European Adventure, Day 1

I was traveling alone for the first time in my life so there were a few awkward incidents at the airport before I boarded the plane. After I put my bag on the scale and checked it with the flight attendant, she put the tag on my bag and said: "I am good to go." I reached to take my bag back and then said, "Oh, wait, I don't take that, that stays with you" and then she jokingly responded, "Unless you want to take that with you."

As I went to the get my passport checked I started to wonder how they knew that I was going to Zurich because the flight attendant never asked me where I was going. I was certain that my bag was going to wind up anywhere but Zurich and that I was not going to be able to claim it. The next person I saw was the lady who checked my passport so I asked her, "How do they know that my bag is going to Zurich?" She seemed confused by my question. She laughed and then asked "What do you mean? Did you give your bag to someone on the street?" "No!" I said. She laughed again and said, "Sounds like it."

Passing another step in the process I felt relieved! Until I decided to cut under the line until one of the straps came off. The same lady who laughed at my question before shouted: "Pull it together, Andrew."

I passed security and FINALLY arrived at my terminal. The flight from Newark, New Jersey to Zurich, Switzerland took about 7 hours and there were no delays, landing was smooth, and there weren't any problems. I even made two friends on the flight!

Getting to baggage claim, however, took a while. I was so happy to be in Europe that I walked past everyone on my flight so there was no one I could follow. I had to take a train, several escalators, and walk a couple of miles (or so it seemed) but once I arrived the first bag I spotted was mine, so I grabbed it and was on my way.

I found the exit without a problem and waited for my girlfriend, Cole, and her mom to arrive.

I was expecting her to pull up in her red Hyundai Elantra, not realizing that her car was still in Pennsylvania. After ten minutes I saw someone in a bright orange dress with straight blonde hair power walking with her head down, I looked quickly then looked away. As soon as I looked away I thought to myself "Damn who was that? Swiss girls look GOOD." But when I looked back I noticed that this girl was power walking towards me, my eyebrows went up as I tried to figure out why. Then she looked up and I was like "Man, she looks familiar." It wasn't until she was hugging me that I realized it was my girlfriend!

It has only been a month and a half since I have seen her but she looked totally transformed. Her stomach was flatter, arms more muscular, and her face thinner. I didn't recognize her at all. But she looked fantastic! I was so in shock that the whole car ride home you would have thought I saw a ghost – I could not say anything.

I just looked out the window into Zurich and noticed all of the green as I looked out into the horizon. All of the trees, grass, and recycling bins that I saw along the ride and a sign that I saw as soon as l left the airport about CO2 emissions all confirmed that Switzerland treats the environment with tremendous respect.

I asked Cole's mom about the crime rate here with the expectation that it would be low. She told me that 4-year-old kids take the train into the city regularly and their parents don't worry at all. I was amazed. I couldn't imagine a 4-year-old doing that in New York City.

I spent the rest of the day walking around, getting a look at the Swiss Alps, and then jumping in the pool. In New York, most of the pools I am accustomed to are blue and saturated with chlorine. However, this pool is like a fresh water pond that is green with all different types of bugs living in the water. You would think that you would never swim in a green water pool but you would be sadly mistaken. This is FRESH water. That is when it hit me that I was no longer in New York City; I was in Switzerland.

From today until August 2nd, I will travel all over Europe visiting the most popular cities. I will be in Switzerland for a week, Ibiza for several days, London for a couple of days, and then making my way through France, Italy, Germany, and finishing in Amsterdam. I will be posting a blog a day for the length of the trip. Let me know if you have any travel tips or places I must see :)