11. It’s a Wrap! Last Day in Switzerland. 9/7/22

Greetings on our last evening in Switzerland.

First a few things I forgot to mention yesterday:

The parking garage in Zurich, where we left our car overnight because we arrived in Zurich pretty late and didn’t want to hassle getting the car to the rental return, has copies of art works throughout the garage: paintings, poetry, quotes by famous people who have some relationship to Switzerland, etc. And the garages are all brightly lit, clean, walls painted in primary and secondary colors, and floors painted in near white with white columns. And still on the car topic, when we returned the car to Hertz yesterday, there were three guys, who we think were Saudis (a father and two 20-ish-something sons; with wives, in hijabs, waiting on chairs inside the rental return building) trying to rent a car. As I waited at the counter, I overheard the conversation. The guys wanted a “fancy and fast car.” The Hertz representative listed all the cars available but none of them appeared to satisfy the guys. Then they turned around and saw our Alfa Romeo being returned, their eyes lit up and they said “We’ll take that one!” The representative said they had to clean it but then they could have that car.  Then as one of the guys stated “it’s got good pick up and goes very fast” the Hertz rep said… “you need to be very careful and not speed; there are cameras everywhere; you could be stopped and then the car could be taken away….” I don’t think the guys heard a word. And then I was wondering how they were going to fit 5 adults and one child plus luggage into that car. Well, we were gone before we could see how they did that.

Now for today and some summary comments –

We went back to Odeon – trying to become part of the regular crowd and the history of intellectuals and artists. Learned today that some of the other regulars over time included Somerset Maugham and Toscanini. And then we actually went into the pharmacy whose space used to be part of the larger Odeon in its day. I had gotten some kind of rash on my ankles (don’t think it’s monkeypox because it’s not blistery) and I hoped the pharmacist could recommend something and also confirm that it wasn’t serious. Two different pharmacists looked at it and asked a lot of questions. They didn’t seem alarmed and gave me some kind of cream to put on. I think they would have given me some kind of antibiotic if they knew more about my medical history and if I was staying longer. I think the cream is working—but of course way too slowly for me.

We then walked about 1.3 miles to visit Le Corbusier’s Pavilion (which we had seen many years ago). Apparently, it underwent some kind of renovation a few years ago and it is stunning… As wonderful as it was years ago. It’s a gem. It’s about a block from the “Zurichsee” and is at the edge of yet another beautifully maintained and immaculate park. From there we strolled back to the hotel to regroup and figure out the rest of the day. We stopped for a salad at an outdoor café and then of course had to have our daily fill of gelato (which is quite wonderful here and is offered in about 30 different flavors). Me- pistachio; Mike- banana.

By the time we reached the hotel, it was about 4:00 and Mike decided it was nap time… so I strolled alone to a part of the city on the east side of the river, alone. And then I began packing with the goal of finishing all packing before dinner. 

… Well I didn’t quite finish packing, but we headed to Kronenhalle for our last dinner in Switzerland (until we return again in January)… Kronenhalle, like Odeon which is just around the corner is a local institution – established in 1924 as a high-end restaurant. It was home to many artists who wound up paying for their dinners (and drinks) with their art. Thus, the restaurant has an amazing collection of Chagalls, Miros, and many other 20^th Century painters. There’s a long history here, but I’m too beat to tell it.  In any case, it’s rare to be having dinner with such ”valuable” art staring you in the face as you eat your salad. I’m also presently totally stuffed… 

As we close up this trip, I am reflecting on the realities of Swiss life—at least as much as one can when one is a visitor and not a resident. And I think about the comments and responses to questions with folks who live here. For us, Switzerland is a very homogeneous country. Everyone (or at least the very vast majority of people) are White. And yet, people here feel the country (especially the cities) are very diverse. They talk about Poles and Spaniards and Greeks living here. For us, those don’t seem like big differences.

And people say that at least 10% of the population of the country is “poor.” But, we have not seen any unhoused people; we have not seen tent communities; we were approached for a handout for the first time today and the young woman looked like a student—decently dressed with a backpack. We haven’t seen any RVs with people clearly living in their vehicle full time; we haven’t seen litter in the parks or on the sidewalks. Still, we’ve seen how expensive it is to live here. We’re told housing is very expensive—more than the Bay Area. We filled up the tank with gas and gas was about $9.30 per gallon (yes, we did the conversion from liters and the conversion to dollars). Our shared salad today plus mineral water was about $35 (yes, we were in a nice location but not at a fancy restaurant). 

I certainly don’t have the answers but it’s clear that a strong social safety net system as they have here makes a huge difference; good schools; decent wages help as well, as does a tiny military budget. And while our travels usually take us to developing nations.. we know from other travels that Switzerland is not alone. Finland and all of Scandinavia seem to be able to make life work for their residents, and so do many other countries beyond Europe. While I don’t have the count, and I’m not saying this is the reason…. But many of these countries have female presidents and/or prime ministers. 

After 12 days here, it’s easy to say, “Shame on the US,” but maybe the bigger point is to truly learn from other countries and just to rethink priorities.  

See you stateside, beginning tomorrow-Thursday.

Next travelogue will be in December/January (Ethiopia, Egypt, Jordan, and  Israel).