Posts Tagged With: travel

Zürich, Switzerland: It’s About Time – And Money

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Mike
At Frau Gerold, the open-air spot for socializing, eating and drinking. The structures are built from shipping containers.

At Frau Gerold, the open-air spot for socializing, eating and drinking. The structures are built from shipping containers.

Some things are simply better the second time around.

Not that Zürich was bad the first go round. It was phenomenal. It’s just that this time around I’m at another point in my life. On every level I am no longer that person who on a whim more than a decade ago booked a flight from Portland, Oregon, where I lived at the time, to Switzerland.

I was single – still am – with a savings account and a salary that allowed me travel in style, afford expensive things, dine at amazing places. For work, I dressed in designer suits and nicely polished shoes. I bought a custom-built car – a BMW – to boot, and flew to Munich to have a look at the process. In short, I had everything I wanted or needed.

Surf bikes on Zurich Lake

Surf bikes on Zürich Lake

Some holdout material things – possessions – as a sign of success. That’s one measure of success, it’s not the whole picture. Today, after grappling with the global economic crisis that first struck the United States, I live a simpler life. It’s a life stuffed into a backpack, wearing the same clothes over and over and one pair of shoes almost all the time. But it’s a less complicated life – and in many ways far less stressful – one in which I do more and learn more and see the world, and love it for what it is, grand, beautiful and wonderful, even if at times shows an ugly side.

Zürich to me punctuates that turning point in my life. Last time I was here, I came and stayed in a relatively nice hotel and didn’t think twice about the expense. This time around, I watch every penny and budget. And I travel – hitchhiking – moving at a slower pace and with more time to go places and go beyond the usual tourist haunts. With the help of friends who live in the city, I peel away at the layers that make up Zürich and I’m able to see whole new sides.

Want beer? Have Swiss bank account?

Want beer? Have Swiss bank account?

I can’t believe it’s been more than a decade since I was last in Zürich, Switzerland‘s largest city. I had come here – you won’t believe this, but recall the person I once was – to buy a watch! That was my main mission. Sightseeing was an afterthought. I did venture out but, mostly I ordered room service and admired my watch.

I remember oh so well when and how Zürich landed on my radar. I was thumbing through a men’s fashion magazine and found myself staring at an ad for a particular Swiss watch. The watch had immediately grabbed my attention and as I turned the pages of the magazine, I kept going back to it. The next day, I picked up the magazine again, had another long look, and went straight to my jeweler – yes, I had a jeweler, but that’s another topic for conversation involving a returned engagement ring and jewelry store credit – and he told me the watch was not yet available in the United States. Then he said the words that would shape my thinking: “You’d have to fly to Switzerland to buy that watch.”

Okay, I thought, I can wait. But how long would I have to wait?

“Don’t know,” he said. “Some months. Maybe a year.”

Well, okay.

When I got home I found myself looking at flights to Zürich – after pinpointing Zürich on a map.

At Summergarte, relatively reasonable by Zürich standards. Now that’s using your head!

Then, after scheduling vacation time, I booked a flight. Three weeks later, I was on a 747 bound for Frankfurt, Germany, with a connection to Zürich.

Soon as I checked into my hotel, I showed concierge the page I had ripped out of the magazine.

“Where can I get this watch?” I asked. He smiled and happily suggested a couple of places, one within walking distance of my hotel. So off I went, the ad folded neatly in my pocket, on a watch quest.

I don’t wear watches any more. I am okay with glancing at my mobile phone for the time. I haven’t worn a watch in years. And I once had a whole bunch of them. I’m usually surprised to see people – especially the iPhone Generation – wearing a watch. The phone not good enough?

When I got to the watch dealer, I took the ad from my pocket and unfolded it. Handed it to the jeweler.

“Ah, yes, of course, we have it” he said with a Swiss German accent. He guided me to the other end of the glass display case, pointed to it and said “This one.”

There it was on my wrist: Cool black band made of steel, shiny black face encircled in bright gold, with gold minute and hour hands. No numbers. In the place of 12, a sparkling diamond. Simple elegance. I smiled and took out the credit card.

Now, I honestly don’t remember how much I paid for that watch. I don’t even know what became of it. Somewhere along the way I lost it, I believe during one of several moves from one apartment or house to another. What I do remember was that it was very nice and I got a lot of compliments for it.

Lake sailing

Lake sailing

I never told anyone – until recently, until now – that I actually flew halfway around the world to buy the watch. Today, to me that sounds like excess run amuck. Doesn’t sound like anybody I know. I backpack. I hitchhike. I sleep on any space strangers and friends provide. I even once slept in a tent in someone’s backyard. And I was perfectly content.

While in Zürich that first time, my focus was to buy a watch. I did get in a bit of sightseeing and even hit a club or two. I enjoyed the city but I didn’t really know anyone in Zürich. Today I do, and with less money in my pocket, I’ve enjoyed the city even more than the first time. I have discovered places known only to locals. Or places that few tourists know. It’s been a blast.

And unlike the first time, I can share with you a few tips:

Yes, what you always hear about Zürich is true: It’s expensive. No, not as expensive as Norway, but pretty expensive compared to other European cities. Sure, you don’t have to have a Swiss bank account to enjoy Zürich, but it certainly helps. Want to drink cheaply? That’s hard to find in the city. I found a Corona beer for $7.50, and that was the cheapest I found. Maybe some of you out there are better bargain hunters, but it was a struggle drinking and eating on the cheap in Zürich.

On a lake-bound ferry

On a lake-bound ferry

At a very cool outdoor spot frequented by locals – Frau Gerold – right in the shadow of Switzerland’s tallest building, I bought an iced tea and a slice of lemon pound cake. Total cost? $10. If you break it down right down the middle, that iced tea cost $5 and that lemon pound cake cost $5. Think about that for a minute. Five dollars for a very small piece of cake and another $5 for an iced tea.

I’m constantly told the Swiss get paid high salaries so they may afford the high cost of living, but you may come across some who get defensive about how expensive their city is. They like to point elsewhere, and Norway is their favorite punching bag. The reality is, you can’t be from certain countries and be able to afford Switzerland at the going currency exchange rates. Polish people, for instance, stay clear of Switzerland as a vacation destination. So do many other countries whose currency are no match for the mightier Swiss Franc. If you are from the United States and are making a decent salary, you can probably visit Zürich and not take a beating, but it will be a far more expensive vacation than, say, vacation anywhere in Latin America, Eastern Europe or Africa.

It being said, Zürich is a fantastic city! So much going in and so much going for it, in summer or winter. In Summer, city streets are alive with sidewalk cafes and restaurants, with tourists and locals mixing in the Old Town, which is a must-see. Take a stroll through its cobblestone streets and narrow passages. If you decide you want to stay in the Old Town you will find many smaller but good hotels along Zahringerstrasse. There are many hotels in the center. For a central location which

Rivers and lakes are all part of the city

STILL IN THE CITY: Rivers and lakes are all part of  Zürich

 enables you to walk to most of the sights and restaurants, expect to pay a minimum of $150 a night. There are cheaper alternatives outside of the center, such as a bed and breakfast with shared bath for $60 for a single room to $109 for a double. I like this latter option because truth is many of these places are not that far from the center and allow you to stay in neighborhoods where locals actually live. I had coffee at one of them – Zum Guten Gluck – and asked to see the rooms and they were more than adequate – and affordable. The shared baths were spotless, and the location in a desirable neighborhood. It’s located at Stationstrasse 7.

