I landed in Zurich today.

The airport is very clean and the people are nice and helpful. The predominant language seems to be German, but folks are equally fluent in English and (to a lesser extent) French. I can only read German at about a first-grade level (despite a year or three studying it in school) and I'm even worse when trying to speak it; I get confused easily when trying to think of the right word. I managed to ask someone at the airport how to get to the airport, for example :(

I came prepared with a print-out from Google Maps so I could make the right train connections to get to my hotel. Trains appear to be on the honor system here... I didn't see any turnstiles? I tried to buy a card but there were more than 20 different options, and none of them looked like a "get around Zurich" card. I'll have to figure that out tomorrow.

The trains are extremely clean--almost antiseptic feeling--and modern. Double-decker cars with padded seating, and a really smooth ride. Definitely not the bumpy roller-coaster ride I'm used to on Atlanta or NYC public transit.

After one train-switch, I managed to make it to my final stop at Zurich Geisshubel. Now what? My Google Maps print-out tells me to walk to my destination... but it doesn't tell me where the station is or what direction to walk. Bleh. I decide to walk north and see if I can find some large roads that I can correlate with something on the 2"x2" map on my printout.

I walk for about 15 minutes, and nothing looks very promising. Great, I think, I'm stuck in a foreign country where I can barely speak the language and I have no idea where I am. I keep walking, and randomly stroll through an office park of sorts. I turn a corner, and see this:



Hallelujah! Nobody is there, this being Sunday, but I'm able to badge in and whip out my laptop to get on the good ol' Google-A wireless. Sipping a tasty beverage, I map the three blocks to my hotel.

Hotel Engimatt is a nice little place. The room is what people from the US would call an "efficiency room"; just big enough, no more. Compared to the room I just had in NYC, however, it seems huge.

When I swipe my card to go into the room, the lights inside turn on. The door closes behind me and I go to check out the curtains, since it's very dark. There's some kind of metal roll-up door blocking the light. I fiddle for a bit to try opening it, and then the lights blink out. WTF?

I feel my way back to the door, and try the light switch. Nothing. Finally I re-open the door, and the lights blink back on. I notice a card reader on the inside of the room. Ah! I swipe my card there, and watch the metal roll-up door start to recede above the window. Success! I stand there watching, feeling smug about my deductive abilities.

Then the roll-up door reverses its direction, closes, and the lights go back out. Dammit. I finally realize I'm supposed to leave the card in the reader while I'm in the room. Those crafty Swiss!

I get some breakfast downstairs. I marvel once again at the "honor system", as nobody wants me to sign anything for the breakfast I ate. Sitting outside, I realize how awesome the weather is (mid-70s) and how beautiful the surroundings are. Lots of green. Lots of fountains. Rolling hills in the distance.

I go looking for a jogging trail, and find one about a block from the hotel. It's a nice asphalt path with joggers and cyclists that meanders along side a little stream.

So far, I'm very comfortable here!