single-rope system, with shuffling drive thro' the middle station & around at the ends. It stopped for a few minutes on the way down. After the descent, some shopping in Engelberg & drive (\phi) back to Sempach, & walk in the old town there. Then back to the hotel. Some sunshine today, & not cold even up the mountain, but we decided against taking the further stages up to 3000m, which was in cloud, mostly. Bought a German/English dictionary at last, having left mine at home [no - it was in the other pocket of my bag]. Half of the people say "merci" for thank you here, even German speakers. Victorinox belt-clip bought at the top of the mountain. By late aft, dull, a little rain, but still warm. Can't see the mountains from the hotel. Eve to Hotel Hirschen in Sursee, fish menu. Not exactly busy. They had a player piano with violin attachment (3 violins each with one string automated) - not playing. Back to the bar afterwards. Car started at just over 2000km, it's a 1.6.
Thu 2002-09-05 {17678}
Clear skies, Morning walk, searching out Sursee railway sta, & thereby seeing much of the less pretty part of Sursee. It's a long way from the hotel, & trains to Luzern are only every hour; combined with neither of us enjoying driving into cities, we'll not do Luzern. Still sunny after breakfast, so off into the mountains again, doing two beautiful passes. \theta drove to start of first pass, then \phi all day. First via minor roads to Willisau, Wolhuse, Schupfheim, then over Glauben-buelen pass, 1611m. Not so high, but all single-track roads with passing places, & at one point I had to reverse for a bus. The across to Susten pass, much higher (2224m) but 2-track road, so easier to drive. Up is pretty much 2nd gear for 10..15km, & down the same. Stopped several times to take in the view, take pix, & for refreshment. Sunny, in fact sunny all day, shorts at last, tho' a bit chilly in the breeze at 2km up. Spectacular views. At one parking spot, could look up & see the road twice further up the sheer-looking face of the mountain, with tunnels and bridges hanging on the rock. Lots of tightish hairpins of course, & lots of motorcycles taking them rather fast. Often little or no protection on the drop side of the road, just a white line & then the edge; at other times a few posts or stones that wouldn't stop you if you lost control. Then back via the autobahn, thro' a 9km tunnel at Seelisberg. Stop again at Sempach and walk up & down alongside "our" lake, still warm sunshine, tho' getting a little hazy. DCF good here, & in K's flat; they had a DCF clock in our room there, plus I brought the first Lidl dual alarm one.
Fri 2002-09-06 {17679}
Woken several times in the night by mozzies buzzing in my ear, and awake this morning with several big bites. Walk by lake before breakfast, not wet but mostly dull. Last excellent breakfast, and set off via the little roads, \theta driving. This took less time than expected, and we didn't see any nice places to stop, so we ended up killing an hour or so at a motorway services and at the airport; pity, it was getting hot and sunny by then. Flight on time, and picked up by red Skoda taxi; Luton firm, possible passed off twice from original firm that we booked with. 30L. More notes from yesterday: a cyclist going over the second, higher pass; four mistakes driving, confusing the car with the Smart: twice engaging reverse with foot firmly on the brake and clutch not disengaged, and twice stopping without declutching after travelling in the same gear for ages (2nd in both cases).