Zurich - Idette's Visit

View of Zurich From Bridge, Photograph (c) Idette

Luck does not only smile on me, it also smiles on Idette.

Last weekend Idette came over to visit and so I finally stopped trying to sort out my flat (I’ve come from sorting out my flat in Egypt to sorting out my flat in Switzerland!) and had a weekend of relaxation and tourism.

She arrived on Friday and left on Sunday, so it was a short visit, but we tried to pack a lot in.

My move into my flat is still underway, so there were no curtains in the spare bedroom and a pile of empty boxes in the hallway. Cardboard collection isn’t until next week, so the boxes had to stay where they were (I did pack them all into a single box, though)! It would have been nice to have introduced Idette to a finished flat, but it was not to be. I’d started hanging curtains in the lounge (not yet finished), but that was as far as I’d got.

Friday was quiet; I showed Idette my local shops and my place of work and then subjected her to my cooking. I’ve recently discovered that I can make pasta carbonara myself. For some reason, I decided to give it a go at home and it came off quite well. I was a bit over-excited as a consequence and subsequently made it three days running. And now I trotted it out to Idette as well. It’s rare for me to try making a new dish; and even rarer for me to like the result consistently, so it was a bit of a milestone moment for me (hence the over-exuberance).

We had snow last week but, miraculously, as soon as Idette arrived, the sun shone and a blue sky spread above us. To my surprise, as we went into town on Saturday, I realized that this was the first time since I’d been back in Zurich that I’d wandered around the city; I’ve just been too busy with other things.

We walked down the cobbled streets of the Niederdorf; I became completely absorbed by a lot of new shops there that I hadn’t seen before, so I became a tourist in my own home. Idette took a lot of photographs, which was also good, because it forced me to stop and really look at where I was and also to appreciate the beauty and charm of the old buildings. I try not to get blasé, but sometimes you need a wake-up call.

We also walked along by the lake – since it was a lovely day, the Niederdorf hadn’t been so crowded and there were a good number of people enjoying a promenade by the lakeside. Zurich is a very wealthy city, so I always find it quite refreshing how much the people take simple pleasure in the lake and the outdoors in general. 

At weekends, many people go skiing, hiking, or take a promenade along the lake. A place hiring out paddle boats was open and seemed to be getting good custom. There were even a couple of paddle boarders on the water. I wouldn't like to be doing that when the water is still so cold!

After that, we nipped over to the other side of the river Limmat and explored the old town on that side of the embankment; even then there were places that we never got round to seeing. I overheard one couple talking about plans as to how they could come over to live in Zurich for a few years; they were so excited and full of desire and determination to live here that it made me realize just how lucky I am. The old town is beautiful with its quaint shops, cobbled streets, view on to the river, and peaceful pedestrians. I really need to appreciate this more. In a way, I am living two dreams in one life – how amazing is that!

In the evening, we had a meal and ate our very own meringue Boeoeg on top of a chocolate mousse pyre all in celebration of Sechselaeuten (see last blog). This Boeoeg, at least, was quickly demolished. 

It was the first time that I’d noticed how much of a fuss was made over Sechselaeuten – another advantage of seeing Zurich as a tourist for a change! There were chocolates of the Boeoeg, miniature Boeoegs, food creations of the Boeoeg... and the shopkeepers loved to talk about it too.

On Sunday morning, we went to the “long-sleepers’ brunch cruise” on Lake Zurich. As Idette pointed out, this isn’t really so late, as we had to be there for 10am, which meant getting up by around 8.45am. If you want to go, I would advise to reserve in advance, since it was pretty full and if you reserve you are more likely to get a window seat (not that it really matters). This is also very Swiss – things get booked up really quickly.

