Morocco Trip March 2023
Morocco tour 2023:
In the spring of 2023 I took a week long trip to Morocco for a 3 day guided motorcycle dirt bike tour. I gave myself a 1 day layover in Zurich to explore Switzerland on the way home.
This is how it went.
Philadelphia -> Newark -> Zurich -> Marrakech -> Ourzazate -> Dirt Bike Tour -> Ourzazate -> Marrakech -> Ouzoud Waterfalls -> Marrakech -> Zurich -> Newark -> Philadelphia
March 1:
To set off on this trip I left Philadelphia in the middle of the day on a regional rail train to Newark station. Then took the city bus to the newark airport. Flight was an overnight flight from the East Coast to Zurich. Easy 1 hour layover in Zurich and back onto a plane to Morocco.
Note: The architecture of the Marrakech airport is amazing. Giant rounded geometric patterns in white and glass in a post modern brutalist way. Magnificent in the shining sun and blue blue sky.
I went through customs and bought my sim card from a kiosk in the entryway. I realized immediately that this is a cash society. Even the kiosk in the airport was cash only. So I exchanged about 100 bucks into local Dirham currency. Rate was 11 to 1 for USD. so 200 dh was about 20 bucks.
Went out to pickup area at airport and didn't see my ride. So i messaged my guide, Sam, he called the driver and we connected at the pickup. The moment that made me smile was when the driver walked up holding the "WIlderness on Wheels Morocco" sign upside down.
While waiting for the three Slovakians to arrive at the airport, i met the other rider on the tour. A Belgian Brit Named Edward. He was also traveling alone, but he brought his own helmet. I brought no kit with me, would be renting it all from the tour company.
A note on the tour group:
The 3 day desert tour was requested by a group of Slovakian friends. They normally need a group of 5 to run the tour. So the guide opened to reservations to outside parties (like myself). Happily, when the Slovakians showed up at the airport, I learned that they all spoke english quite well. To complete the cast of characters, we had Rusto (the leader of the Slovakians), and his long time friends Stanli and Martin. They had all come together on this tour 10 years ago with the same company, and were returning to do it all again.
Further digression on the Slovaks (Friendly men in their early 50s):
Rusto: Strong man type character. Lived in Vienna Austria most of the time because its just across the border from Bratislava in Slovakia. He runs logistics for supplying heavy construction equipment to large infrastructure constructions projects all over the world. He has a long term girlfriend in Thailand and was mega wealthy and well traveled. He showed us pictures of his rare motorcycle collection 16 bikes. American Antique Indians and moto 2 ex race bikes and an AMG mercedes. Oddly enough, allergic to flying birds like chicken.
Stanli: Large Man, but quieter. He was a construction worker and manager in Slovakia. His hobby was trials bike riding.
Martin: Most interesting story; Career Professional Trombone player. He toured the world for many years with his orchestra. He had good stories about traveling. He was forced to change careers when the pandemic hit. Now he works in TV production locally in Slovakia.
Our guide, is a well spoken 30 year old Welsh man named Sam. His father worked as a hydrogeologist and raised him and his family in Yemen. He completed home schooling with an expat community in the middle east before returning to England for University where he studied music. My memory has started to fade already, but I think he said he was studying a woodwind of some kind. Clarinet perhaps? He finished his program and somehow ended up working with Petr, the original owner of the Wow company in Morocco. After working for several years, covid forced the business to restart and Petr sold the business to Sam. Now he is the owner and guide of the business. They run tours in difference regions of the country based on the heat of the seasons. More desert tours in winter and more Mediterranean tours in summer. With just a few days off between often week long tours, he stays very busy.
-OK back to narrative-
We all got into a VW polo minicab. It was at this point I realized the taxi ride was 4 hours across the mountains.
No freeways in morocco. Just a two lane beat up mountain road with many potholes, construction and rock slides. We ended up taking 5 hours all together to get to hotel.
Had our first traditional moroccan meal at 1030p at the hotel. Was a delicious "Tagine" style slow cooked chicken with moroccan dark beers and traditional tea. While we had our dessert we tried on our gear and picked it all out for the morning departure.
March 2
Woke up before sunrise and checked out the bikes, our rentals were brand new 2022 KTM 450 EXC-F dirt bikes. Weighing in at a truly insane 233LBS, they were so fresh from the dealership that they still had they original factory stickers on the shocks and still had oil from the factory in the cases. There were 6 bikes for us. 5 clients and the one for the leader. I chose lucky #7.
