and then i came home to a locked door, no roommate, and a missing key.
and that's when i realized this post was going to be a lot longer than anticipated.
first things first: zurich is lovely, albeit expensive. a "cheap" lunch was about 9 swiss franks, which roughly translates into $9.70. we got there around 11 AM and spent the day walking from church to church and then around the river and the lake. we climbed the 186 steps to the top of the grossmunster church's tower and enjoyed the unobstructed view of the city. one of zurich's (or i guess a lot of cities in europe do this) most charming feature was the beautiful "drinking" fountains they have all around town, in squares and parks, for people to drink out of. when marissa first told me they were meant to be drank (drunk... drinked?) from i didn't believe her, and then we watched quite a few locals do it. after some intense laughter and a lot of coaxing she managed to get a picture of me drinking from one.
all in all, the weather was warm, the skies were clear, and the buildings might as well have come straight out of a fairy tale. our last purchase was spending 28 franks on the best pastries i've had in a long time, which we ate on the 3 1/2 hour train ride home. but, within the first hour my stomach was already completely regretting spending more than 5 franks on pastries. i was tempted to sleep it off but i refrained because i wanted to go to bed early and consequently wake up early the next morning.
we arrived in innsbruck at about 10:10, tired but happy. but all that changed at about 10:40 when i found myself standing in front of my apartment door dumping the contents of my purse out our welcome mat in search of my keys. which were no where to be found. after a few unfruitful phone calls in search of help i managed to run into two nice girls, one of whom spoke english. i explained my situation to her and asked if she knew how to get a hold of someone who could unlock my door. we spent the next half an hour searching three floors of the building with no result. we eventually ran into some people in the 4th floor kitchen. i explained my problem and was then pawned off from the two nice girls (who, i feel it is worth mentioning, offered to let me stay with them if i didn't find a way into my apartment.) to a very tall, very... thick indian guy. he took me to the third floor to knock on the door of the janitor's house, who apparently didn't feel it necessary to answer.
after twenty minutes and a few more phone calls later i ended up in the car of the brother of a friend, on my way to his and his wife's apartment to sleep on their couch. once we arrived it was clear i had interrupted their alone time, as their baby had just fallen asleep, but they were nothing less than sweet, kind and helpful in spite of my intrusion.
by 1:30 i was finally able to sleep.
i awoke at 8:30 the next morning, to an empty apartment (the family i was staying with had gone to salzburg for a meeting and left me their keys to lock up the place when i was ready to leave, which i find extraordinary, seeing as how the whole reason i was with them was because i couldn't keep track of a set of keys in the first place, but i digress). after a brisk walk and a few different bus routes i found myself in front of the janitor's door again. this time he answered.11 hours after the initial discovery of being locked out i was once again safe inside my little dorm.
i never thought the sight of ikea furniture could be so comforting.
lets end this post on a good note: here are some pictures of just how beautiful zurich is.
also, i have my post for rome half-ish written. i shall finish it... next week. promise. (because i know you're all on the edge of your seats, waiting impatiently. ooh maria, you and your self flattery.)
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