Featured photo is another picture I took of the lake at sunset.

Because I still have the rest of the week to get through, and one of our air conditioners is in my office, I figure I might as well finish writing about Monday, June 22nd in Küsnacht, Switzerland. Although it was just six days ago, it almost feels like a month has passed since my first afternoon spent sitting by Lake Zürich. I figure it will be good to keep the momentum going, so I don’t forget any details… You might be surprised by what can happen when you sit by a lake in Switzerland!

As I write this, it’s about ten minutes til two o’clock in the afternoon. It’s about 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and my weather app is warning of “severe conditions”. It was also very hot in Switzerland, but the lake breezes and close proximity to the refreshingly cool water in the lake made sitting outside more appealing than sitting in our hotel room.

If you know what I look like, you know I am a very WHITE person, with fair–very blonde– hair and blue eyes. I no longer tan very well. I feared a sunburn. But, I’m pleased to give credit to the makers of Neutrogena 70 SPF sunblock, because all I got this week were some faint tan lines around my shoulders, rather than an angry burn. I slathered that stuff on faithfully before I ventured out to the private lakeside “beach” at the Sonne Seehotel.

I’m also grateful that I brought two of my own beach towels. The hotel provides robes and slippers, although I’m not sure the little tote bag with spa attire in it also included beach towels. I did notice the bag had a tag on it that read 30 CHF if you wanted to buy it. I’m not sure if that price was just for the bag, or also included the stuff in it. I’m sure most folks wouldn’t want to reuse the slippers, at the very least!

In any case, I anticipated that I’d want the towels, because I like having one on my lounger and another to dry off with, and it didn’t appear to me that the “beach” had anyone offering towels. In fact, there was really no one there working as an attendant. There was a sign warning that swimming is at one’s own risk, and reminding people of when the ferry boats come by to pick up and drop off people. I noticed that they came in twos– one going in either direction.

On Monday, I was lucky enough to score a lounger near the ladder into the lake. It was under one of the nice densely leafed chestnut trees, so there was good shade cover. I plopped down there and started reading a book that I reviewed on my main blog last week. The book was about the extremely entitled behavior of former Prince Andrew and his ex wife, Sarah Ferguson. I was glad I didn’t run into anyone quite as obnoxious at the Sonne Seehotel last week, but there were a couple of contenders for an honorable mention.

Not that I was handing out awards, or anything. Bill would be in class until about 7:00 PM. Monday was his “long day”. I wanted to give the housekeepers plenty of time to clean the room, so I hung out at the lake all day, taking an occasional dip in the water to cool off. I was surprised that more people weren’t hanging out down there with me, but I guess most other guests were there to actually see Zürich.

I’m sure some went to the Lindt Chocolate Museum/Factory, directly across the lake. Bill and I went there in 2021, and I wouldn’t mind going back, especially now that we don’t have to wear face masks anymore. It was also usually lunchtime when I tended to visit, so some people were probably eating. And some, like Bill, were taking classes or doing business.

Not that much happened on Monday, except for when a group of elderly ladies showed up and started speaking rapid fire Spanish to each other. At one point, one of them addressed me in German. I hadn’t quite understood what she asked me, and said “I’m an American.” 😚

She immediately switched to perfect English! 🫪 The funny thing is, I studied Spanish for six years in school, although I haven’t used it in decades. I’m probably about as good at Spanish as I am at German… although if she’d asked in Armenian, maybe I would have caught it.

The lady had wanted to know if they were bothering me by being too loud. The honest answer is, I probably would have preferred quiet, or even silence, but they had as much right to be at the beach as I did. And of course I wasn’t going to tell them they were annoying me, even if they were. It was nice of her to ask… or maybe I looked bitchy and she was being passive aggressive? I don’t know. But I still got a marvel out of how she spoke at least three languages. Americans really need to do better at learning other tongues… myself included!

On Monday, the hotel had the whole yard open, which meant there was room to spread out. As I would come to learn over the course of last week, that would not always be the case. The other thing I noticed, especially when the whole yard was open, is that from my window, I could see how many people were down there on the loungers, so I could avoid going down there when there were many people.

But the first day was kind of dreamy, and it wasn’t quite so hot. I got some photos and watched a bunch of rowdy, noisy school kids jumping off the pier. At one point, a boat honked at a couple of the kids, because they were in the path of the boat as it approached. The kids– so full of the same endless energy I used to have– bolted from the pier, only to return seconds later, after the boat had departed. In the other direction, more kids were hanging out at an idyllic park, jumping in the water and screaming. It felt a bit like a natural version of the neighborhood pools I used to attend when I was growing up in Virginia.

A few people braved the lake. Some even swam out a ways. I noticed people tended to have interesting reactions to the lake, especially the Americans. As I previously mentioned, the lake floor is a bit rocky. While there area. couple of flat, square shaped slabs on the bottom, perhaps for the ease of hotel guests, the were also kind of slimy and slick. Then the ladder, which had wooden steps most of the way down, had two metal grated steps at the bottom. I’ve always had really tough feet, so I wasn’t bothered by them. Most people reacted to the water as if it was really cold. It was cold, but certainly not frigid. I quickly got used to it and loved it. Unfortunately, I’m not the greatest swimmer these days, so I stuck fairly close to the shore.

When it got later, and more people started venturing toward the lake, I took that as my cue to leave. I packed up my stuff and headed back to the room, where after a shower, I took another nap. It was the only one I took for the rest of the week, which is quite a feat for me these days. Maybe it’s because I didn’t eat lunch.

Since Bill got back to the hotel rather late on Monday, we decided to eat dinner in the Biergarten. The guitar busker guy showed up again. Bill came prepared with spare change, so we could tip him. He’d cue the hat passing by playing a cheeky rendition of the “Pink Panther Theme”, by Henry Mancini.

Bill and I both had fried chicken tenders and potato salad for dinner, along with draft beers. One thing I noticed at the Sonne Hotel is that they don’t offer many Weizens. If you want a Weizen at the Biergarten, you have to buy it in a bottle. It’s also a German beer–Schneider Weisse.

Once some people cleared out, I got some more photos of the beautiful lake and sunset… I liked how they put lights in the trees. Also, this year, there wasn’t a huge pile of dog shit left there all week, like there was last year.

After our nightcap by the lake, Bill and I went to bed. I asked how Bill had enjoyed his first day in “school”. He said it was phenomenal. He took a class in Borderline Personality Disorder that was especially interesting… probably because he used to be married to someone who likely has BPD (and NPD, if I’m honest).

Tuesday was also going to be a busy day for him, although he would be getting back to the hotel at a more normal time. More on that in the next post.