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I don’t mind people looking at my tattoo. But a few weeks ago I noticed people in the elevator staring at my foot. They would peer down at the dots and lines, look at me, and then break eye contact. Totally could tell they were curious, but for whatever reason, they felt it was more appropriate to awkwardly look at it and then ignore me than to just ask, “hey, what’s that design?”
After this event repeated itself for days in a row, I began feeling really self-consciousness about my ink – and then I had a nightmare. In my dream, my tattoo was nothing but blurry markings made with blue ballpoint pen. The ink was running off my foot, like a letter being bombarded with tears dropping. I freaked out so much in the dream that I woke up, pulled my foot close to my blind eyes, and saw it was still there. Instant relief and a clear reminder of how much this design means to me – no matter how people look at it.
6.02.08
Zurich was amazing. But thank God it’s over – specifically, thank God I’m back in Tübingen, and that I was back in time for work. You know you’re interested now.
After the beauty of the tour and the shops on Saturday. After my first night in a hostel. After wandering the city, absorbing art in museums and buying chocolates in shops in the mall under the Hauptbahnhof. After all that, there was the train trip home.
Now, when I went to Stuttgart, I had two train connections. On my initial plans for my trip to Zurich, I was set to leave at 10pm, arrive at 4am with 3 connections. My trip back had 4 connections. So, I the first two went off without a hitch. But on the third one, I didn’t realize my train (a Swiss one) was arriving late, because, oh yeah, I don’t speak fucking German, and could not hear the announcement. I should have had 5 minutes to get over to the next platform. So, I got in line to get off (instead of being in front), walked quickly (when I should have ran), and got to the platform. There was a train down the tracks, but I figured it was another one. About 5 minutes later I began to strongly doubt this.
So I approached the night guy on – and he said, that indeed, that was my train, and I had missed it. So I asked – in voice-shaking German – if there was another train. He checked. Nope. I asked if there was one with any connections to Tübingen. Nope. Enter complete and total terror on my behalf – and a concurrent switch to speaking English – forget even attempting German. So he helps me book the first train out in the morning (5:51) which gets me to Tübingen at 8am – just enough time to run from the bahnhof to my flat, change, and catch a bus to work.
Now, where to stay, I wondered? Is there a hostel in town? Nope. A hotel? Yes, one. So he pointed me in the right direction – ‘down the street, it’ll be on your right after you pass a few lights’ and warned me €59.99 a night.
So, I get to the hotel, get a room (the woman at the desk was AMAZINGLY kind) and spent the night unable to sleep due to the fear of missing another train. But it all worked out. Hectically, intensely, but it all worked out.
What did I learn about train travel this weekend?:
Don’t book overnight trains – the stress and lack of sleep will make the city you are visiting (especially if only for a weekend) less enjoyable – if you can stay awake for it.
Swiss trains run late. German ones don’t. Run to your platform either way.
When booking a train, make sure you aren’t taking the last connection home.
The hostel was interesting…. my roommate was cool (Canadian that has been backpacking for the last 1.5 months), and the room + toilet were reasonably clean, and the shower was a disaster (probably the fault of someone who beat me inside in a likely hung-over stupor. But, it was a place to stay, not too far away from the bus line, and it was available.
I left early in the morning at arrived at Hotel Hiltl – the first vegetarian restaurant in Europe – just before opening. So I walked in, contemplated an order, and the girl could only speak German. She called over another girl who spoke limited English. And after some dancing around ordering, she clarified that they weren’t open yet (me = embarrassed). But after everything, I had a kaffe and some of their delicious buffet with some:
Strawberry-banana fruit salad à typical but good
Melon/Kiwi seeds as garnish = amazing
Strange green apple, banana, etc. yoghurt salad = OMG, soo good.
Croissant with Nutella and something that I know, but cannot think of = ditto the last one
And it was all only €12.00. A steal – especially in Zürich.
Hiltl was decorated with plush chairs, modern chandeliers, all with this natural, hippie tone – but in Zürich’s metropolitan way.
After that, I walked up and down the Bahnhofstrasse, which is street packed full of designer stores and fabulousness and peeked into its side streets filled with doors labelled with the names of designers I had – and had not – heard of. Beautiful clothes, accessories, shoes. Things I would LOVE to wear. Great lines, colors.
And then I was able to see a completely different aspect of Europe, with a bus trip and a boat ride to the Rhine Falls. Biggest waterfall in Europe. Probably not the tallest, and not as impressive as I imagined. But it was neat, and I was able to climb up the rock in the center of the falls as water crashes on both sides and mist flies.
But something else flew though. My wallet. Out of my pocket and onto the cliff (luckily not into the falls though). I climbed over the rail and still could not grab it. So the park managers had to send someone to retrieve it, while I hoped the tour would not leave me. While it did not have everything I owned, it had enough (see: credit card). But it worked out – they found, I caught my bus and life was good.
The rest of the day was spent wandering and shooting photos (or taking pictures, whatever floats your boat) and visiting a medical museum and ___. The med museum was really cool – I only wish I could have understood more of the descriptions on the displays. The highlights were:
Electric Shock Machine
Ancient Medical tools
Iron Lung
The really fake wax body parts to display a given condition
Also, the part where I walked in with a shopping bag, showed my pass, and immediately asked for where the bathroom was (decent ones are not so easy to find). I then walked quickly (okay, I pretty much ran) there. I know this lady totally thought I was only there to use the bath, because when I walked out and into the displays her mouth opened up. Like a fish. Love it.
The museum’s impression on me was a little more obtuse. Calm washes over me when I enter a ‘real’ museum. I just walk, and take it in. I remember parts, but not names of artists, or works. But this time I took it a little slower. I wrote down the names of those I really appreciated. And I got up in those paintings faces. I saw the layers of paints, the way strokes were laid down with different tools. And how they used this to create shadows, not just paint them. Looking at the cracked canvas. I even found myself interested in one painting of a genre that I rarely feel drawn too.
Still, there was humor. Throughout the installments, there were middle-aged, yuppy dressed people with subtle nametags. Best part? Each of the woman had a small bag tucked under her arm. Really? Was this necessary? I understand that they are presenting themselves as professionals. Everyone knows that they likely are retired art aficionados who come to work, put their possessions in a locker, and grab a cup of mediocre (it is Zürich after all – anywhere else it would be crappy) and go about their day.
And then I walked all over, to the sites I had been introduced to the day before, and those I just down streets and in nooks and crannies. It was my favorite part.
I wrapped it all up with a delicious dinner and house bier (which I could sadly not take a picture of because battery life = 0) and sat in the Bahnhof. Expensive but beautiful trip – well worth it. And then Sprungli! I almost forgot about Sprungli! So good, little chocolate wafer cakes, that I can’t even describe. Light at air, but packed with flavor – I had a pistachio, a mocha, and a fruit one (I can’t remember what it was though). A must have in Zurich, I think.
But the overall feeling I got from Zurich was mixed. Although I loved it, and wanted so much of what I saw in it, I rejected it. It was a little too refined, a little too OPULENT, a little too fabulous. While I wanted to wear the clothes, I didn’t, because the concept of some of these costing so much based on a name was just preposterous. Zürich was like a sirens song to someone who is tone-deaf – luring me in, but never quite catching me. And thankfully – because I would be broke.
Lessons learned:
Bring the charger, even if its only a weekend trip
Always keep the type of card that makes your train ticket valid in your money-belt so you don’t lose your shit when you drop it.
Swiss outlets – different from German ones (and the majority of Europe).
Although Zürich is a major city, it pretty much dies on Sunday like Tübingen and Stuttgart. Awesome.
