We woke up, got breakfast at the hotel, then took a car to San Sebastián. Got to the hotel, then
We woke up, got breakfast at the hotel, then took a car to San Sebastián. Got to the hotel, then
Jet lag hit hard, and we didn’t end up getting out of the room until after 3. We got food at Copper Deli, and then spent a few hours at the Guggenheim. I discovered Pablo Palazuelo, and found his Signo I to be pretty cool! After we got out fill, Katie went back to the room, I took a short walk, then we had a nice quiet evening.
We woke up a bit late and got out of the room by one. We got coffee at ARVO Coffee & Plants, and then wandered around Old Town. We got another coffee at Beetle Bar, then watched kids done with school for the week play soccer in the middle of the new square over snacks from Gure Toki. We went back to the hotel, got a drink at the bar, then a remarkably good dinner as Islares.
Flight out was uneventful. Wasn’t able to upgrade, but we had two seats by ourselves, which made the flight better. Neither Katie nor I felt like we slept much, but the flight also passed much quicker than both of us expected. Once we landed at De Gaul, we got a bite to eat and a drink and killed a few hours. Out connection was uneventful, and we were in our hotel room before 11. We ordered dinner and a bottle of cava from room service, and then went to sleep.
Woke up at 4:30 to catch our flight. Rich had a problem with his visa, and ended up getting stuck in Zurich.
The flight into Turkey was uneventful. Security took a bit longer to get through than I had anticipated, so it was lucky my flight out was delayed an hour. I went by the Turkish Lounge, got some soup and baklava, and then got on the flight home.
Woke up and met for breakfast before taking a car to Flumserberg. The Uber we called happened to be driven by the same Dmitrijs as the night before. He was just as intense and chatty, though neither Rich nor I were really up for it.
Once we arrived at Flumserberg, we walked around and just checked out the ski resort and the town. We took the gondola up to the summit and just checked stuff out. It was difficult seeing everyone around me skiing and being that guy in jeans and boots just walking around. Still, being able just to see the Alps was worth it. They defy words. Absolutely beautiful. Just vertical grey walls ending in snow rising up from flat verdant valleys. Pictures don’t do them justice.
We called Dmitrijs to see if he was still in area and able to give us a ride back to Zurich, but he was already an hour out. Pulled up Uber. Nothing. Public transit in the country is so good that people take it to go skiing for the day. mind. blown. So, we hopped on the bus and took that to the train, back to Zurich.
We finished our shopping, got dinner at Public burger and crashed.
Woke up and worked over breakfast, then well past lunch. I walked to the office for a massage, then rejoined the group. We did a little shopping before heading to dinner at Vulkan.
We took an Uber to the restaurant, maybe 4km away. When we got in and the driver learned the destination, he immediately began hassling us for a tip, as he wouldn’t make any money off the ride. After the experience with dinner the previous night, this didn’t land nearly as well as the driver, Dmitrijs, intended. He tried to save the situation by playing a game involving numbers. Not a good move. At one point, he said to one of my coworkers, “You have the brain of a five year old.” We’re not sure if it was intended as an insult, a hint, or something else.
Eventually pieced together that the population in Zurich is so ambulatory that 4km really is an atypically short ride. Incredible. I love it.
Dinner itself was good, though for making the claim of being an Indian restaurant, half the dishes were suspiciously Thai. All tasty, though!
Post dinner, we walked to a bar called Tales and had a few rounds.
Finished out the summit, then got dinner at Gartenhof with our hosts. The food was very tasty, all french, and quite good. The end of the meal was disappointing, though. Dessert was meh, crepes filled with pear compote flambéd table side in schnapps. The show was fun, but the outcome was meh. When we paid the bill, our waiter (who was probably also the owner?) inquiried multiple times why he was not tipped and got salty about it. Buddy, half the table lives in Zurich, don’t try to pull a fast one.
Once back from dinner, we headed back to our customary table in the bar and worked until about two.
Full day of work, followed by a train ride back to Zurich in the evening. Once there, we ended up working from the hotel bar until four am.
Had a series of productive meetings, then took the train from Zurich to Munich. It was less than six hours (should have been five, but there were delays), but for whatever reason it felt like ten. Got in around 11:30, then went out to get dinner.
Originally we had planned to meet the teams already in Munich at Schumann’s, but got in too late to make it happen. Instead, the three of us wandered and eventually ended up there. Fantastic bar with great cocktails and food.
We got four rounds, then spent an hour or more walking back.