However, actually, I would recommend it only if you really want to do the boat trip. The juice was made from concentrate and not fresh, there were no desserts, the coffee was just filter coffee (no speciality coffees), no prosecco was included, and there were no main lunch meals (just hot breakfast items of bacon, scrambled egg, sausage, and some ham). There were cold meats, cereals, breads, etc. The Hiltl brunch is far superior, as is the one at the Kameha, which are both the same price or less. You don’t get the cruise included, but the quality and selection of food is much better (a true brunch as opposed to just breakfast). Nevertheless, it was fun to be on the boat and to see further up the lake while we talked and ate.

After that, it was time for Idette to get her flight, and that was also the end of my weekend of being a tourist. It had been a great opportunity to chat and catch up. But now it's back to reality and work!

Zurich - The Seasons (Sechselaeuten)

MyBalcony - Spring Flowers in Winter!

I noted in an earlier blog that one of the first things that struck me on my return to Zurich was spring. It had been a while since I’d really experienced spring and I was enchanted by the flowers everywhere, the cherry blossom, the budding trees… I’d somehow forgotten what this season was like. There is a kind of spring in Egypt in the sense that it starts to get warmer and warmer, but it’s not really dramatic and it’s more a slow transition into summer. And sometimes it’s not even that slow a transition.

I was wondering how long it would take me to get fed up of the clouds and rain when I came back to Zurich, but I was extraordinarily lucky and the weather has generally been sunny and warmer than usual. There have even been days where I’ve been able to sit outside on my balcony. 

When I arrived back, two of my friends were just about to go on holiday to get some sun and I had to double-think for a moment. I couldn’t really understand how they could be saying they were missing the sun when the weather was so good, but then I realized that I’d just come from months of sun in Egypt and hadn’t had to suffer the cloud and cold of winter. I appreciated the current sunshine, but had lost the perspective of what long weeks of grim and grey rain and sludge can do to your soul. I’ve already started to take my dream for granted!

Lots of people are posting photographs of cherry blossom on facebook; I don’t remember that happening in previous years. Even I have a photograph (not on facebook) of the cherry blossom that I can see from my balcony. It really is stunning. It brought back fond memories of my trip to Japan!

Anyway, seeing all these signs of spring inspired me to focus first on planting out my balcony– my reasoning being that the sooner I got it all done, the more time I would have to enjoy it. I get a lot of pleasure out of this because I like trying to grow plants, and this is something I don’t get the chance to do when I’m in Egypt. It’s just too hot and sandy over there for any kind of pot plant to survive.

Oerlikon has a market on Saturday mornings – it sells mostly fruit and veg, but there are also a number of stalls selling cut flowers as well as plants for the garden or balcony. It seemed that many people had the same idea as me, though. On two occasions, I’d just made up my mind which plant I wanted to buy only to find that the last one had just been sold to someone else. This is Switzerland for you – they are always shopping early, and you can’t afford to dither.

I’d forgotten that one of the supermarkets also held a garden section outside during the spring and summer, so on spotting it I went there after the market had closed. All in all, I spent two Saturdays doing this and several journeys back and forth to carry the plants, containers, and soil.

Of course, just one week after I’d planted it all out nicely, the temperature plummeted and we had three days of snow! It’s like this every year – you think that winter is over, and then it hits you with one final surprise burst. In a way, it was quite nice to get the opportunity to see some snow. Some of the plants now look a bit sad, but I think they will recover.

I am hoping that Sechselaeuten (Monday 24th April) will mark the end of winter. This is a festival in Zurich (the afternoon is a public holiday) where they burn an effigy of a snowman (called the “Boeoeg”) on a pyre. The sooner the snowman’s head explodes, the better the forthcoming summer is supposed to be. Apparently there have been some controversies over the definition of the head exploding – if only I could have done my philosophy dissertation on that! Anyway, I’m hoping for a quick explosion of the snowman and a good summer this year.

Zurich - Another Bicycle (Cresta)

Oerlikon Velo Boerse

My purchase of my flying pigeon (bicycle) in Egypt was quite a success. Consequently, I wondered whether a bike would be a good idea over here as well. The local swimming pool is located just down a path by a river, so it would be a nice place to cycle. The river even eventually leads to just behind my work place – it’s a bit of a long way round, but the journey looks as if it could be quite pleasant in the summer.