Other hotels I peeped in on include the Central Plaza (pricey!); the Marta, Zahringerstrasse 36; Hotel Rutli, Zahringerstrasse 43; and Hotel Scheuble, Muhlegasse 17. Except for the Central Plaza, they are all three stars. (A word of warning: ladies of the evening do come out in the evening and you will find them in just about every European city standing on the street corners trying to entice. Zürich is no exception and these women seem to congregate in greater numbers on Zahringerstrasse, as well as other neighborhood streets. Just say no or ignore them. They’ll leave you alone. If you are easily offended by the presence of street prostitutes, maybe you shouldn’t come to Europe 🙂

If you intend to visit museums and take public transportation I strongly suggest you buy a two or three-day Zürich Card, which gives you unlimited access to all buses, trains, trams, ferries and even all museums. The three-day pass costs $48, but it’s worth it in the long run with the savings for transportation and museums.

Speaking of museums, there are many, and some are more interesting than others. I went to the Swiss National Museum which “offers fascinating insights into Swiss history from the beginning to the 21st Century” but I found the museum rather boring. Yes, there are a lot of old and historic things on display, but they aren’t presented as interestingly as they could be. One problem is that they display some historic items or photos, paintings of historic figures and you have no clue what you are looking at because someone decided not to give the English description. Some items are explained in English and others are not. It’s a mystery. Yes, if you have a smart phone you can download the museum app that will help with a guided tour, but you must have a smart phone. One person in the museum downloaded the app and had trouble getting it to work. So if archaeological discoveries and medieval weaponry or Switzerland through the ages is not your thing, skip this one.

A really nice cup of coffeee at Summergarte

A really nice cup of coffee at Summergarte

I found the Zürich Museum of Design far more interesting. Currently on exhibit are works by Martin Parr, the renown English photographer. Titled “Souvenir”, Parr’s photos explore people who travel, their impact; consumerism, and how the wealthy show off their money, among other subjects. It’s a great collection. And everything is well-displayed and properly explained.

On Zahringerstrasse, they only come out at night.

They only come out at night, on Zahringerstrasse

I tried a third museum, the Migros Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, located in a former brewery which also houses several galleries, but so many of the items on display are head-scratching. I love modern art, but I don’t get much of it. I mean, can you duct tape a bed foam to one of the building’s support columns and call it art? Some “artist” did exactly that, and the museum went a step further by trying to justify it, with a small plaque explaining what the “artist” was trying to do. Oh-kay.

Anyway, if you go, prepare yourself for weirdness.

Let’s leave the museums for a moment and go to Summergart, a food truck parked permanently at the edge of a small grassy park at im Zeughaushof/Kasernenareal. By Zürich standards, it’s cheap – $16 for a tuna burger, $4 for a good cup of coffee; $14 for a burger. I liked this place in a relaxed, park-like setting.

Best advice I can give you is ask a local. They will tell you where they go – and tourists don’t – which often means a better time and cheaper fare.

I love Zürich.  How could I not a city in which people greet each other with three kisses? 🙂 And nice to be in any city where locals stop what they’re doing to ask a wayward stranger: “Can I help you find something?”  It’s a great city with so much going on. Just wish it weren’t so expensive.

Floating umbrellas at a bar

Floating umbrellas at a bar

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Make Some Beauty? Oh, Piss Off!

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Mike
Snowbound

Snowbound

On a fairly busy street in Warsaw – Poland‘s capital city – I watched a woman in the distance emerge from around the corner with a bouquet of red roses in her gloved hand.

On this day in which the calendar declared it was officially the first day of spring, the bitter reality was that winter was still upon us. It was one of the coldest days of the year, and new snow had fallen over the past two days. There was no hint of spring, not even a sprouting bud on any of the long bare trees that line sidewalks near the Warsaw University of Medicine in the neighborhood known as Ochota.
This part of Ochota teems with young students – fresh-faced future doctors – on their way to learn if they have what it takes to be doctors. On some days, even in the dead of winter, what young people choose to wear – fashion wins over cold common sense – befuddles. But not on this day. Everybody was bundled up, with scarves, hats, proper shoes and hoodies pulled tightly over heads. On this day, despite the appearance of the sun, the Siberian express that had crept across much of Poland like a slowly advancing fog, was not to be denied. Oh yes, earlier in the morning there was also – gasp – fog.
So far, everybody that I’ve talked to has said it is unusual to see snow or to be this cold so late into March. Not that I am some sort of expert – I am every bit new to Poland – but seems to me wherever there is winter, March has always been a winter month.

