Zurich

The scenery to Zürich continued to be breathtaking. I had really been looking forward to getting here because that was where I was supposed to meet Kathy at 2 o'clock the following afternoon. Her plane was supposed to arrive at 12:35 PM, but she wasn't there! Feeling both frustrated and disappointed, I went to the airport information office and asked if they had a letter, note, or something for me. I gave my name and passport. I was told that there was a note from Mrs. Dame to Mr. Basap, but nothing else. I was disappointed but not discouraged, since I had explained to Kathy early in my trip that if we didn't connect at the Zürich airport for some reason, we would meet at the American Express office at noon the next day.

I boarded the bus returning to the city centre. During that ride, it occurred to me that "Dame" is the German and French word for "woman," and therefore the note in question was from a woman to me, with my name misspelled. As soon as I got back downtown, I immediately took the next bus back to the airport and asked when the next flight from Paris was arriving. I was told that it was 7 PM. Therefore, I decided to stay until Kathy's arrival. At 7 PM, I noticed a plane coming in and assumed that was her flight. I went to the arrivals hall and hoped that she had, in fact, disembarked and picked up her luggage. Lo and behold, looking through the windows of the hall with the luggage carousels, I noticed Kathy!. My interpretation of the note at the information desk had been correct! She finally came through the door, and we hugged —we were both extremely happy.

Kathy explained that the flight from Montreal to Paris had been delayed, and that as a result she missed her flight to Zürich. She was highly disappointed because she could watch her plane take off. She had been late but not by much. Amazingly, as we re-constructed the day, I told her that we would still have met the next day at the Zürich American Express office, as I had indicated in one of my letters to her. But, she looked at me wild-eyed and indicated she had no recollection of that message. That meant she would've arrived without me being there, and she would not have known that we were to meet the next day at noon at the American Express office. Given the lack of technological communication tools at that time, I have often wondered how we would have met at all that day or thereafter. What an incredible stroke of fortune that I was able to decipher the message from the information office correctly.

The next day, we walked along the shore of the Zürichsee - or Lake Zurich - and admired the city as we rode a cable car across the lake. Eventually, we noticed an obviously very old building, and learned that it was the Grossmunster Church. It was built in the 12th century and, according to legend, founded by Charlemagne. The twin towers of the Grossmünster are regarded as perhaps the most recognized landmark in Zurich.

That evening, we took a nightclub tour, which included a stop at a Swiss restaurant with Swiss singing and yodelling. We then visited the biggest nightclub in Zürich where we watched an international show and danced. In fact, we took over the floor for a twist, and everybody applauded us.