The Swiss don’t really like buying things second hand, but bicycles are the one exception. Throughout the year, there are hugely popular “Velo Boerse” (bicycle exchanges) where people gather to sell and buy bicycles. Hundreds of bikes are lined up with prices attached; the sellers pay a percentage of their sale to the organisers. As with anything popular in Switzerland, you are advised to go early because the best bicycles sell first. For the buyer, a second hand bicycle is considerably cheaper than a new one.

I went along, rather late, with no real plan in mind. I started off looking at bikes with baskets, but most of these seemed to have already been sold. Whenever I stopped to look at one, it felt as if five people would immediately appear out of nowhere and also be interested. This was enough to put me off.

I’m still not a confident cyclist, so the idea of trying it out was daunting. The space between the rows of bikes was limited and I didn’t trust myself to be able to cycle in a straight line or not to run over the people who were milling about. I tried one out, but the handlebar seemed so fluid, moving about from left to right with such ease, that I immediately panicked, my heart thumping, dismounted as soon as I could and disappeared as fast possible. Fortunately, no-one was looking.

After that, it took me a while to pluck up the courage to try another one. This time the seat was too high and again I fled from the bike, although the Chinese seller was calling after me, still trying to sell it to me (I did get him to understand my problem in the end!). In fact, even on their lowest settings, most of the bike saddles were too high for me.

I soon ran out of ladies bikes with baskets to look at. It then occurred to me that I could always buy a basket and that it was the bike itself I should be interested in. Doh. I started to look at the other bicycles in a different light.

I eventually found one n a relatively good condition with a low enough saddle. On my hesitant test ride, the handlebar still felt rather fluid but somehow the bike gave off the impression of being solid. I had greater confidence that the wobbliness was truly down to me.

The dealer gave me the hard sell – “the bicycle suits you”, “look at this gadget that lights up when you put on the brakes, that itself costs 70 CHF”, “someone else was going to buy this but I said I couldn’t reserve it for her and she’s just gone to get some money out”. Since I’ve been living in Egypt and am used to this kind of chat, none of this stressed me out (it might have done otherwise); I just found it quite amusing.

He told me how to change the gears, so I tried that, but I reckon my blood pressure rose when he kept on telling me to stop braking. I didn’t really want to be watched and there was no way I wasn’t going to have my fingers clenched on the brakes!

Anyway, I decided to bite the bullet and buy it. At this point, the seller noticed how much shopping I had with me. To my great surprise and joy, he produced a basket and gave it to me for free. Once we’d agreed on the sale, he asked me if I was happy. I said I was very happy (the basket had just made my day).

But that little question gave me pause for thought. Egyptians often check that you’re happy after closing a bargain. Perhaps I should have negotiated on price? It’s not really what you do in Switzerland, but then they don’t really do second-hand items either; also, on reflection the seller looked a bit as if he could be from one of the Arabic countries, so maybe he'd been expecting me to haggle. But it was too late to worry and I was indeed happy. That’s what I’ve learned to focus on after having lived in Egypt.

I hadn’t considered how to get the bike home. I deliberated taking it on the tram, but I wasn’t sure if you needed to get a ticket for the bike or even if bikes were allowed. In the end, I decided to ride it back to get some practice, but on the pavement rather than using the bike lane. I didn’t have a helmet or a lock for it at this point and I was pretty petrified, truth be told.

I was increasingly pleased with it as I cycled – it seemed a lot faster than my Egyptian bike, but also quite solid, somehow. However, I was concerned about whether the police could stop me if they saw me riding on the pavement (was this illegal? I really didn’t know). And although I thought that the compulsory bicycle insurance / tax (vignette) that they used to have in Switzerland had been abolished, I wasn’t too sure, and thus I wondered if I could get fined for not having one yet. In my head, it was all quite complicated and fraught with danger even without taking my lack of cycling skills into account.