The other vehicle with us all week was a 1995 Toyota Land Cruiser truck. Beautifully restored and repainted two years ago. Looked great in all the photos.
We had breakfast and tea and coffee, common breakfast is a type of crepe, yogurt, fruit, and hard boiled eggs. After breakfast we tested bikes, and the only thing we had to adjust was the clutch levers on all the bikes.
When testing out the controls I was riding circles in the parking lot of the little resort hotel another guest came running over and yelled at me and complained to the organizer. People always hate dirt bikes, anywhere in the whole wide world. Ah well.
Rode into town, fueled up and then onto the tracks! Our starting point was a small hamlet about an hour east of Ourzazate.
Riding the desert mountains and backroads reminded me so much of New Mexico and Utah. Twisty flat, wide roads. With fine gravel surface, very loose feeling on a dirt bike. Temperatures were very comfortable throughout the trip. 40s and 50s in the morning and mid to upper 70s in afternoons. I basically wore a vest over the armor and riding jersey the whole time.
About an hour into hour desert mountain riding on switchback gravel roads I binned it. I was trying to keep up my speed through the hairpin corners and slide the rear on the the slippery gravel, which was working well when I kept my eyes on the road. However, there was one turn in particular that crested an amazing vista into valley and a sharp blind right hander with decreasing radius. I noticed I was heading for the cliff edge with too much speed so I took a slide instead. This made me the first party member to crash and officially the first damage to the brand new machines! I scrambled to get myself and the bike out of the way from the riders coming up behind. Luckily Martin didn't crash into me.
We rode on for another hour or two and ended in a village with a view of a valley filled with palm trees. Warm and sunny, but not hot. Cold salad, kebabs, and bread with hot sauce was the menu. More espresso and cokes along with water and hot tea. This was the town of Zagora.
During this first day I was still getting used to the bike, so i tried to be cautious and used earplugs for comfort. On days 2 and 3 I used my bluetooth wireless earbuds with active noise canceling for my techno jams.
After Lunch I noticed my right wrist starting to swell and becoming quite painful to use on the throttle twist. My reasonable assessment was a soft tissue trauma only. No sprain or joint injury. Just blunt trauma to the underlying soft tissue of my distal forearm. Should be fine to ride on.
We rode through some hard packed rock trails with sharp rocks and Martin got a rear puncture. the support truck caught up with him and they had two full sets of spare wheels ready to swap on in case of punctures. So it was not that long of a delay. Maybe 30 min.
We rode on through mountains and valleys and some little sandy washes in the valley, our guide wanted to get us used to riding on sand to prepare for the dunes day the following day. Was very fun, multiple lines to choose from riding across the valley floor. We encountered a Shepard with his camels and got to ride right through the middle of them.
Modest miles about 150 kms
Then we rode along the irrigation canals of the next town and it felt just like riding the irrigation ditches in Albuquerque. We arrived at our hotel for the night not too late and showered before dinner. Due to our hotel being full. I ended up having a room with our guide and support truck driver.
-A note on our driver:
Cole, is an American. When he introduced himself I could tell immediately he was a Northwesterner as well. I was thinking maybe British Columbia, but I was a little off. He was from Oregon. Silverton Oregon, South of Portland. He was a very nice guy. just a classic friendly Oregonian. He had a lot of motorcycle and off road road trip experience. But it was his first year working with this tour company. Apparently, the last support driver was also an American and had flipped the last truck. So hopefully Cole does better!
The hotel was funny, they shower was missing an extension for the faucet to the flexible shower head. But the handy man came by quickly to fix it. He was so friendly and his name was Ali. All the workers were very friendly and cheerful with their french and few words of english.
Dinner was similar to others: Tagine, chicken and lamb this time. veggies, breads, wine and beer. Finished with chocolate mousse.
After dinner it was still early, so we sat by the pool with light jackets and I listened to Martin tell me stories about traveling the world with his orchestra.
Fitful sleep, no airflow in stuffy "drivers quarters" as Sam explained the modest room to me.
March 3
keep things moving quickly in the morning, we wore our boots and bottom half of our riding kit to breakfast. Similar breakfast again, yogurt, crepes, fruit, bread, very carb heavy diet for sure.
