Friday/Saturday June 12/13 201
Today we left the Bay Area and flew to Zurich via London on our British Airways ‘time capsule’. It transported us forward in the sense that Zurich is nine hours ahead of California time. We arrived late Saturday afternoon, due to a lengthy flight delay in London.
Mitchell and Gregory ready to board our flight at SFO
On board and ready to take off
It transported us backward in the sense that it brings me back to a time and a place when I was 8 years old. I quickly discovered that my Swiss language skills had degenerated significantly – along with my self-confidence that I ‘still had it’. I trust that after a couple of days, the old memory cells will have undergone a ‘refresh’ and some of it will come back. The boys loaded their iPhones with German translators, filled their wallets with Swiss money, and loaded their cameras with memory chips to hold all the photos and movies they plan to take. Mitchell is prepared to capture his adventures with a GoPro camera strapped to his chest, while Gregory is prepared with multiple size lenses for his new SLR camera. This is their first international trip and THEY ARE READY! Getting off the plane and walking on Swiss soil, Mitchell declared that he felt like he arrived home.
Zurich Airport
Our journey will start here, in Zurich, where we’ll visit the places I lived and experienced. This is where Marcel and I saw our father, Otto, for the last time, prior to immigrating to Canada in 1950. It was also the last time we saw our grandfather, Andreas Perego, at a cafe that I will try to find tomorrow.
Andre and Marcel with our father, Otto
Our hotel is beautifully situated on the banks of the Limmat River which is fed by Lake Zurich. We can hear all the old church bells throughout the city, ringing as if orchestrated, to create a very beautiful, spiritual melody for the soul.
Our Hotel Storchen
While Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland, it is rather small by world standards.There are only about 400,000 people in the city proper, plus another 600,000 in the surrounding areas. We can walk to almost anywhere in a matter of minutes, or alternatively jump on trams that go everywhere. So within minutes of checking in, the boys were out exploring the surrounding areas. We finished the loooonnnnnggg day, by having a traditional Swiss dinner – Geschnetzeltes Kalbsfilet – Zurcher Art, with mushrooms and Rosti – one of my all time favorite meals.
Our first dinner in Switzerland
Dusk is settling on the city, and we’re all ready to crash for the night – time to recharge our ‘batteries’.
View of dusk from our hotel room
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