I was getting the hang of it quite well, but as I slowed down at a point where I wasn’t sure whether there would be enough room for me to get through, given that I would probably wobble about a bit, the bike tipped and I landed with a thud on the ground, my shopping skidding across the pavement. Two men rushed over to help me while I pretended that everything was fine. The basket detached itself and even now I still haven’t fathomed out how I am going to attach it back. It was tied on before and the tie broke during my fall. I did manage to cycle the rest of the way back, but I don’t know when I’ll have the courage to go on an actual cycle lane.

Nevertheless, I feel that everything is as it should be. Just as my Egyptian bike seems strangely apt in being called a Flying Pigeon, my Swiss bike is called Cresta (reminding me of the top of a mountain) and is emblazoned as “Swiss made” on it (very Swiss in itself!). Its speed and efficiency on hills during my small experience so far also makes me feel that it is a very Swiss bike, just as my Egyptian one is very Egyptian. It’s all good!

Zurich - Settling in

My Flat

I’m astonished at the amount of junk mail – or advertisements – that there is in Switzerland, given that it’s generally a fairly eco-friendly country. It feels like each day I get a whole wad of newspapers from various shops telling me what they’re selling and what’s on special offer. For some strange reason, I feel compelled to read them rather than to throw them away immediately, and so my flat gets messier and messier as I wait until I’ve had a chance to go through them all. I’m sure other people are more hard-headed and organized than I am.

My sense of compulsion to actually read these items might be because I’m new to the area and so I’m actually quite curious to know where these shops I haven’t heard of are located and what they are selling. Advertisements aren’t all bad. Nevertheless, it’s the sheer quantity of them. Then there’s also the airport newsletter to inform us about what they’re doing and how it might affect us (who live close to it). And a sheet from the “county” administration to tell us what it’s doing to improve our area. I think there’s a local newspaper as well.

I initially wondered if this was a peculiarity of my new abode, but then I realized that I was one of the few people who didn’t have a “No adverts, please” sticker on their letterbox. These stickers seem to be almost standard and I hadn’t noticed that mine didn’t have one. The advertisers must have a hay day when they see that mine is apparently inviting their input. This is one thing I need to correct. I’m not actually sure where these “no adverts, please” stickers come from – usually they are already there, so I might have to make my own one. I’ll be interested to see if it has much – if any – impact!

I remain pleased with the location of my flat, despite the noise from the planes and trains (which I’m starting to get used to). One piece of admin that I had to do was to renew my C permit (for residence). I was delighted to find that the relevant administrative office was only a five minute walk from my flat. There was virtually no queue, the service was pleasant, and the whole procedure was extremely easy. I hate having to do these “official” things and always psych myself up for problems, but there were none! So, that’s that job completed for another five years – very rewarding.

Several people have asked me recently if I’m going to get Swiss citizenship – apparently the rules have just changed and you can apply after 10 years’ residence (which I have). I’m reluctant, mostly because you have to sit a test on Swiss politics and culture, and I don’t really want to have to go through all that. There’s also a language test, which should be OK for me, but the thought of it still makes me shudder. However, it’s not possible for me to apply anyway because in my new flat I’m no longer in Zurich city, which puts me in a different area’s jurisdiction and I have to be three years in the area I am currently living before I can apply. This is even though I’ve just spent 10 years living in Zurich city! Oh well, at least that’s one decision out of the way.

My rental agency is also just two minutes walk from my flat, so I was able to go in there as well and complain that I couldn’t turn my radiator off in my lounge and that the one in my bathroom won’t fully come on (it obviously needs to be bled, but that was too difficult for me to say in German). It’s much easier for me to pop in and speak to them than to have to phone (I hate the phone).

I decided to get a year’s travel pass on the trams – which I’ve been using to good effect. This weekend I think I went into Oerlikon three times both on Saturday and Sunday (don’t ask) – the bus drivers must be getting to know me by now.