As we were leaving the hotel, I realized that i left one of my gloves in the room. We were literally rolling out, but Sam said leave it. I felt bad and shouted at Cole in the truck to run back in and grab it.
Morning riding was fast across more valleys and up over passes on some tarmac. Hit the last fuel stop at the northern edge of the sahara region. Was cool to see the stickers left by all the previous explorers and adventures passing through on rallies and tours. Another coffee stop in this town as well. Town was called Tagounite.
From there we hit the edge of the sahara. Truly flat, mix of hard and soft sand. Fast paced riding with sudden table tops and washouts from recent rains. KTM suspension was unbelievable at 80-100kms. (The speeds were all estimates because the bikes had all extras stripped away, including speedometers and tachometers).
Wind got stronger, took several hours of flat desert valley riding to reach the deeper dunes. Rusto crashed over his bars in one of the sandy sections and sprained his shoulder lightly. But he was able to ride on with only mild impedance.
Finally we arrived at the edge of the tall, really really tall, dunes (Like 300-500 ft dunes). It was almost 1p at this point and lunch was hot and ready. So we parked the bikes at the Bedouin style camp and had lunch and a little rest before our "playtime" in the giant dunes.
Lunch was again tagine with potatoes chicken and lamb. tea and coffee of course too.
Riding in the dunes was very intimidating due to the sheer height of the dunes. But riding them was actually easier than I thought. Just keep on the gas! We took a few laps through the dunes for an hour or so. Then returned to the lunch spot. Rusto had skipped to the dune ride due to his sore shoulder. Erg Chigaga was the name of this dune region. About 10km north of the Algerian Border.
The sand tracks getting out of the giant dunes was fast, loose, and very fun. Full of slightly winding tracks with sand blown over in speed humps that became perfect jumps for the bike.
Once clear of the sands, we erupted onto a dry lake bed, and could ride nearly flat out. a hard pack crusty surface provided incredible grip to weave back and forth at high speed. Stopped at a random coffee/tea shop in the middle of the lake bed for some shade and refreshment.
There was one section of the flat lake bed was was like corrugated cement washboard. It literally rattled my hands to be numb. Luckily it was only a few Km.
Some more technical lunar rock surfaces, loose and big rocks. I had a hard time keeping up at all with the guide.
The last stretch the Slovaks were becoming tired, So we took a "shortcut" through a river bed for 15-20km. It was just deep soft sand like the pine barrens with lots of tire tracks. It was super fun for me and the guide going fast on top of the of loose loose surface. Meanwhile everyone else was paddling and battling to stay upright going too slow to have fun in the slippery stuff.
Sand only works well on dirtbikes if you keep up pretty serious speed. Which is scary if you're not well accustomed to it. THANKS JERSEY.
The hotel was truly luxury this time. Walk into a beautiful pool get handed a cold beer. I strip off my gear in my room and jump in the pool. It is... barely warm enough to swim in. But adequate for a quick dip. This hotel is obviously a major stop for backcountry explorers. Mountain bikers, dualsport riders, off roaders, many french and european adventure tourists. The location was called Foum Zguid
Dinner was a buffet for all the guests at the hotel. Was the best. Lamb, beef, and chicken tagine. Kebabs, beets, potatoes, couscous, and cake with caramelized banana on top.
Ate and drank and told stories. I didnt mention it earlier, but there were many cats all over this country. Stay cats all over begging at the tables. All of our hotels and dining areas are indoor/outdoor spaces. Inside structures, but open to air with no glass windows or doors. So the stray cats were free to come in and beg. So cute, but looking a bit scraggly. I took lots of photos, but my rule was not to touch them.
Had a hard time falling asleep, aircon was on the fritz, didnt blow much cold air. I saw a lizard run up my wall too. Which was actually cool, not unsettling.
March 4
We Woke up the next day and were offered an early side trip to ride some Trials style trails near the hotel. Only Stanli, took up the offer. So him and the guide did that for about a half hour in the morning. My wrist was quite painful, so i didnt feel like doing extra in the morning. It felt better as it loosened up.
Another big breakfast at the hotel, eggs, yogurt, croissants, and moroccan crepes. Some leftover cake too. More tea and coffee as well. It seems that most of the hotels use instant nescafe. Not the best, but ok.