Snow beauty?: Everybody is a critic

Snow beauty?: Everybody is a critic

Ahead, the woman paused on the sidewalk that stretches for more than two city blocks. In one quick movement, as if to avoid notice, she then jammed the stems of the roses into the glistening snow, took one step back, looked at red roses, and walked off, lost in the crowd of medical students waiting for a city bus.

When I reached the flowers

I noticed that they were already wilted. But they still looked very beautiful against the white of the snow – red roses seemingly and curiously springing from a snowfield.

I will likely never know the woman’s reason for putting the roses in the snow. Was it a homage to first day of spring? Could it have been her way of sending a message to Mother Nature to get over her winter blues and at once make way for spring? Or was she perhaps making some sort of offering to the weather gods to replace the snow with flowers in full bloom? Or was it just a simple act of sharing – to have others enjoy flowers she had already enjoyed, rather than toss the droopy bouquet into the trash? Many questions, no answers.
I for one appreciated the gesture. I stood there, for a moment forgetting the bitter cold, and inspected the frosty red petals – and every sad leaf and determined thorn. Then, I too, walked away – but not before snapping a few photos.
No sooner had I walked away, I was struck with another reality, as an unleashed dog, the owner standing by, walked up to the bouquet of roses, sniffed them, and then lifted his leg and peed all over them. Goodbye nice-smelling roses. Goodbye white snow.
As I faced the rest of the day, what was I left with? Some in this world heal. Others create, often beauty. And there are those ready to piss on it all.

For them, a smile.

More "spring" creativity along the way

More “spring” creativity along the way

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Goodbye Couchsurfing?

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Mike
Have a couch for me?

Have a couch for me?

I have once or twice already stated that one of the pleasures of world travel is the joy of meeting people from many countries and experiencing their culture and customs firsthand.
That is why I have long sung the praises of Couchsurfing to anyone who would listen. The hospitality and social networking website allowed me for the past two years to connect with thousands of individuals from around the world. Through Couchsurfing, I hosted hundreds of travelers in Miami. And since I began this journey, many of them  have returned the favor and hosted me in their countries. And I have met hundreds more that I now call friends. What an amazingly brilliant idea, Couchsurfing! Truly life-changing.
For those who have never heard of Couchsurfing, allow me this introduction: You go to http://www.couchsurfing.org, click sign up, fill out a profile, upload as many photos of yourself as you like, choose whether you want to host travelers in your home, just meet them in a social setting, or just give them tour information about your city or town. You also have the option to attend dozens of weekly activities or events and meetings organized by local or visiting couchsurfers or create activities yourself that others can join.
Plainly put, Couchsurfing is about intercultural exchange. You invite complete strangers to crash on your couch – or whatever space you have in your home – and you part as new friends. What you gain is knowledge of another person, his or her country and culture, and no money is exchanged. Yep, all free. You leave each other references on the site – sharing whether or not the experience was positive, neutral or negative. There are also other safety valves on the site. It works. Or should I say, it worked?

Money sometimes corrupts. It has a way of destroying beauty, derailing a good thing. Insert money in any positive situation and watch the negatives fly. In the past

Lots of time spent in Miami hanging out with CouchSurfers. That's me on the right, front row, in the New York Yankees baseball cap. Respect!

