A Flight to Remember

The Swiss Airlines lounge in Chicago O'Hare might have been a disappointment, but the flight to Switzerland was definitely not.  This was the first time that I had flown to Europe on Business Class, and it was a great experience.

I had a window seat all by myself.  There was plenty of legroom, the seat had a built-in massage feature, there was a table to the side where I could put stuff, and the seat converted into a flat bed.

When the steward saw me taking a picture of the seat, he offered to take a photo of me in it.

That brings me to one of the most outstanding aspects of the flight... the crew was fantastic, especially the steward who served my side of the cabin.  He was a very amiable fellow, and I had great fun practicing my limited German with him.  He would answer in German, and I could only catch a few words.  I heard him say "Perfekt", and I asked "Mein Deutsch?" (My German?)  "Ja", he said.  I shook my head no, but I appreciated the compliment.  I told him about my Swiss cousins, and that my great grandmother came from Switzerland. I told him that the cousin that was going to meet me at the airport lives in the city of Uster, and he said that he used to live in Uster.

When we boarded the plane, it was raining in Chicago.

   
But as we taxied to the runway, the sun came out.

Later, as evening fell, a full moon appeared in the sky.

Supper was a multicourse event.  The appetizers included salad, cheeses, and grilled artichoke hearts with ham, tomatoes and pearl onions

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For a main course I selected beef tenderloin.  Although it was not the most flavorful beef that I have had, it was very tender.

For dessert there was passion fruit cheesecake.

The meal was not incredible, but it certainly was far better than the typical airline meal.

In spite of the seat which becomes a flat bed, and the two glasses of wine that I had with supper, I was still unable to sleep.

We were still far off the coast of Ireland when dawn's first light appeared.

The thick cloud cover broke while flying over the French countryside near Paris.

And then on the horizon the Alps were visible.

The green Swiss countryside as we make our final approach to Zurich Airport.

The flight ended on a delightful and memorable note.  My steward presented me, and me alone, with a box of Lindt Chocolates.  I guess he was impressed with my efforts to speak German.  He said to me, "If you eat one each day, you will speak Swiss German!"