As for my internet, I tried asking in town if I could have a subscription for shorter than one year, but the answer was no, so, rather weirdly, I’m using the i-modem device that I bought in New Zealand and which I use in Egypt (if going with Vodafone – there’s another similar device if I use etisalat; I swap providers in Egypt depending on who is currently doing the best deal). At least I’m getting good use out of it. In contrast to Egypt, here in Switzerland the internet usage is unlimited; I just need to specify for how many days I want it and then renew again if I want to extend. So, although it’s annoying that I can’t get a six-month package, it’s actually not a bad system.

I’m using my filmon TV streaming device that I brought over with me from Egypt to get my UK TV programmes, so all is well. I would have got this in with my internet package if I could have had one, so I’m glad I brought it over. It’s working just fine. However, when I’m back in Egypt I’ll need to remember that the internet isn’t unlimited and that I need to switch off the TV (and internet usage) if I’m not really watching it! I’m getting quite lazy about that here.

So, slowly, things are getting organized.

Zurich - Arriving Back

Zurich - A Sad Palm and A Happy Spring

When I was first back in Egypt, I worried about my Zurich flat being burgled, but somewhere along the line, I stopped being concerned. Possibly, it was when Steph asked to take some stuff out of the flat and she didn’t report that anything was missing.

Anyway, I didn’t sense any trepidation on returning to my flat; instead my main worry was how dirty it would be. I think this was basically me expecting Switzerland to be like Egypt, which, of course, it isn’t. After three months away from Egypt, I’d expect my flat to be a newly-formed beach.

Funnily enough, when I was learning Arabic, someone asked what the word was for “dust” in Arabic and apparently there are loads of different words, all depending on what kind of dust you want to talk about. I can see the need, given that there is so much dust in Egypt.

Philosophers often cite the example of Eskimos having many different words for snow. I can’t remember why this is interesting for philosophers; it’s either to debate whether words shape perception or to illustrate that people perceive things differently and thus a question arises as to what the “real” world could possibly be. I reckon philosophers should use the example of dust in Arabic instead.

But my Zurich flat was surprisingly dust-free even after all this time; I was clearly not in Egypt.

Nevertheless, since I’d only ever been in my Zurich flat for a total of 2 weeks, it didn’t really feel like I was returning to my home. The flat is still pretty empty and noise echoes round whenever you speak. So, although it was good to be released from the hassle of discovering a new location and working out how to get to work, etc, it didn’t really feel like a homecoming; it was more of a curiosity.

It was a bit like moving house when you finally open all the things that you’ve been waiting to arrive. You discover things you’ve forgotten you even possess; it's like a birthday. In this case, I opened my cupboards and was quite surprised to discover what was and wasn’t there. I really hadn’t remembered very well. I had more t-shirts and jeans than I remembered, but was astonished to see that I had only one swimming costume and no pairs of flip flops. What was I thinking?!

Also, I kept on buying things and finding out later that I already had them, but stored in a different cupboard (for example, I bought a box of tissues and the next day discovered a pack of three boxes that I’d previously purchased on special offer and stored elsewhere). I guess I’ll get the hang of being spread across two locations sooner or later.

Having claimed that I didn’t need to learn my way about this time, I was flummoxed when I went to the tram stop and found that my tram to work was going to a different place than it used to go. There was no timetable up to explain the new route. I went into the rail shop to ask whether this was new, but they seemed to think I was complaining and apologized. It was too much effort to work out how it was that they’d misunderstood my question, so I left it. It was quite a bizarre sensation to have such a major change, but later I realized it was just a temporary change of route while they were doing repairs on the line. It did make me feel that I must have been away for longer than I realized.

I don’t know if it was there before, or if I was just sensitized to it now having just come from Egypt, but I spotted a kebab place by my tram stop with a fake palm tree. I found it quite amusing, since palm trees are everywhere in Sahl Hasheesh and now I’d come to somewhere where they felt the need to have an artificial one. It was a very sad looking artificial tree (see photo), nothing like the real thing, and it gave me a slight pang for Egypt.

