And Then Came Switzerland

We left the Tel Aviv airport hotel at midnight, after I couldn't get the rental car started. I thought it was the battery, but apparently it was the digital code device I kept getting wrong. We drove to Ben Gurion, and experienced first hand the Israeli security. A young fellow, clearly very smart, interviewed us. He was polite but serious. Why were we going to Switzerland? Could D2 remove her glasses to match her face to her passport? We passed, apparently he concluded we were essentially the Griswolds, and then passed through security. Once the Israelis determine you're no terrorist -- they let you bring water on the plane, and leave your shoes on. They really do it so much better than the idiots we have here at the TSA... We had become so spoiled, that when the plane to Zurich wasn't a wide body, and Business Class consisted of leaving every other seat open, we groused. It was 4 am -- where were the beds? I was so out of it, I slept anyway, but, in true "Out of Towners" style, D1 added it to her list of things to ask for refunds later... We arrived in Zurich, and cabbed to the hotel. We were greeted warmly at the Hotel Europe, and told we could check in early. The hotelier left out the fact that she would charge us an extra $50 per room for the privilege, but it wouldn't have mattered -- we all took exquisite naps. We spent the day in Zurich -- walking along Lake Zurich, and finding a 5th Avenue-like street -- but with all white people. Wifey and the Ds bought chocolate -- I sat on a bench looking as the Swiss walked by, and the sun played off the water. We had dinner, and slept great, and the next day took the famously prompt Swiss trains to Basel. We checked in to another great hotel, and met up with Margrit -- a lady who is friends with one of D1's Art Basel friends in Miami. Margrit took us on a terrific walking tour -- all over -- showing us both parts of the city on either side of the Rhine River. I offered to pay Margrit, but she declined -- D1 already heard she was quite wealthy, and did the tours for friends. The Ds and Wifey had brought a bracelet from their jeweler, PHillips House, and Margrit loved it. We had a classic Swiss dinner -- lots of in season asparagus, and I had chicken cordon bleu, with great local beer. The next day we took the light rail way out of town to a new museum, which had a large Gauguin exhibit. It was packed. We got bored, and went back to town. Next we found a small Jewish museum, which we entered after another Israeli-like security interview from a young IDF looking man named Joel. Sima, a German Jew, greeted us, and we chatted for a few hours about the fact that Zionism was born in Basel, with Herzl convening the first conference there in the late 1800s. Sima also shared her experiences with anti semitism in modern Germany -- not the in your face kind, like in France, but still there. They're still mad they lost WW II, apparently. Well, what are ya gonna do? We had a great dinner, and the next day took the train back to Zurich. This time the hotelier's son Sebastian, and his fiancee Eva, greeted us. They had a surprise -- they upgraded us to suites. The one Wifey and I had was something out of a mid century movie -- absolutely glorious -- with a balcony view overlooking Lake Zurich. The Ds left for the Kuntzmuseum, which Wifey kept comically mispronouncing. We hung in the suite, making believe we were Marlene Dietrich and a British spy, trying to take down the Nazis. At least that was what I was thinking... Sebastian led us to a great ITalian place, owned by a Pakistani. The Ds and I shared a white merlot, a first for us, and had great food. We awoke, had our last Swiss breakfast of awesome bread, cheese, and fruit, and cabbed to the airport. We hung in the lounge, and then boarded the plane. Wifey and D1 watched movies and slept, D2 and I watched season II of the Sopranos. The 10 hours went by quickly. And so it was a great family trip -- celebrating the fact that Wifey and I have gotten both our Ds through college and grad school. It was awesome to go away together -- first long family trip since D1 finished high school in '06. We went first class all the way, and happily so. We returned to the Miami heat, but also the riotous blooming of poinciana trees -- a true sight to behold here in late Spring. It's almost compensation for the heat and humidity. If there's a luckier cool rocking Daddy in the USA than I am, well, I don't know who he is.