4 December - 21 December 2012 - Lazy Blogger

I have to say dear reader that it is difficult to top the stories from the Delhi Diaries.  I had to have a little down time, you know, a lie down, cold press to the temple and a glass of champagne.

7 - 9 December 2012

But I have not completely rested on my laurels.  We have been busy.  There is the snow to sit and watch (so pretty), Christmas gifts to buy (and subsequently transport down under), meals to cook (hurrah for the Internet for recipes), parents to visit (S's in Germany).....it never ends.

It is not possible for me to stay grounded for too long (I so I thought...read further) and after we got back from Delhi it was back on the Star Alliance Lufthansa A319 to Frankfurt, home of the hot dog.  This time we made it to the airport in plenty of time and had a little tipple in the Swiss Lounge.

Off to the jet we went.  It was one of the first days of a lot of snow and as we know ice and planes just don't mix (just watch a few episodes of Air Crash Investigations to see what I mean).  We had noted that a number of flights had been cancelled but all looked good for us.  We all got comfortably seated (as much as you can on a small jet in the centre seat in Economy Class) but at least it is only a 40 minute flight.

We were delayed on the ground a while as there was weather in Frankfurt and we could not leave.  Well, we eventually pushed back and headed to the de-icing station.  At this point this was all new and exciting for me and many others it would seem as we all stared out the window.  Me, I had to of course look across bodies from the centre seat.  Now that the de-icing is done it must be time to go.....no, it isn't.  The captain came on to announce that we had used too much fuel on the taxi and the de-icing to make it safely with enough reserve.  Did he not think about this before we left the gate.  So we had to go back and refuel.  Then it was another delay due to the weather - he better not turn on those engines.  He did give passengers the option to get off the plane and take their chances elsewhere - a sled and a few huskies was looking good at this point.  A bunch of them did which added more delay.  They were told their baggage would not be offloaded.  Not sure I was so keen on flying with unaccompanied baggage - clearly nothing happened as I am here typing this. 

So it was then back to the de-icing station and we finally took off about three hours late.  All this time stuck in the plane, no entertainment, no luxury recline and no champagne - is this what prison feels like?  So we eventually made it and picked up our hire care, a lovely new Mercedes E Class (S was a happy smurf with this) and off we went to visit friends of S's, the Kundtmann's.  We were so late they had in fact already eaten, well Max waited for us.  That did not stop them joining us for a drink or twelve.  Boy could they drink - hooray for us!  We were staying with them which was lucky as neither of us could have driven.

The next morning was a relaxed start with a couple of sore heads.  We had a bit of breakfast and then it was off in the car and a short tour of where S used to live.  Oddly enough his former house is in the middle of a light industrial area...nothing like the smell of diesel and sound of machinery to start the day. 

Then it was off to S's parents where we were due for lunch and the remainder of the evening.  It was a truly lovely afternoon and I could demonstrate my improved German, which is not so much sentences but lots of word.  Don't think I will get that UN translator job just yet.  We had some lovely traditional German fare with frikadelle, potato salad and an amazing beetroot salad.  Traditional Stollen followed and then the evening was some cheese and bread.  Carbs, lovely carbs!

We then headed back into Frankfurt to our hotel, the Frankfurterhof.  The hotel is one of the grand dames and from the outside and the lobby this is the case.  The rooms themselves were a bit bland, you guessed it, beige, brown and white.  So uninspiring that I did not even take photos.  We did head down to the bar and enjoyed a lovely bottle of Laurent Perrier - happy times.

Next morning breakfast was a fiasco...so much so that we could not stay.  It was one of the most unprofessional experiences we had seen in a hotel.  I am not sure I can talk about it anymore...the hurt is too great...getting teary and emotional.

OK, better now.

We left hungry and headed to Stefan's (with an F and known to wear a crazy alien mask) to have lunch with him and his girlfriend Frauke.  We enjoyed some lovely venison with seasonal vegetables followed by chocolate mousse all washed down with champagne and red wine.

It was then back to the airport which was in complete chaos due to continued bad weather.  We had kept monitoring our flight and it was one of the few not cancelled.  About 80 per cent of flights were cancelled and the queues in the airport were very long.  In fact, they were queueing to get into the airline lounges.  We skipped this and went straight to the gate.  Pleased to say that all went well and we were only about 20 minutes late into Zurich.

10 - 21 December 2012

I know this seems like a long period to cover but mostly it was just day to day stuff.  For S this meant work and for me it meant mostly leisure (folding socks and underwear does not count as leisure, hence the "mostly").  I did get out and about in the snow climb some hills, forded some streams and followed every rainbow.  Einsiedeln is beautiful in winter.  I also made a new friend...a horse!  Now I have not forgotten my good cow friends but they are all hidden away in barns.  The horses at the cloister still come out during the day.  I have visited my horse most days and I think he/she remembers me and is quite affectionate.  I had to give the news today that I was heading off for a couple of weeks but I would be back - the tears in our eyes....

We also attended the Australian Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry's quiz night.  A fun night and our table came a very respectable third and received a DVD of "Red Dog", may he rest in peace.

Another night we headed to Zurich, firstly to collect some champagne from the airport which had not made our flight from Frankfurt.  The intention then was to do some final Christmas shopping in Zurich.  I then remembered that "The Hobbit" had started screening so we went to see if we could get tickets.  Success and we also booked a "Loge" which is like a private cabin, no not a darkroom.  It has recliner chairs and a little mini bar filled with drinks and snack.  A nice way to see a film and especially one which is three hours long!

What to say about "The Hobbit".  I loved the book and can see it easily translating into a film.  Can it really be strung out across three films.  I think Mr Peter Jackson is being a little greedy and you could definitely see his love of extended battle scenes.  In fact there were a number of extended scenes.  It is all quite well done but I think it is just too long.  We saw the English version but the funniest thing for me is that Elf-ish and Orc-ish was only translated into German and French - I muddled my way through!!  Hope those in Oz enjoy it when it is released on Boxing Day.

As we are heading down under and the cases are already bursting with gifts for family and friends S and I agreed to have an early Christmas and exchange gifts in Einsiedeln.  Had no idea what to have for dinner but after a little searching I went with a continental version of turkey in the form of involtini served with ratatouille.  I even made the pesto (which let's face it is pretty easy) for the stuffing.  Was a culinary success to be made again even if it is not Christmas. 

On the gift front, I bought S a belt (which he had asked for) and Riedel wine decanter and a cute pen holder in the shape of a Lufthansa catering trolley.  Yeah, I got one for myself too.

So what did I receive from S....two lovely shirts and best of all a trip to Salzburg for the Sound of Music tour - does he know how to solve a problem like.....

So, two happy chaps with their respective gifts.


Tonight we are heading to Dusseldorf for one night before we catch our flight to Australia.  Why Dusseldorf....well the fare was better than out of Zurich even with the extra flight.  So first it is on Air Berlin and then tomorrow on Emirates (I can pretend it is the big QF with their agreement being given conditional approval by the ACCC).  Haven't flown them long haul since 2008 so will be interesting to see how they fare and are they good enough to be in bed with my beloved QF.

So I leave you with warm Christmas Wishes.