On the other hand, it was wonderful to experience spring in its full glory (see photo). The gods had smiled on me yet again and granted me really good weather on my return to Zurich. The skies were blue and the spring flowers added colour and a sense of joy to everything. I suddenly realized that I hadn’t seen a real daffodil in quite a long time and it made me quite nostalgic. In fact, the locals must have thought I was a bit weird, because I kept on stopping to take photographs each time I saw a flower anywhere!

Other things that struck me on my return were, once again, how creamy the milk is (even the semi-skimmed). The granulated sugar in Switzerland is also very fine; it’s almost like caster sugar. I had to double-check the packet when I sprinkled it on my Weetabix, but indeed it was just normal sugar! I’d completely forgotten about that. It was obviously time for me to re-adapt back.

Goodbye and Hello

El Andalous Foyer - Location of Owners' Meetings in Winter

Well, my last week in Egypt just flew. I told Kathryn and Stephen that I hoped to go for a swim on my last morning, since Lena had managed to do this on her last day. They scoffed, saying I would have more things to do than Lena would have had. As it was, they were right! Also it was cloudy on my final morning, which made leaving a little easier.

I didn’t even have to clean, since I’ll pay to have that done before I come back (it will get very dusty in the mean time; I have to clean my balcony every morning when I’m there). However, somehow the packing took me forever as did just organizing things. I had to bring the sofa cushions in from outside, tidy, work out what I needed to take with me (it was hard to remember what was already in Zurich), and also prioritise what was to go in my luggage and what would have to stay behind. I am already mourning my solar panel which is still in Egypt. Steph had informed me that I would need a bucket in my new flat in Zurich, and since I have two in Egypt (taking up space), I decided to pack a bucket in my luggage. I bet not many people do that!

In addition to packing, there were the goodbyes to be said as well, and last-minute tasks. I went out for a meal with Kathryn and Stephen to Chez Paul. It was a bit sad, since due to there being so few tourists, they were now offering only about three things on the menu, so choice was limited. I also went for the buffet at the Old Palace with Nicole, which has to be one of the best deals in Sahl Hasheesh (109 LE for residents). Then there was an owners’ meeting that I led and wrote the minutes for, and so, before I knew it, my week was over.

There was a huge queue at the airport and I felt a bit ashamed of myself for being the grumpiest person there. Everyone else seemed buoyed up by their holidays and were really in good spirits. I was impressed as I was expecting people to be moaning, but they absolutely weren’t.

I still got through with enough time to buy myself a cup of coffee. At the first place I went to, they said that they didn’t have any coffee and that I wouldn’t find it anywhere in the whole airport. It did make me stop to think, because it’s been hard to find ground coffee in the supermarkets recently (there must be some kind of shortage). However, Egyptians are fond of saying that what you are looking for can’t be found anywhere simply because they don’t have it themselves. I decided to continue to search.

I spotted another café where people were sitting with cardboard coffee cups and indeed that place was selling coffee. I felt quite pleased with myself for continuing to look and even a little happy that I’d had one final “Egyptian” experience before I left.

I didn’t have any luck with my complaint about my last business class flight (I’d hoped to get a free upgrade), so this time I flew economy (I had told them I would not fly business if their service was so poor). I think I managed to get my cheapest flight ever (around 260 CHF return, I think). To compensate for not being in business, I bought some cashew nuts and a selection of mini Ritter Sport chocolates so that I could enjoy some luxury during the flight. On the down side, I was crammed in between two people and the seats were pretty narrow. It wasn’t actually necessary as there were some free places towards the back of the plane (if only I’d known).

I ordered some prosecco and hoped that I wasn’t offending the Arabic guy next to me. As it was, both he and the woman to my right wished me “ein Guete” before I started to eat my meal, making me feel like a very rude Brit, since we don’t generally say “bon appétit” before a meal. I guess in the old days we used to say grace before meals, but I don’t think it’s something that anyone does these days (or maybe I don’t frequent those circles). Anyway, it was a reminder to polish up my manners!

