Greetings from Zurich!

Hello from Zurich! The flight from Chicago was pretty seamless.

Some highlights:

1. Sufficiently accessed the money I had set aside on my Discover Card (no foreign transaction fees - win!)
2. Purchased a day pass on the trains. So far, haven't gotten lost. 
3. It's a beautiful day here! Sunny and mid-70s.
4. Luxemburgerli - YUM.
5. Although I don't know a lick of German, have been able to fake my way using some French-with-a-southern-drawl.
6. Loving that nobody is on their phones. People are reading newspapers on benches and sipping espresso.

Some lowlights:

1. Zurich is insanely beautiful. This isn't a lowlight in and of itself, but more as a cause-and-effect.
2. Because of aforementioned beauty, I wasn't paying attention as I was walking because I was looking around, giddy with Euroglee.
3. Because I was looking around, I didn't see the bench they had strategically placed in the middle of a sidewalk in front of a busy cafe.
4. Insert me > tumbling over bench > like a somersault > but somewhat gracefully, I mean, really. As far as fully flipping over a cement bench can be graceful, I pulled it off.
5. Insert silence of about 20 people outside of cafe and a gasp or two.
6. Insert me saying, "I'm fine" in English instantly alerting people to my tourist status.
7. Insert a rip on the one pair of nice jeans I brought on the trip. And a bruise on my knee.

Considering all that could have happened, I think I managed the unexpected gymnastics event fairly well. I simply stood up, swung my backpack back on (I somehow managed to escape both its shoulder straps), and swaggered on my way...like I fall down everyday.

Because in reality, I do. Seriously.

I am now sitting in a cafe (Ok, it's not a "cafe..." - it's a Starbucks. I've been to two other cafes today and I just needed familiarity. And consistent internet) in a beautiful district, attempting to stay awake and not be jealous of all the svelte, 6'1" supermodels who keep walking by.

In about 3 hours, I'll begin my journey back to the airport and leave for Johannesburg around 5 pm EST, or 11 pm here. Hopefully I won't make any scenes in South Africa.