Sofie to Korea

With covid gradually becoming a thing of the past the world is beginning to open up again, and my travel heart is rejoicing at all the destinations that are waiting to be explored. I’ll readily admit that Seoul is the one destination that I care most about being able to go back to but still it’s nice once again to be able to make short trips within Europe. Who doesn’t love a quick getaway?

Last week I went with my husband on a combined business/pleasure trip to Zurich. Although Switzerland is by no means far away, I had never been there and I was excited to finally have the opportunity to see the country.

We are still not blessed with all the direct flights we used to have pre-covid, so a short trip to Zurich still involved a layover in Frankfurt airport. Things were going smoothly until we were on the tarmac at Frankfurt. We had a pretty tight window until our connection but were sure we would make it since we had arrived on time. Only one problem: the stairs they place in front of the aircraft when you land away from the terminal took 25 minutes to arrive and by the time we finally made it to our connecting flight gate, the plane had started to pull away. 3 long hours later (and a voucher for a sandwich a soda, courtesy of Lufthansa) we were finally aboard the next flight to Zurich when – just before takeoff – the captain announced that we were experiencing technical difficulties and had to return to the terminal and wait to board another aircraft. Yay? I’d rather have technical difficulties on the ground than in the air but OMG! We were beyond exhausted from waiting and another 90+ minutes at the terminal did not seem particularly appealing to any of us.

When we finally landed at Zurich airport we were 6 hours behind our original schedule and it was almost 8 pm. Luckily we had arranged for a car to pick us up at the airport, and our moods quickly shifted when we were greeted by the friendliest driver who genuinely seemed as if he had been looking forward to our arrival all week. This would prove to be our first meeting with the special warm Swiss hospitality. I have never met any people so kind and friendly as the Swiss.

After we arrived at the hotel, we ordered room service and quickly went to bed. The first day of travel was hard but the following days in Zurich were well worth the struggle to get there. For three days, we indulged in delicious food (well, chocolate mostly) and wine, strolls around the old part of town, and perhaps just a wee bit of shopping. It felt so good to be out exploring again and I’m so happy to see that Korea has also abolished its quarantine requirements and generally has eased its covid restrictions.

Happy Easter everyone! Here are a few pics from my trip 🙂