I enjoyed the meal on the plane but it was small (but I'd complained about that in business, so it's not so bad when you're just paying economy). At some point during the flight, I came out in hives on my arm, so I was obviously allergic to something, but I’m not sure what it was. My prime suspect is the yoghurt Ritter Sport chocolate since I started to itch immediately after that. There’s a second one in my pack, so I’ll try it when I’m feeling brave.

We landed safely and it was odd to hear all the Swiss-German again (even though I’d been speaking to a Swiss woman in German for most of the second-half of the flight). I was a bit taken aback that the rail shop (where I’d planned to buy my rail pass) was closed after 8pm. But a single ticket was probably the better option anyway, so no stress, and I was lucky in that my bus arrived just as I got there, so I had no waiting at all. Switzerland was welcoming me back!

Egypt - Visitor

Pillars and Ceiling at Dendera Temple

I finally had a friend over to visit. Lena managed to squeeze in a week to come over and Egypt smiled upon her by giving us the best weather we’ve had in all the time that I’ve been here during this stint. One day, the temperature on my balcony recorded something like 37 degrees. I can’t believe that could possibly be true, but it was easily 25 or 26 degrees most days.

We spent most afternoons on the beach, but at the weekend we explored further afield.

One trip was to the Dendera (or Dandara) Temple Complex. It’s not so far from Luxor, actually, so if you’re ever having a holiday in Luxor, you should make the effort also to visit Dendera.

Although Dendera isn’t as well known as Karnak Temple in Luxor or all the tombs at the Valley of the Kings, it is nevertheless one of the best preserved temples in Egypt. They’ve restored part of the ceiling in one place and it’s incredible – half of it is black and you wouldn’t think anything was underneath it, but where they have managed to remove the dirt, the colours and paintings are vibrant.

The temple is stunning even by today’s standards (although I sometimes wonder if we have any standards today, when you see what they did in the past!), with decorations covering every inch of available space, so it must have been even more awe-inspiring all those thousands of years ago.

In addition, there are lots of passageways to the side, or up or down, so there’s more to explore in there than you might imagine. Because it’s not so well known, I was expecting us to be on our own there, but actually there were quite a few people milling about.

Esmat took us there and back and I spent the journey learning to read the road signs (most of them seemed to be saying “slow down”!). He has the wooden-slatted covers for the seats which help to keep you cool as the sun beats down on you as you are driving through the mountains. The roads are pretty good, but drivers don’t generally like to go through at night for fear of bandits hiding away and ambushing. During the day, there are police checkpoints at various places; we had to report our nationality at each one and there’s always the possibility that you’ll also be asked for your passport. Drivers usually have to show their license.

We spent another day in El Gouna. Unlike with Geraldine, where we had El Gouna included as part of a boat trip, we went by taxi. I spent ages online trying to find out when the lagoon trips took place, but to no avail. In the end, we just missed the last one on Saturday (at noon, I think) and it turned out that they took place (in English) only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Next time!

I was a bit shocked at how expensive El Gouna had become, but the marina area was pretty busy with plenty of people walking around and enjoying what life had to offer. As usual, impressive-looking boats were moored, with quite a few from Panama. Some arrived as we were there and you could watch them reverse in to their mooring space, just as if it were a car.

We grabbed a tuk-tuk to the town centre (this isn’t like a European town centre; it’s a set of cobbled roads with touristy-type shops and a couple of supermarkets which are small compared with European supermarkets). Lena haggled over some sandals and guava tea and also shopped in a store selling items where the money was to go to help various women’s initiatives in Egypt.

We went back to the marina for dinner. Here, and where we had a coffee, we were asked if we lived in El Gouna (I like to think that this means I look like a resident these days!). Whenever I replied that I lived in Sahl Hasheesh, they always laughed and said that El Gouna was better than Sahl Hasheesh.

A week goes by too quickly and, once Lena left, I myself only had one week left in Egypt. I am already entering my mourning phase as I think about having to leave this place that I love. But I know when I leave Zurich, I’ll be mourning for the loss of Zurich. It’s a bitter-sweet existence.