Our riding in the morning was through gravely lowlands and some farm villages. Able to move pretty quickly. Until the terrain became steeper and larger rocks again. Technically still a road, but would be inching along in a car or truck. The guide and I were flying up the hill on the bikes.
We stopped midway up through the ascent of this section to wait for the group, Sam went back to check on why they hadn't caught up.
I waited another 5 -10 min and they went back down the trail myself. I was happy to see Sam give me the thumbs up when I pulled off my helmet. But they he said "Stanli crashed and broke his shoulder." SO i told him, I dont think thats worth a thumbs up.
According to the other riders, it was a big crash. Bike going end over end after the front caught a rock bad. This threw the rider 15-20 feet into the boulders at the end of the trail. We were in the middle of the techinical section. An area where the Toyota had not followed us due to its difficulty. So we had to call Cole to come down the trail from the top and rock crawl down the hill to us. Took about 40 min to get him to us. The client was only complaining of pain to his shoulder and not no apparent neck or other serious injuries. So he was urgently taken into ourzazate in the toyota for x rays at a private clinic known to the guide company.
His bike had no obvious damage other than scratches and twisted forks. Being without a rider, it was also loaded on the back of the Toyota and taken into town.
While we were waiting for the rescue, I noticed a camel skeleton mummified on the hill just beside the trail. So i walked over to look at it. Thinking how ominous it was to have as a trail marker next to were we just had a serious accident. I removed a few teeth from its skull and decided that would be my official souvenir from this lovely trip. (This is added to my collection at home: Cow spine from New Mexico, unknown femur from New Mexico, Beaver skull from Catskills, and an Abalone shell from Outer Banks beach.)
I think Ed was the most spooked by this warning. He rode VERY slowly the rest of the day. I did my best to ride fast and casual not stressing about whether or not we had any support.
We had a quick snack at a restaurant in Agdz. It was just salad and french fries and cold drinks. we wanted to get back to the workshop at an early time so we could take our 5 hour taxi back to Marrakech. The slovaks had a very early flight out in the morning.
More fast mining style roads, a scooter with two locals passed us on one of the mountain roads and then crashed in the corner right ahead. A bit embarrassing for them, i felt bad!
When took about an hour of tarmac for the last leg. It was an epic mountain pass with passing lanes. The road surface was fresh and smooth. I took it with great gusto, however the blind corners were somewhat nerve-racking because the passing oncoming traffic would often drift into your lane.
By the time we got back into Ourzazate and the home base for the operation, all our butts were numb from the hard MX seats.
We divvied out the gear, had a quick shower, and then ate a brief meal cooked by his paid house staff. Again chicken tagine with fresh bread and salad. Very good.
We got our deposits back, and then boom the taxi was there ready to take us back across the mountains. It was about 530 at this point.
The trip back was very fast and twisty and my right arm began to bind up like a tight rubber band. My loss of mobility was concerning, but I felt sure it would be better once the tissues relaxed again. I could feel the muscle pushing and rubbing against the sheath of the muscle group. Made an audible squeak noise through my skin.
We made good time. only 4 hours to the city. We had one brief stop by a policeman. But he just needed a small fine from the driver for a "speed camera" trap.
We then criss crossed the city to be dropped off at our hotels. I was last. Slovaks(all three of them back together), Edward, and then me.
Getting dropped off at the edge of old city (medina) at 11p on a Saturday night was a little sketchy. Just because I did not really know exactly were I was to walk to. About a half kilometer somewhere down the tight windy alleys. I found the door matching the address on my booking reservation and knocked. With no answer or marking on the door, I messaged the host on the app. As I waited, a local young guy started calling out to me offering assistance. I just lowered my face and stared a hole into the door in front of me. He came down and let me in. The relief of sitting down after all that traveling was immense.
The host spoke a bit of english, but mostly Spanish and French. So we got by with some Spanish and English. Luckily, he let me pay with my credit card. Allowing me to save my dirhams for my day out the next day. We also settled up on the tour I had requested online a week ahead. the tour was to see waterfalls and Macaque Monkeys. It included transportation from the rented room to the shuttle.
The room was modest, and the windows were open. I realized I was on a moped alley highway! Being Saturday, traffic was steady until after midnight. But that was ok, I didn't arrive until 11p and had unpacking and settling in to do. By the time I was tucked in, the noise outside had abated.
