Today is the big day: we’re leaving our place at eight thirty with an incredibly stuffed car. As always, the trip to the airport in Zurich seems to take ages. Check-in would have gone quite smoothly if it wasn’t for the bitchy check-in lady who announced that our luggage can now only weigh 23kg (46 pounds) and not a bit over even though we were sharing one item of luggage. Cue frantic repackaging.

It took us almost one hour to get to the gate including the rather pointless underground train journey. Boarding is reasonably smooth and we settle in for a ten hour flight. We are quite lucky: the cabin crew is lovely, the fellow passengers are rather quiet (except for one woman with an incredibly irritating cough) and the food is tasty (for airplane fare). They serve a nice chicken milanese with herb spaghetti with tomato sauce and a tiny salad. Dessert is some rhubarb thingy which is quite good.

Shortly before landing, we get another snack of pizza margherita (rather bland) and a small Moevenpick vanilla ice cream. Inflight entertainment is a bit so-so and I can’t really get into any of the movies on offer. I try sleeping, reading, and still find myself getting bored and wondering if a ten hour plane trip is really worth it.

(English version: Gabi)