Friday 2nd July, Saturday 3rd July, Sunday 4th July
The last leg of my journey was here….I arrived at Zurich to stay with Andrea one of the girls who was part of the team that had come to India…both her and mom were at the station to get me…that was so very sweet of them…I felt extremely welcome to stay with them..
We went home and I ate the best cherries I have ever eaten….every cherry in the box was equally sweet….i wonder how they do it…In India…a box full of cherries would have diverse levels of sweet and sourness….but nah….not in Switzerland….here each one has to be perfect
We then left for the Zurich festival…this is one of the biggest carnivals in Switerland and it happens every 3 years in Zurich and I was lucky to be there on the right day at the right place to get a perfect ending to my trip! The festival had a whole lot of stalls with food music…..drinks…..rides all around Zurich Lake…and so many people….there was barely any place to walk….it was almost like ganpati visarjan in Mumbai…so vibrant….different music playing in the various tents…to give you a feel…there were above 3800 tents…..i know cause we walked around looking for tent number 3081 which was suppose to be a bollywood tent…but could not find it!
There were plenty of shows on the lake for entertainment…like the air shows with fighter planes..helicopter….water spots shows…diving show….water skating shows…where people did various stunts…but the highlight of the evening was the fire cracker show.. it was fantabulous….when my friends were telling me the fire cracker show was special…I was like yeah right…it is a fire cracker show…how special can it be…;I am sure I have seen to all in Mumbai in Diwali…..but this was FANTABULOUS…i have never seen anything like that….it was fire works with Swiss perfection…the music…the fire crackers up above the lake reflecting in the water…seeing is believing….it was almost divine..it was like one of those light and sound shows…..but this was just with music and fire crackers in the middle of the water…it was synchronous…it was coordinated…..words fail me in describing what it was like…but if u get a change after 3 years…do fo for the Zurich festival and see if for yourself…..and it is not the same on television…we saw the broadcast the next day on TV….it was nice….but seeing it LIVE sitting by the lake it SPECIAL!
We go back at 3 in the night after walking around the carnival…sitting around chatting and generally looking at people around…
The next day we slept late into the morning…I love doing that…and then we had a heavy brunch with cornflakes and bread…I discovered a new way to eat cornflakes…..with powdered cinnamon and yogurt…really nice…going to try it when I get back home!
We then went for a bicycle tour of the village….went thought the forest….down to the river….to the golf course and the church…..it was sooo much fun….going down hill is a lot of fun….with the wind in your hair…climbing up hill is difficult….you quadriceps are in agony….but you know…after going up..you get to come back down…..:-) this was my first bicycle ride in Europe in 5 weeks….. …imagine coming back from such a long trip and not getting a chance to go on the bicycle tour….I am so glad it happened…although it was hot when we started…..Switzerland has so many trees around that it can never get too hot I guess…and by the end of it…there was at thunder storm that was expected…so it was cloudy and windy…overall beautiful….perfect last evening!
It was then packing time….I was so proud of my packing…yeah..i was 28 kgs only..not bad na…..and I was allowed 25 kgs atleast so I though….but when I got to the airport in the morning I was told….na…your limit is only 2o kgs…cheapskates….so I had to remove a lot stuff I was carrying and give it off…L including the bottle of red wine….but never mind…I picked little one from the plane…so now people at home can try the swiss red wine that I feasted on for a month!!
Trip over…looking forward to get home….and open all the chocolates for everyone at home….don’t think I brought enough…..wanted to get some stuffed pasta also…so people at home could taste it….it was soo yumm….next time!!
Reflections of a Restless Princess 