Lots of time spent in Miami hanging out with CouchSurfers. That’s me on the right, front row, in the New York Yankees baseball cap. Respect!

year at Couchsurfing, the negatives have unfortunately outweighed the positives, with the site remaking itself from a nonprofit, member-run organization to a for profit company with salivating investors rubbing their hands as they try to come up with ways to turn a profit on the millions of dollars they’ve invested. And the members of Couchsurfing, who see themselves as a community of volunteers who helped build the site and make Couchsurfing the success story that it is today, are upset, confused, left feeling betrayed.
Couchsurfing – which was launched in 2004  by founder Casey Fenton – counts “ambassadors” among its most active volunteers. Couchsurfing ambassadors keep the community  engaged, going to extra mile to help visitor and local alike. I am proud to say I became an ambassador after months of involvement with Couchsurfing, hosting, traveling and promoting activities. I was asked to be an ambassador (while traveling in Chile) and I gladly accepted the honor. But months later, Casey Fenton  changed the legal status of Couchsurfing from a nonprofit to a for-profit corporation and sold the new company to outside investors. Fenton walked away with a hefty load of cash while the volunteers who were directly or indirectly responsible for building the site were left wondering what would become of them and the site. What followed was the hiring of a CEO and paid professional staff. Almost immediately, there were grumblings from members around the world that the staff was inexperienced and unfamiliar with Couchsurfing as a community. The person brought in to oversee the ambassadors – Bill Loundy – gave them fuel for the rising fire with a memo in which he said he would not communicate with them in a forum where ambassador gather on the site to discuss issues. Loundy made a series of other  missteps and pronouncements that did not go over well and there were calls for his dismissal. One ambassador in from Australia left with a reference on his profile that called him “a turkey.” That reference was quickly erased. Other ambassadors came to his defense with the words “give him a chance”. But Loundy didn’t take that chance as he proceeded to ignore the ambassadors and their concerns for months at a time. His defenders pretty much grew silent.

Then as more investor money came, the staff of clueless 20-somethings hired to run the site grew. Most had not even been members of the Couchsurfing community until they were hired and it showed in every statement – or should I say misstatement – they made. And the man brought in to lead the team – CEO Tony Espinoza – proved to be no brainiac himself. How else to explain the incompetence that has since followed? So thus began the beginning of the end of a Couchsurfing, a once great travel and hospitality website. I say the beginning of the end even as I  hold out hope that Espinoza and his reckless crew will wise up and not completely destroy Couchsurfing. At this writing, it’s only partially damaged, and the Clueless in San Francisco – that’s where Couchsurfing is headquartered – have already said they do not intend to fix some of the problems they’ve created with the changes of the site. It’s their way or the highway. With that attitude they will all soon be out of a job. But they don’t yet get that.

Well, hundreds, perhaps thousands of experienced couchsurfers around the world have taken that highway and abandoned Couchsurfing, many of them ambassadors, the very people you want to attract to a site such as Couchsurfing. Others have also quit and joined another hospitality website – BeWelcome – as still many more say they will wait to see what happens next. They – like me – have one foot out the door. My patience is long, but the utter disrespect I can’t take much more of it.

