We arrived later in the evening on our train from Interlaken to Zurich. One of the amazing things about train travel in Switzerland is that if you play your cards right, you might end up on one of the intercity trains with a dedicated family car—complete with its own indoor playground. Cedar was stoked, and took full advantage.
We had packed a picnic dinner back in Interlaken and ate it on the ride into the big city. And Zurich definitely felt like a big city—over 2 million people in the metro area. The reason for this stop was to meet up with Angelo—the little boy Sheila was an Au Pair for 24 years ago. Now 27, and a Master’s student in Mechanical Engineering at ETH Zurich, Angelo is all grown up, and Sheila was excited to introduce Cedar—who is just a bit older now than Angelo was when Sheila first came to Switzerland.
Its hard not to feel all the feelings you internalize when you are presented with these examples bluntly illustrating the passage of time. Like a kind of full-circle nostalgia—introducing your child to the child your partner once cared for around that same age. It hit me in that weird, sentimental way that sneaks up on you. I’m sure it was even more profound for Sheila. But that’s for the part 2 blog!
For now, it was all about getting settled, and the effects of a long travel day were starting to show… mostly in the 44-year-old, not the 5-year-old.
I’ll say this: I was feeling pretty good about our Swiss train travel. The SBB app makes things nearly foolproof. But Zurich’s tram system? That was a whole different ball game—especially after a full day of bouncing between trains, cities, and playgrounds. We definitely looked like a couple of dazed tourists trying to decipher tram maps when, right on cue, a friendly Swiss guy stepped in, showed us how it all worked, and then turned out to be getting off at our exact stop.
Side note: Every time I mention to someone Swiss how kind and helpful I find Swiss people, they look at me like I’ve grown a third eye. Apparently, it’s not a widely accepted stereotype. But we’ve had so many experiences of Swiss friendliness, I’ve decided to just enjoy it and not mess with the national reputation for stoicism and order. Still—Zurich Tram Guy was yet another example.
We arrived at our hotel to discover that we’d been upgraded to a club room on the club floor—thank you, Marriott Bonvoy—a very nice way to end a long but fulfilling day.
Stay tuned for Part 2…
