I Got the Picnic, You Got the Ants

July 13, 2010

The theme that may turn up in these entries is that I have several days (or a single day) of semi intense activity, followed by a day or two of exhaustion, where I do little but rest and/or sleep. Last Tuesday (and today) are in the latter category. I'm over a week behind on this, so my last memories of Switzerland and my earliest memories of Finland may not be as precise or detailed as I had wished. I know this: I had many more experiences, observations, and noteworthwory incidents than those recorded here, the reason for the omission typically being lack of memory. Tragic, I know.

I also know this: I woke up on Tuesday very, very tired. I met up with N for coffee and a croissant at Sprungli's (the servers were surprisingly confused by the request for the coffee to be take away) on Bahnhofstrasse (or maybe it was just near), and walked through a park by the Limmat River. Rushed back to Rob's apartment, charged my blackberry briefly, and took the tram to the train station tourist office, picked up a map, seriously considered what I wanted to do that day (Bern, maybe) and opted for relaxing in the Botanical Gardens.

Part of my motivation for the Botanical Gardens was that my brother's apartment was temporarily unavailable and I felt myself in desperate need for a nap. I found a pleasant grassy spot on a hill, pulled up a chair, and started reading Infinite Jest (is it possible that I will actually make it all the way through/enjoy it). For the next 3 hours, I alternated between reading and dozing off, while occasionally being eaten by ants.

When I had had enough of this, I walked back up to the Zurich city center (about half an hour), ate a shnitzel at the Sternen Grill, and took the tram back to Rob's apartment. Left at around 5 or so (?) to meet up with N again, this time at Starbucks near centrum, and then walked to Rimini, a bar sitting over the river (stopped for strawberry ice cream along the way), and had drinks with two Belgian guys until late. I learned more than I had ever planned to know about the smelting industry, and also the interesting fact that in Belgium and Switzerland, everybody is required by law to carry a passport at all times (it's a fact!). Delicious cider and pizza. Also met a guy from Finland who told me about how much fun I would be having in the next week. Had a late night Mcflurry and cheeseburger and called it a night.

*R.E.M. -- Burning Hell