Traveling without Couchsurfing, but still on track

Traveling without Couchsurfing, but still on track

A great “migration” of Couchsurfers to BeWelcome is planned for February 14 – Valentine’s Day – presumably just so Couchsurfing leadership in San Francisco is made to feel the love? 🙂 Date aside, many have not bothered to wait. They’ve already left the site, complaining that Couchsurfing management is only about quantity not quality – the number of couchsurfers has grown in the past year largely because of word of mouth, linkage to Facebook and other social media. The couchsurfers that have recently joined have done so lured  and misled by the notion of a free place to stay while they are traveling, rather than by the idea of intercultural exchange espoused by more experienced couchsurfers. The “old timers” complain that the uninformed “newbies” have contributed to the deterioration in quality experiences on the site. They argue that the Couchsurfing management team only cares about growing the numbers to satisfy investors looking to sell the database with member information and get a big payday on their investment. The clash recently escalated and grew more heated when the website underwent a complete makeover without word or warning or consultation with the members through a beta test. The roll out of the new site was so bad and so mishandled and the changes so widely hated that thousands of couchsurfers around the world took to the site – once they were able to access it – to strongly log a global protest not seen on the site in recent memory.  Couchsurfing headquarters was so beset with complaints that it set up a feedback forum to have members voice their concerns. The complaints persisted for weeks and the Couchsurfing leadership certainly got an earful. Some changes were made based on user suggestions, but the unprofessional behavior of Couchsurfing staffers only fanned the flames. In response to members concerns, some of the paid Couchsurfing professionals posted “funny” pictures of cats. Other staffers deleted posts they didn’t like, while others issued threats in response to tough questioning from users. The message was loud and clear: “Couchsurfing is not a democracy” – as one staffer wrote. That was a bitter pill for some longtime Couchsurfing members to swallow as they had grown accustomed to open discussions, no censorship.
The backlash that San Francisco got from the membership was so intense that CEO Espinoza and others were forced to admit that they handled the whole roll out poorly and to announce that any future changes to the site would involve the community. Espinoza and Loundy held a live webcast to address concerns but some still remained skeptical. They’ve been asking Espinoza and his team to roll back the changes to the site, something that Espinoza has said he won’t do.
And so people continue to leave the site while others wait and hope the site can be saved. Personally, I am giving Couchsurfing another month or two – beyond Valentine’s Day. But I – as others have already done – will create a BeWelcome account. My advise to friends who have asked my opinion on this matter is to do the same. It doesn’t hurt to have a Couchsurfing and a BeWelcome account. It’s smart.

Couchsurfing isn't the only way to meet people while traveling, but it was/is the best. Here, friends I met through another site, www.workaway.info

Couchsurfing isn’t the only way to meet people while traveling, but it was/is the best. Here, friends I met through another site, http://www.workaway.info

You increase your chances of finding a host and meeting people. And should Couchsurfing turn out to no longer be your cup of tea, you will BeWelcome.
As for my journey, the changes at Couchsurfing have made it difficult to navigate the site. Any changes were supposed to improve, not make the site worse. And the Couchsurfing leadership team to its credit has made some changes after the outcries of members. And now they insist they are listening to members, but there’s still censorship – something that didn’t previously exist on Couchsurfing. Anything that smacks of bad-mouthing the changes or calling for defection to BeWelcome is deleted. Some members have even had their profiles deleted after criticizing Couchsurfing staff or changes. Because of all this and more, the mass worldwide mutiny has not been silenced and won’t be in the face of these changes and perceived attacks from management.
With all this, I’ve had to change my mode of traveling. I was primarily using Couchsurfing. But a travel website that is not user-friendly, censors, has implemented an outrageous terms of use policy (which also caused mass uproar), and is run by a bunch of inexperienced 20-somethings who don’t know anything about the site and behave like third-graders, would  have such an ill effect.
I now travel through workaway.info, choosing longer stays in certain places, and for shorter stays, through established contacts on Facebook. And while I still maintain friendships I’ve made on Couchsurfing, most of those friendships are on Facebook. I am hoping Couchsurfing will survive. I really am. But if the people in San Francisco continue down the path they’ve so far chosen – ignoring and outright dismissing the concerns of members and censoring posts and groups – I fear it is indeed the beginning of the end of Couchsurfing. At least it will be for me.

One of many social events around the world I organized as a Couchsurfing traveling ambassador. This one, attended by hundreds of couchsurfers, was in Krakow, Poland.

One of many social events around the world I organized as a Couchsurfing traveling ambassador. This one, attended by hundreds of local and traveling couchsurfers, was in Krakow, Poland.  Look at all those awesome people representing many countries! That’s me in front (legs on my shoulders). The Couchsurfing banner is the one I’ve been traveling with, but it soon became an “old banner” after Couchsurfing headquarters changed our logo for a puzzling loop that looks like a highway on ramp, or a weirdly shaped figure 8, or a hangman’s noose (oh, the irony) another random and unilateral decision that confused and angered couchsurfers around the world. I still have the banner and a bunch of the “old style” stickers, all relics.  Maybe they’ll become collectors’ items and tangible evidence in business schools on how not to ruin a successful website in one year without even trying? Carry on.

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