More On Liquid Exchange in Europe

If you feel uncomfortable reading about bathrooms, you may want to skip this particular post.

When leaving Zurich, we almost missed our train to Munich because I wanted to use the bathroom. The bathroom required 2 CHF (Swiss Francs), and we did not have any cash. What followed took well over 40 minutes. I first searched for an ATM machine, returning to the bathroom only to find that the change machine would not accept my 50 CHF bill. So after fruitlessly searching for a place to change the bill, I gave up and bought a pastry at a nearby shop. Only then was I able to finally enter the bathroom successfully.

My natural tendency to use the bathroom before getting on most forms of public transportation turned out to be just the wrong strategy in Europe. Train station bathrooms, while generally very nice, cost money. I thought prices were steep in Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof (€0.80), until I tried the train station in Florence (€1). In the meantime, the bathrooms on the train are usually clean, always free, and easy to find. Bathroom prices culminated in Venice where to use a public restroom costs €1.50. To add insult to injury, these bathrooms close at 7pm.

(Getting cash before getting on the direct train from Zurich to Munich turned out to be a good thing after all. The train passed through Austria, which was not covered by our Eurail pass, and the conductor only accepted cash.)

If You Want To Feel Blue, Fly With jetBlue

Last weekend we flew down to Sacramento, CA, to attend our friends’, Ryan and Talia, wedding. Once there, we had a really great time. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, filled with so much love and so many personal touches. We got to help set up the reception area and spend a lot of time with Ryan and his family.

Getting in and out of Sacramento, however, turned out to be a bit of a challenge.

First of all, we never got to fly into Sacramento, even though we were supposed to… All jetBlue flights to JFK on Friday afternoon were delayed, making us miss our connection. Our choices were to delay our trip till Saturday, or to fly directly into San Francisco or into Oakland. We chose Oakland, as it made for a shorter drive.

Did I mention that the flight to Oakland was also delayed?

Living in America I always tend to think that anything is possible if you are willing to pay. Not so fast. We spent HOURS going through endless permutations of rental car companies and pick up times--to no avail. All car rental offices at the Oakland airport are simply closed by 1am.

At some point, it dawned on us that getting on the road at what would feel like 5am without having slept is probably not such a great idea. So we booked a hotel room. And oh boy, were we glad we did! After spending over 7 hours in the Logan airport, we finally landed in Oakland at 1:30am PT.

We gave up on renting a car entirely, when Ryan arranged for us to get a ride with his friends, who were driving up to the wedding from the Bay Area on Saturday afternoon. We could not be more thankful!

Our luck did not improve on our way home. Our flight to Long Beach, CA, scheduled to leave at 7pm PT, was sufficiently delayed to make us miss our connecting flight to Boston. And then we were offered a direct flight to Boston from none other than Oakland…

Instead, we chose to spend over 6 hours at the Sacramento airport, and take the midnight flight to JFK. We were now scheduled to arrive in Boston a little after 10am ET—only about 5 hours later than planned.

After yet another delay due to fog, our flight from JFK finally landed in Boston around 10:40am ET. Having already missed my 10am meeting at work, I decided to forego the circa $70 cab ride to Natick, and instead borrow my parents’ car, parked along the Silver line bus route along the Boston Waterfront. What could possibly go wrong now?

Lo and behold, the bus broke down about 2 minutes after I got on it. Within minutes, another bus came and picked up the stranded passengers. I was so impressed… until this same bus drove right through my stop! It turned out this particular bus was an express to South Station, but the driver was so flabbergasted about rescuing people from the broken down bus, that she forgot to announce that she was running express. Another bus ride and one thankfully uneventful drive later, I finally made it into work around noon.

Our Water Consumption in Europe

On Friday, the New York Times published a small blurb that, among other things, lamented the fact that drinking fountains in America are not “as ubiquitous as fire hydrants,” forcing people to carry water bottles around. I felt the article was a cue for me to blog about tap water and drinking fountains in Europe.


Water fountains are indeed ubiquitous in Rome. Still I felt compelled to refill and carry a water bottle. Murphy’s Law told me that there would be no water exactly when I needed it. Plus even a short walk under the blazing Italian sun caused dehydration.

