Day 2 Frankfurt – Zurich - Biel

 April 5, 2005. We arrived at Frankfurt en Main right on schedule and headed for the Senator’s lounge to relax for an hour. There is a minor problem with Nancy’s ticket but it quickly gets sorted out by the efficient Lufthansa staff.

We’re were on the 13:00 Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Zurich and this was a nice relaxing one hour flight. Then it was off the plane to go through the highly efficient Swiss passport control and pick up our bags. Unlike Air Canada, our bags were waiting for us when we get downstairs. From the baggage area we headed outside to meet the driver who took us to Evillard, which is just outside of Berne to the Southwest of Zurich. We are staying in Evillard for three days with Dr. Zeev Gluek and his wife Rosalind. They are good friends of ours who also have the same timeshare weeks that we have in Antigua. The taxi ride took almost two hours. Normally in Switzerland we would take the train but doing that would involve two transfers so it’s faster and cheaper to take a taxi.

We arrived at the Gluek’s just after two thirty in the afternoon. They have a wonderful modern glass home overlooking the city of Biel. The view is magnificent and when the fog clears we will be able to see the Alps in the distance.

We were tired but decided to stay up and get our body clocks in sync with Swiss time which is six hours ahead of Toronto time. We went for a drive through the old town of Biel to the yacht club on Lac de Bienne. It was a little cool to sit outside but the view from the lounge was remarkable, and of course we enjoyed a bottle of Swiss wine.

Dinner was cooked by Rosalind and Zeev. Zeev did the steaks on the barbecue on the deck. He has a magnificent wine cellar so we enjoyed a great chardonnay followed by a heavy bodied French Bordeaux. The evening ended with a glass of fifty year old cognac.

The pictures today were taken in the thousand year old centre of Biel. The first one shows Nancy and I in the middle of the small square. The second is a shot of the ancient wooden doors that protected the entrance to the old city. Note the date burned into the doors.

Stay tuned for Day 3 in my “Around the World in 30 Days” saga.

Alan Salmon
eClub One