March 5
I was up early before sunrise, showered and ready to go well before the departure time of 8am. I wanted to climb up to the rooftop patio and watch the sunrise! As I sat there, my host brought me Coffee and I enjoyed the crisp desert air in the morning.
At precisely 8am we made a brisk walk out of the alleyways into the main plaza where I was handed off my the rental host to a taxi driver, he took me just a few blocks away and dropped me off with another driver. There I waited on the curb with a chain smoking driver/organizer for 30 min watching morocco wake up and the traffic steadily grow thicker on the arterial feeding into Medina(old city). Scooters, Donkeys with carts, three wheeled motorcycle carts, taxis, and cars.
Eventually, some white "sprinter tour" style vans. But oddly, they werent even fords or mercedes. they were big Hyundai luxury buses. I was pointed onto a bus with only one question needed, "Waterfall?" "Oui, Yes" I said and sat with the comfort I could just be along for the ride the rest of the day.
(Interestingly from me being handed off from person to person at no point was I asked to show paper, or receipt, or ticket, or anything. I was merely pushed down the line until I was sat in the correct bus. Remarkable from my point of view.)
The tour bus was filled with europeans. A good mix though. A group of Italian young women, A french couple, a french family, and a London couple. So between us we had three main languages.
We drove out of the city and paralleled the mountains in the valley for about an hour. stopped for a snack/bathroom break. I bought a yogurt drink for breakfast. Then we continued on out of the valley into some smaller hills. Tight roads for the big buses. After another hour we arrived at the drop off point.
Our bus was corralled by a tour guide who introduced himself and said he was a college graduate with a degree in literature. He asked our languages, and then gave his intro speech in all three languages. It only makes me wonder how many more languages he could speak.
He explained some foundational knowledge. We were at Ouzoud Waterfalls. The second highest waterfall in Africa after Victoria Falls. He went on to elaborate the key people of Morocco. The Berber(indigenous people) of the mountains mostly, the Bedouins of the south, the Arabs, and the French colonization. I found it most interesting that the native Berber language is written in pictographs much more like hieroglyphs or san skrit and is read from left to right. While Arabic is of course read right to left.
He led us down the trail to the base of the waterfall, stunning views. Very impressive. A highly curated tourist experience with many local vendors selling their wares. The lagoon at the base of the falls were filled with a few small barge like boats. One was a ferry to the other side, the others were for a scenic tour down under the falls. I could see the falls just fine, and declined the tour boat under falls as it was a few hundred dirham extra.
After admiring the falls for a good 20 or 30 min. We walked up the other cliff and had lunch at a cliffside restaurant. Muy Romantico with the shining sun over the mist off the falls. I sat in my corner by myself and enjoyed some quiet eating time away from the bustling crowds building at the falls. Chicken Kebab, delicious bread, salad, and oranges for desert. A very delicious and healthy lunch for about 12 bucks.
After lunch we wound our way up the cliff dodging venders and beggars, stopping to take photos at the overlooks.
Finally halfway up the opposite cliff face we got to the monkey hangout! There was a troop of about a half dozen monkeys hanging out up and down the trail. There were several monkey "Minders" feeding the monkeys peanuts and helping them climb on tourist's shoulders. Meanwhile I kept a sharp eye for the monkeys hanging on the periphery. Climbing up over the cliff edges and offering me the most wonderful photographs. Lugging my DSLR camera all the way the rest of the trip was worth it for the monkey shots.
After shooting the monkeys for 20 minutes we finished the hike to the top of the waterfall. We were got to look down over the edge. It was a little bit sketchy. There were chains to advise were to stop. But tourists gleefully hopped the chains in order to get photos right at the edge of the cliffs. I am certain there had been fatalities at this tourist site. But the loose regulation of this country ensures good fun for the responsible.
Thus our tour was completed and we said many thanks to our waterfall guide, and paid him a modest 30 dirham for his services (about 3 bucks).
Then back on the bus and back into town. It was getting on 4pm by now. We made another stop about halfway back. I stretched my legs in a seat in the shade in a patio near where some boys were studying school notes. I fiddled on my phone and then got back on the bus. I noticed the school boys staring at me from their spot at the table. They waved, I gave them the peace way for motorcycles. Then gave them the universal wheelie sign through the window and they all cracked up. Wheelies are my favorite international language.
