So, you want to go to Switzerland....

Fall 2019.  Norcross GA.  Our daughter's wedding.

I'm talking to my cousin Leslie.  She and her husband Eric take a couple of fabulous vacation trips each year.  

"We're going to Switzerland next year", she said.  (or something to that effect).

"Switzerland!  That's on our list, too!", I said.

She said, "Hey, you want to come with us?"

Now, whether she was just being polite or was completely earnest or somewhere in between, I have no idea.  I usually don't figure this stuff out until it's too late...

But, when all the dust had settled, we were all booked for a two week, self-guided tour of Switzerland in May of 2020.

I am really liking that an actual travel agent in Switzerland is building the trip.  I usually enjoy doing the trip planning myself, but it's too easy to make mistakes - big and small, and it would be nice to just have to follow a solid plan instead of worrying about whether the plan would work, or work well.  So, I was all in on this trip!

Then Covid hit.  "Let's try for 2021."

Then Covid didn't go away.  "Let's try for 2022."

Then Omicron hit in Winter of 2021/22, and Spring of 2022 started looking like it might be a bad idea, again.  But, it started ebbing as fast as it hit and cases were down everywhere, even Switzerland, and it was game on!

May 16th, 2022 arrived.  Here we go.  Board Delta in Atlanta for JFK.  Pre-Covid, there was a direct ATL to Zurich flight, but no more.  Now, we have to connect in JFK.  A tight 1:50 connection.

Everyone boards, the door closes, we push back and taxi toward the runway...and stop.  This is your captain, "There's a weather hold.  Storms in NYC.  We're gonna sit here for about and hour."  Oh. boy.  A 50 minute connection?  We just might make it, but our luggage?

Manhattan lit up by sunbeams

We approach JFK and make a big, sweeping turn over Long Island and get a good look at Manhattan and the storms that were still swirling around.  We land and get held out waiting for a gate.  The whole airport is a mess due to the storms.  

We finally get a gate, get the bus shuttle to the other Delta terminal, and find....out outbound flight is delayed and hour.  Whew!  Maybe our luggage will make it after all!  We grab a snack and wait for boarding.

We board and settle in.  Time to go!  No.  "Uh, this is your captain.  We're waiting on baggage handlers to be available to load out baggage.  They're saying an hour.  So, sit tight!"  What's another hour of seat time on a 9 hour flight...

Finally, 3 hours late, we take off!  The good news is, when we got there we didn't have to wait to check into the hotel, and actually slept some.  The bad news is, we were seated behind a super-hyperactive women who couldn't sit still for more than 90 seconds at at time.  (actual Swiss timing).  Up, down, screen on, screen off, seat recline, seat up, not-too-discrete "deck change",  screen on, seat recline, stand up, sit down, lean right, seat up, screen off, etc. etc. for 8-1/2 hours. 

With 30 minutes to go, she apparently takes a sleeping pill.  Zonk!  Out like a light.  Maybe her problem was some sort of other pill at the beginning of the flight.  We land.  Everyone gets off.  She's still sleeping - solid.  Crew has to just about drag her off the plane.  

Anyway.  Here's our inbound plane getting flipped for return to JFK as we head toward our baggage....

...which made the connection, too!