Of all drinking fountains the New York Times article surveyed only one (in San Francisco) was designed to provide water to our four-legged friends. The omission especially stands out after seeing all the happy omni present canines in Europe. In Bern and Zurich, most water fountains collected the water in a pool below, and dogs, little ones helped by their owners, happily drank from the pools.

Europeans do not tend to drink much water with their meals. Italians seem to prefer carbonated water. Everyone also seems to be used to the restaurant charging for every item served, including bread. Given all these facts, I did not expect to be automatically served tall glasses of cold tap water, but often I could not resist asking for one.

Both in Munich and in Berlin, when we asked, we did get tap water for free, though it came in tiny glasses (2 dcl). Germany was where the free tap water bliss ended. In Prague a waitress gently explained that tap water was “not very good” and brought out a bottle of water. In Venice the answer was much shorter—“no service.” The waiter almost snorted when I asked.

Paying for bottled water is far from shocking. I am also quite certain that people in the Czech Republic really do believe that their tap water is bad—nobody I know in Moscow drinks the tap water without filtering or boiling it. The paradox lies in the fact that while Rome has wonderful water fountains in every little piazza, and Venice prides itself on the purity and the excellent taste of its tap water, the restaurants refuse to serve it.

The change we experienced going from Venice to Lauterbrunnen in the Berner Oberland region of Switzerland could not be more drastic. The air was cool, public bathrooms were free (more on bathrooms in a separate post), and waiters did not even blink when asked for a glass of tap water. Most (though not all) restaurants still charged 1 Swiss Frank per glass, an improvement over €3.00 for 500ml bottle.

Run to Protect Your Knees

This week I begin my training for the Boston Half Marathon, which will take place on Sunday, October 11. I know that my family, Nick in particular, worries about my knees as I continue to aspire to run more marathons. Worry no more! This article from the New York Times sites several studies that suggest that running may shield the runner from arthritis.

Dogs In Europe

Dogs in Germany seem to live like kings. They follow their owners everywhere, including shops and restaurants. The smaller pooches proudly ride in bicycle baskets. Most dogs are not leashed. Yet they seem perfectly behaved. They walk at the heels of their owners, do not bark, and do not lunge at people.

Dogs in Italy are also omnipresent (and I do not mean homeless dogs--we did not see any). Yet here, most of them are leashed, and for a good reason. They are exuberantly happy. They bite their leashes, pull their owners in every direction, and joyfully jump regardless of their own size.

While we have been back at home for almost a week now, I still have more stories and observations to share with you.

Say No To Jet Lag

What is the best way to get over jet lag? Go see Paul McCartney perform live at Fenway Park in the evening only two days after coming home from Europe.

At 67, Sir Paul McCartney played for OVER two and a half hours and did not miss a beat! Many of the favorite Beatles tunes made an appearance, such as Eleanor Rigby, Helter Skelter, Yesterday and one of my favorites--A Day In A Life.

Towards the end of the concert, I was trying to guess what the closer would be. After all the band has already played Hey Jude and Let It Be. But it was better than anything I came up with. The closer was a medley that started with the reprise version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,

"We're Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

We hope you have enjoyed the show

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

We're sorry but its time to go..."

and ended with The End.

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

Rain In Bern

Today we left the Alps (I almost cried) and arrived in Bern only to find that the weather forecast was a bit too optimistic--it was grey and raining. Nevertheless we faithfully followed Rick Steves' walking tour through the city. Now that we have returned to the hotel for the afternoon "nap" the rain has stopped of course.

Sadly our vacation is coming to an end. Tomorrow morning we go on to Zurich and fly home in early evening.

On Top of Europe

On Saturday we took a train to the highest train station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch train station, at the elevation of 3,454 meters/11,332 feet.

The train is a cog railway train, and the last section before reaching the Jungfraujoch goes through the tunnel, carved inside the Eiger and Mönch mountains.

The Jungfrau summit at 13 642 feet (4158 meters) is one of the main peaks in Bernese Alps. The word Jungfrau means young lady, and here in the Alps she is being protected by the Mönch (a monk) from the Eiger (an ogre). Jungfraujoch is a low point between the Mönch and the Jungfrau peaks.

Once there, we visited two different observatories that allowed for magnificent views of the mountains (the summit of the Jungfrau, the Mönch and others) and the glaciers and for glimpses of the valley below and even Bern in the distance.