April 23, 2014
The Train to Switzerland
Our train trip from Paris to Lucerne with a stop in Basel was
smooth, but the bathrooms were the most memorable part.
The family bathroom in the Paris train station had this disco
ball hanging from the ceiling -- that was a big hit!
Then, the Basel bathroom experience was quite stressful.
We had a short stopover, so Peter agreed to watch the bags
while I took the girls to the bathroom. At this point, we only
had Euros. I ran down the escalators to find that the bathrooms
required Swiss francs. I tried the ATM, but it wouldn't accept
my too-long PIN. (A problem the entire trip.) So then the
three of us ran back up to the platform to get Peter. He
ran down to the ATM and got franc bills. He ran up, we took
the money, and ran back down to the bathrooms. The bathrooms
required coins. Luckily there was a machine that made change
right there. Sadly, it gave us the change in denominations that
only two of us could go the bathroom. The male bathroom
attendant was yelling something at me in German. (Literally, the
only person in Switzerland that didn't speak English.) Finally,
a Swiss woman kindly told me that he was offering to sneak Zoe
into the bathroom. So Leah and I paid with our francs and went
through the turnstiles while the nice bathroom attendant picked
Zoe up over the turnstiles (much to her surprise and terror).
We went to the bathroom as fast as we could, but then he grabbed
us as we raced to leave because clearly his in and out counts
had to match. He grabbed Zoe again and tossed her back out
into the station. We sprinted across the plaza, up the escalators,
and onto the train just in time. No bathroom visit for Peter.
Thank you, Swiss bathroom attendant!