The Flight: Boston to Zurich

August 25th – August 26th

Packed and ready my dad and I headed off to Logan International Airport three hours early to get through baggage and security. Of course the process only took an hour leaving us plenty of time to grab a bite to eat at McDonalds and hang out by the gate. I had purchased tickets through Swiss Airlines, since they had the best times and layover between flights. Most of the cheap flights had a layover of over 13 hours – ick. Finally it was time to board. I failed to mention that when we checked our baggage the lady helping us move us closer to the front and gave us window seats, score 1 for Swiss.

As we boarded the plane I realized that it might be the largest plane I’ve ever been on. It had 3 columns of seats, with the middle containing 4 seats and the sides containing 2 each. (AB DEFG IJ) Dad and I were seated in 33 A/B. I let dad have the window since it was going to be dark out and there wouldn’t be much to see. Each seat had its own TV and a remote that also functioned as a phone and game controller. Yep, game controller. The game collection included titles like solitaire, who wants to be a millionaire, Black Jack, and more. Dad played Black Jack until he went bankrupt and I played a few games of solitaire, before we switched to the movies that were playing. Like the games there was a collection of movies that you could choose to watch. I ended up watching Akeelah and the Bee followed by Along Came Polly. Score two and three for Swiss.

Right after the first movie started the stewardess came around offering drinks. Right off I was amazed because of the fact that they offered wine as part of the regular selection, and they were giving you your choice of two drinks. I ended up having a red wine and orange juice. Score four for Swiss.

After coming around with the drinks they served dinner. On tonight’s menu consisted of chicken or pasta. At this point I cannot remember what exactly that meant, but I had the pasta and dad had the chicken. I do remember it being very good and fulfilling. Afterwards they came back around offering people rolls, which I passed on since I was stuffed. Score five!

At some point they came around and made people close their window blinds. Apparently its just their policy to do on red eye flights. After I watched Along Came Polly I closed my eyes for a few until I realized the stewardess was coming back around with drinks. Soon after that I couldn’t believe it but they started serving breakfast! Again I cannot remember what exactly I ate, but it was damn good and filling. Score Six! And when I thought it couldn’t get any better the stewardess came around with little hot rags to wash your hands and wipe your face with. Score seven for Swiss.

Finally, the first leg of our journey was coming to an end. When the flight landed and the plane pulled up to the gate I was amazed at the fact that everyone stayed seated, unlike flights in America where everyone is standing the second the wheels hit the runway. Swiss Airlines has definitely gained a new customer when flying internationally. The quality of their service made the expense of the flight much more bearable.

Zurich’s Airport was very new and swanky and had a lot of upscale shops and food joints. What was very weird was how empty the airport was for how big and new it is. It must have been a slow time of the day to travel. Dad was getting thirsty so we stopped to get a drink, which ended up costing me $10 USD for a coke and coffee! That would be the last thing I buy at that airport. After that rotten experience we headed to our gate to a wait for our next flight.

To get to the gate we had to take an escalator down to the ground level and go back through security. A quick note on the escalators: when no one is on them they stop moving or slow down to a crawl to conserve power. Now that’s something I’d like to see in America. Anyways once we got to the gate that’s when I realized the next leg of our flight was going to be on a very small plane. From the gate you took a shuttle to the plane and boarded it by climbing stairs – which isn’t a first for me, but a method of flying I’m not particularly fond of. Good thing we’re still flying Swiss!

We’ll the plane is boarding – Next stop: Slovenia!

Photo Highlights

Here are photo highlights from our vacation in Slovenia. We accomplished more then just genealogy research; we visited castles and caves, climbed the Alps, walked the coast, dueled with knights, and fought off dragons.

In the coming months, I will post my daily journal entries along with more photos. Stay Tuned!