The bus dropped me back at the plaza were I started. I took a lap through the main market and was instantly overwhelmed at the masses. It was Sunday market and it was JUMPIN. I grabbed a cone of frozen yogurt/soft serve and walked straight in. Snake Charmers, costumes, stilt walkers, and many many vendors.
As I made my way across the plaza I ended up in the indoor section of the market. Before I knew it I was lost inside of multi level maze of bright white LED illuminated cases full of jewelry and mirrors. It was almost like a house of mirrors. Took me more than a few minutes to navigate my way out.
Other than a few vendors shoving dinner menus in my face (It was now 630p) I was not aggressively bothered by sellers or beggars. I found a small "Snack" food place. Basically a kebab shop at the edge of the market and had a kebab wrap and a coke for dinner. Then called it quits for the hustle and bustle.
I was a short walk away from my rented room. I arrived right at sunset and made my way up to the roof for a spectacular sunset behind the main mosque of the city. As I admired the changing colors my host emerged and offered tea. I had my mint tea while the sun set just as the evening call to prayer rang out across the city skyline. The least musical religion of any I can think of. Why couldn't Mohammad have made a sacred Tone or at least picked a blessed Key. The unresolved tones were disquieting.
After Tea was comfy time. I laid in bed for hours reviewing my go pro footage and photos and assembly a highlight video on my phone. This process always takes hours, So it was good to rest my body and organize my media from my phone, go pro, and DSLR.
Before I knew it, it was after midnight and time for bed. I resolved to sleep in and have a lazy breakfast before the taxi to the airport.
March 6
I showered and left the apartment at 10. Walked 20 feet down the alley, almost got run over by the morning rush hour traffic of scooters, and wagons, and carts. After this short, but surprisingly perilous walk, I ducked into a European style restaurant. The Mandala Society, a fusion project by a nomadic Moroccan / Icelandic family. Delightfully high quality digs with many wood features and decoration that could be mistaken for Bushwick or perhaps London. Naturally I had their version of avo toast with espresso. I believe their entire menu was vegetarian.
Once more into the fray of the marketplace, I took one more lap of the vendors and local architecture. I wandered my way to a taxi stand outside the old city and used my most unpleasant french; "MonSuuuer? Per don MonSuurrr?" "Aeropuerto?"
Luckily thats about all you need to get yourself to the airport. I had googled ahead to see what the average fare would cost me. So I made sure I had saved enough dirham for the trip. I think it was about 140 dirham. Almost fifteen bucks for a 3 km drive. Worse than Uber :(
Security was a snap, had another croissant and espresso at the gate to purge my last dirhams.
Waited a few more hours for my flight. then off to Zurich!
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Zurich
My plane arrived at about 8pm at the Zurich airport. As I landed I realized I had no sim card for Europe, only Morocco. So I would have not cell support while exploring. I also realized I had to decide how to get my few hours of sleep. My flight was 4p the following day. I had about 20 hours to kill. So after much deliberating and searching for placed open 24 hours a day in Zurich I came to two conclusions.
One, Zurich is not a working class city. It is a rich and party city. Many bars open until 3 or 4 am on a weeknight. But no 24 hours coffee shops or fast food joints. In fact, no early cafes or fast food either. You had to wait until 8 am at most cafes for service! What a lazy morning city! But I guess thats the model if you stay up late drinking, fraternizing and then rolling into a finance job the next day late.
Two, the Zurich airport was as good as some places I had paid to sleep in. Power outlets everywhere, quiet acoustics in general, all chairs with something that felt quite close to leather, no annoying armrests to dissuade sleeping, and they even cut the overhead lights out at midnight to 4am.
I took a Benadryl and had a light citrus beer from the snack kiosk, dinner was a ham and cheese from the Starbucks and I grabbed some extra bananas with a croissant for my early morning breakfast before the city woke up.
March 7
After a surprisingly high quality 5 hours of sleep on the seats, I walked to the vending machine and got a vended macchiato with my banana and croissant. A shockingly complete european breakfast for slumming it on the bench.
Finally at 6am as the first flights were taking off I passed through passport control and took the train into the city. It was a direct train to the main station in center of Zurich. 24 train pass was 14 francs or about 15 dollars. Seemed reasonable.
I love walking a city as it wakes up for the day. I took a walk out of the city core along the canal to the lake. Walked along the northern shore for about 2 miles and watched everyone out on the morning walks and runs and took many photos of the architecture. I could see this whole area being quite lively in the summer months. But as it was, it as 39 and grey.
