I survived! And I think with flying colors.
All I can say is that putting together a presentation is as easy as breathing compared with actually giving one. With the help of Sister Angeline and the group leaders, everything I said was translated, and after an hour and many questions, everyone clapped and cheered. It was amazing.
I’m soooo nervous about tomorrow. Wondering what on earth I’m going to talk about to 60 children. Worked on the presentation all day and I HATE it!
Barefoot Bernd has helped me a lot with graphics and even in the short time he’s known me, he says I make everything so complicated for myself. Was kind of hoping that side of me would ease up a little during my travels but obviously not.
Will actually be stopping back in Vienna to see Bernd before heading to Hungary. We’re going rock climbing and camping. Will catch the over night train from Unterterzen (1km walk down the hill from Quarten) tomorrow evening.
Managing to meet up with two friends from San Francisco, both in Zurich for different reasons, was wonderful. Came at just the right moment in my travels.
Jemma left early this morning, and I’m off to have lunch with another friend who moved out to Zurich recently (thanks Sheila for letting me know he’s here!).
This afternoon, I’ll take the hour-long train ride back to Quarten and then on Saturday will make the presentation to 60 children. Argghhhh! Dreading it.
Word of warning about the bike rentals.
When we dropped off the bikes at the end of the day, there were about six men at the store, none of whom spoke English. Or at least that’s what they said. They didn’t seem to be speaking German amongst themselves either. Regardless of what they were saying, we could understand what they wanted. One of them picked up Jemma’s bike and spun the back tire, making a snake-like motion with his hand to suggest the tire was wobbly.
“Kaput,” he said. “Dreissig Francs.” He pointed at a sign on the wall which appeared to be a pricelist, something which had not been shown to us earlier when we took the bikes out.
While we were busy trying to argue with the men (they would not give Jemma her passport or deposit back), another girl returned her bike and they did exactly the same thing to her. She also spoke no English but understood them. She was not happy and began shouting up a storm.
Every time Jemma and I tried to speak with the person who seemed to be in charge, he simply said, “Ich verstehe nicht.” I got the sense he understood perfectly well. It wasn’t until he said, “Call polizei,” and I agreed (I love saying yes to getting the police involved), while at the same time taking out my phone to call a friend who spoke German, that the passport and money were promptly returned.
I hung up the phone having not spoken to anyone, and Jemma and I made a quick exit, leaving behind the poor girl and her friend to argue their case of the infamous wobbly tire. At least she spoke their language.
Jemma and I wondered earlier how they could possibly make money on the whole “free” bike thing. I guess many folks just pay up to avoid the hassle of fighting. I’d be interested to see though how many guys they use the same trick on. Not so many, me thinks.
Yesterday we rented bikes from Zürirollt, which is located at the back of the train station, next to the Swiss National Museum. Between May and October, by leaving your ID and a deposit (20-50 CHF), you can rent a bike at no charge for up to six hours.
Thoroughly depressed myself yesterday by trying on some clothes and realizing that I’ve turned into a big bloater (not quite so much as my dear “friend” wearing white, though).
Cheered myself up a little by buying some new underwear. Okay, so they’re humungously big–not a thong, like my “friend” had on–made for a baby elephant I think, but they’ve not got holes in them. Nor are they the same dull shade of gray that most of my clothes are nowadays.
PS: I know I’m going I’ll probably go to hell for talking negatively about a tubby, but p-u-l-eeee-se, white should not be worn by most women, let alone ones with two cartons of cottage cheese stuck to their thighs. This is just a fashion tip, should anyone be thinking about stepping outside wearing white leggings today.
I’m all for the fuller figure and LOVE women with self-confidence (they picked up my share), but sometimes you just have to think about other people with weak constitutions.
2030 hours and still 32 degrees, it’s no wonder the kids were jumping from the bridge into the Limmat River.
The train pulled into Zurich Hauptbahnhof just before noon. I stopped by the tourist information office, picked up a town map and purchased a one-day, Tageskarte for 7,60 CHF (24 hours unlimited travel—http://www.zurich.com) and then caught the # 14 tram up to Milchbuck. Hotel Coronado, where Jemma was staying, is directly opposite the tram stop.
It took Katharina a little hunting to find me at the guesthouse in Quarten.
“There are no signs for it on the autobahn,” she said when she arrived to pick me up. “I drove all the way to the end of the Wallensee and had to stop and ask someone for directions.”
