Zurich? I Lived in Zurich?



THURSDAY, November 16, 1995.

I'm back in Belgium again, an acute example of circular history. Just over a year ago, November 1, 1994, I left San Francisco to spend a month with my ex in Liege and do some travelling. Well, that seems like about five lifetimes ago. And now, I'm doing it again. This time I'm with my girlfriend, Gaelle, in Brussels. A year ago, I wasn't too fond of Brussels, and frankly, the cold, November grayness hasn't done anything to improve its charm, but Gaelle's done a great job of finding fun joints to hang out in. (Veggies, skip to next paragraph, now.) Just last night, we hit the local American burger hang-out. Juicy burgers like momma used to make'm with fresh sliced tomato, lettuce, onion, and nice, thick acidic Heinz ketchup. After a year of McDonald's, my burger itch finally has been scratched.

Wednesday was my last day at UBILAB. The six months had gone by. I remember when I first arrived there in May, my ranting and raving about having a home, home, home. Well, it sure was home, but it came along with Mr. A. Knup to watch over and torment me, as well as a relatively bland Swiss existence. This is not to say that the Swiss are as bad as their stereotype. In Bill Bryson's Neither Here Nor There, I read some jokes:

Q. "What do you call a collection of boring people in Switzerland?"

A. "Zurich."

Q. "How do you make a Swiss person laugh?"

A. "Hold a gun to his head and say 'laugh.'"

While I'd happily apply this commentary to the likes of Mr. A. Knup, many Swiss, including the folks at UBILAB and Michele and her friends in Bern, defy this stereotype. They are more the fun-loving, laughing type. Still, most stereotypes have some basis. Before I stick my foot in my mouth (I have Swiss readers), let it suffice to say that Zurich does not rank number one on the list of the Earth's most festive cities. I enjoyed my time there, I made some good friends, but I was not sad to see it end.

Photos of Zurich

Photos of Zurich

Yesterday (Thursday) was a neat, little mini-adventure. I'd planned to take a day train from Zurich to Brussels. I have a lot of stuff with me; my bags were barely manageable when I arrived in Zurich, and I accumulated 6 months worth of rampant CD-purchases, books and papers. I've been without TV for over a year and I've read a ton of books. Coincidence? Anyway, I had to figure out what to do with all my stuff and how to get to Brussels. I'd decided to lug everything (with help at both ends) on the train. Having so much stuff was the real complication. Shipping it is very expensive. However, now that it's in Brussels, I have the option of sending it in the domestic US mail. Gaelle is in the U.S.A.F.; this comes with certain benefits that I can take advantage of. Or, I may decide to check it as extra baggage when I fly, but I wanted the option of flying out of Brussels. I didn't want to be forced to return to Zurich, just to collect my things. Anyway, when I went to buy my train ticket to Brussels, I found out that the trains in Belgium are on strike! I wish I had a video of the expression on my face. Last November, there were about four million strikes in Belgium, and they're at it again!

I scrambled about and after investigating all of my options, I decided to rent a car and drive to Brussels. So, yesterday morning I loaded up a shitty, little Peugeot rental (powered by a lawn-mower engine) with all my Euro-earthly belongings and hit the road. It was kind of neat to drive through Switzerland to Basel, into France, through Strasbourg and Metz, into Luxembourg, and finally into Belgium and Brussels. It's about 700 km and took me 7 hours. It rained on and off the whole way, which sucked, but it was clear occasionally. I got terrific views of vast rolling farmland and a fabulous orange sunset reflected on layers of fluffy clouds.

And so, here I am on an extended vacation again, and it feels great! I highly recommend taking off months at a time, if you can find a way. I plan to visit London and eat again in Paris, but generally, I just want to take it easy. For Thanksgiving, I'm visiting a friend in Burgundy, France. I'll head to New York somewhere around mid-December.

Naturally, the big question is what now? I'm disappointed that I still only speak English, but I don't think I'll head back to Italy just yet. Though, definitely some day I will. For now, I'll have to settle for language classes in the States. As for jobs, I currently have a big decision to make. I've got two nice opportunities. I really don't want to get into it here. It's a tough decision. I'll let you know what I decide and where I end up.



Copyright 1997 by Bradley Edelman
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E-mail: Brad Edelman