The Technologically Savvy Swiss

Flying over Switzerland took my breath away. The landscape was picturesque: the rolling hills were a patchwork quilt of different shades of green, their expanse only broken by beige colored houses topped with stucco toned roofs. My eyes widened as my breaths became more shallow--I simply could not fathom the wonders before me and the hard-to-believe fact that I was actually in Europe. We landed without incident, and I ventured into the Swiss airport.

The first thing that stuck me was how bare the airport was--this fact was probably more noticeable with its juxtaposition with the San Francisco and Philadelphia airports from which I had just come. Very few advertisements were to be seen. As I departed from my gate, I had to walk out of security and then turn around to go right back through it in order to get to my other gate--a rather strange set-up.

 Once through, I stepped onto the tallest escalator I have ever seen in my life--it must have been two stories tall, and had you feeling a bit dizzy just looking down. After, I boarded a train that would take me to my gate. The train was underground and as I journeyed to the "A" Gates a holographic image (while yodeling and cow noises were played on the sound system) was projected onto the side of the tunnel: a blonde girl in the typical Swiss attire, hair pulled back in braids standing in a field of cattle (I didn't really catch the significance of the image, but thought it was interesting just the same). 

After disembarking and going up yet another sky high escalator, I went through a passport checkpoint where I received my first passport stamp (*fist pump). Finding my gate was rather simple, but as with anything the Swiss do--the means to get there was souped up. The moving walkways (aka. the lifesaver of the weary and late travelers) were not only faster and smoother, but they went up at approximately sixty degrees in order to get to the next floor for gates. 

When I finally boarded the Swiss Air plane, I was greeted with smiles and a piece of Swiss chocolate.

P.S. The restrooms were also incredible (technology wise), but simply talking about them will not do them justice. On the way back to the states, I hope to take pictures and actually show you all the fascinating incorporations of technology the Swiss have made.