After a few hours of walking I came for a simple realization, this entire city was Helvetica. Like the font. It is no coincidence that this entire retelling of my trip occurs in the Helvetica style. Named after a city within its borders, I sort of came to understand that this font was an exemplar for Swiss society and culture. Practical, bold, formal, clear, and informational.
Time for more museums! In my own frugal way, I sniffed out the free options available to me. All the museums associated with the University of Zurich were free and open.
So I walked to the Starbucks below the University for Wi Fi and to formulate a plan. An espresso with a ham and cheese croissant set me back 14 bucks. Yeesh, Zurich.
Fed and caffeinated I marched up the hill to the Zoological and Paleaontological Museum. It was in one large exhibit and was very impressive with preserved specimens from many animal kingdoms. I liked the wooly mammoth and dinosaur fossils. The only difficult part of the museum was that all the informational text was written in German and unfortunately because I had not cell service, I could not use my google translate service.
After 1-2 hours in there I stepped out into bright blue sunshine. A wonderful surprise after a frankly dreary morning. An espresso cart was set up on the plaza outside one of the university buildings so I had one. After finishing it asked the barista what he thought was interesting nearby for additional museums. He did not have any strong recommendations, but I student named Sylvan came to my assistance. He said he was walking over to another building that had some very good earth science exhibits on permanent display.
He was a french national who was just finishing his school and looking for a job. (and he spoke english well).
He led me to the Focus Terra ETH science museum. A multi level science museum tucked into a larger academic building. Contained exhibits on mineralogy, volcanology, space exploration, and engineering challenges.
Was a great small scale science museum that was not overwhelming.
I said "auf wiedersehn" to the University and marched down the hill back to the large train terminal. Along with the terminal was a gigantic underground mall. I perused the shops and restaurants and eventually got a burger from burger king. A simple whopper, 7 bucks. So airport prices basically for everything in Zurich.
Went to the local Coop grocer and picked up some Swiss chocolate (Sort of had to right?).
Back on the train at about noon to give myself a few hours before my boarding time.
Here is an odd thing about the train, the ticket inspectors were all in plainclothes. Like undercover cops or something. Odd. One came up to me, and I knew I was in trouble. "Did you upgrade your ticket?" He said to me after we established I had no German Language acumen. Ah, you see what had happened is that I had mistakenly sat in the first class coach, Which was almost entirely empty. I was a little flustered as I explained my misunderstanding. He listened to my story and then escorted me to the other carriage. He explained there is a #1 for first class, and that it did not indicate that it was simple the first car. AND, that the first class was demarcated by having carpeting vs economy's uncovered flooring. Ah, silly me. I was confused, I felt like everything in Zurich felt like 1st class.
Back at the airport, I had my favorite German language moment when one of the custom agents in front of me sneezed and I confidently said "Gesundheit!" I was met with the glassy indifferent glance of a servant of the state.
During my final passport/boarding pass check at the gate I was greeted by the officer with a full german sentence. To my puzzled look he said pointing to my last names (both German) and said "What? no German? You should at least be able to order a tall pint of cold beer in German!" I just stammered back that unfortunately my german family was 3 or 4 generations in the states.
Airplane was only at half capacity, but it felt more full due to the animation of a mostly American cliental. I am thinking of one particularly restless extended family who looked at sounded like Northern Jersey to me.
Easy flight home, watched some movies, slept though the ice cream they passed out so I walked back to the galley and politely asked for some.
Unfortunately customs was slow and I did not make the most convenient train back to Philadelphia from Newark.
Anyways, onwards. On the last train I heard this poor women crying with her partner saying she was feeling emotionally traumatized by witnessing the state of humanity at the 20min layover at the Trenton station. I felt bad for her. I hope the rest of her trip was better and they were going somewhere cozy and safe feeling.
As the bridge over the Delaware river says at Trenton: "Trenton Makes, The World Takes." Takes the humanity I guess.
I was feeling antsy as the train hit the edge of city limits for Philadelphia, so I opted to get off early in north Philadelphia and catch a Lyft the last 4 miles home.
And thats in, home back about midnight. But my brain was thinking it was 6am because of the time change.
I great trip, logistically complex, but happily well executed and mostly un-injured to boot!
PS if reading isn't your style or you really love poorly made video documentaries, check out the moving pictures here:
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