A Shock in Zurich

So I thought my first blog entry back in America would be something about how big America is or Americans are, how convenient they make things or how beautiful New England is in the fall. This has in fact been the longest I've been away. There is bound to be culture shock.

But no. This post is about the child care center in the Zurich airport. Petra was excited to find out that there was indeed a place to feed Enoh during our 7 hour layover. However, we were in no way prepared for what awaited us in the Terminal A “Kinder” Center: - four changing stations
- a separate room with: four cribs and two rocking chairs for feeding
- a microwave
- a fussball table
- a lifesize Connect4 (in which I proved my superiority over Petra)
- two Playstation2 stations:
- lots of table space
- 3 sinks
- lots of pillows
- lots of stuffed animals
- a computer game: - one very nice airport nursery attendant who pleasantly informed us that the further we walk in the airport the lower the food prices will be if we want a snack.

All of this at no extra charge.

My friends, this is unusual. If you want to feed a baby in Zagreb you better hope you parked your car close to the terminal. If you want to change the baby you’ll have to find space in between the carry-ons other passengers leave on the changing table while they use the facilities. If you want to avoid annoying looks if your baby is crying, well…you’re just out of luck.

But the Swiss, who like to be different, have a very good side.

Thank you, Zurich Airport, for your “Kinder” Center. It proved to be an enjoyable place for all ages: