Trip Report: AMS-ZRH-BCN
With most of my appliance-buying and settling into Dutch life complete, I took a short trip to Spain to join up with some friends.
The trip started out frantically when I learned that buses on a very main route in Eindhoven do not run before 7:30am or so. So I ran for about 20 minutes to the train station with my luggage, only to find out that the ticket office didn't open until 7:00am. I was trying to make a 7:03am train. Thankfully, loitering at the door of the ticket office meant I was the first person in, and the first person to get a ticket. I ran to the platform and just made it on time.
There's a nonstop flight from Eindhoven to a couple cities around Barcelona on Ryanair, but I calculated what the fare would cost with all of the fees added in, and it was actually about the same as flying full-service airlines. Plus I needed the miles to reach Premier status on United. So from Amsterdam I flew Swiss via Zurich. In AMS, Star Gold customers have access to a Menzies shared lounge. It was basic, but had some cold cuts and cake in the morning, which was nice. Soon enough, it was time to board.
I was surprised to get fed on my flight to ZRH. The flight attendant handed out unwrapped croissants, and we got our choice of drink. Earlier in the flight they had handed out Swiss chocolates. I took a couple; they actually were nice inside of the cold croissant for a make-your-own pain au chocolat.
In ZRH, you had to go through security again. I guess they just don't trust other European countries' screening? Then I had a chance to visit the Swiss Senator Lounge. It was an interesting tri-level affair, with seating and snacks on the first floor, hot food, more seating, and computers on the second, and a smoking lounge on the third.
For lunch, I had a way-too-salty vegetable soup with pasta rings (looks like it came out of a can), carrot salad, curry chicken sandwich, and to gear up for Spain, paella with shrimp, mussels, and scallops.
On ZRH to BCN, we were fed once more, with a nice cheese and mustard on pretzel-ish roll sandwich. Plus more Swiss chocolates.
