Switzerland to Germany — changing places
I caught an early-morning train from the tiny town of Thusis laid out the center of Graubunden in the southeast corner of Switzerland. It still amazes me that isolated valleys in the Swiss Alps are so accessible. I boarded the train at 9:30 a.m. and was checking in at the Zurich airport at 11:45 a.m. for my Swiss Airlines flight to Frankfurt. I couldn’t have driven there faster.
The train twisted through a narrow valley from Thusis to Chur where I changed trains and then glided past small Alpine lakes and finally Lake Zurich into the main train station. Then in 15 minutes I got on the 10-minute train to the airport. The scenic visuals were unparalleled, the trains amazingly quiet and all connections simple and clearly marked.
Zurich Airport made check-in easy with a special check-in level for incoming train passengers. Airport security moved with Swiss efficiency. The only delays were of my own making as I searched for duty-free chocolates to bring to Germany as gifts. From stepping off the train to reaching the airport boarding gate took only 30 minutes.
In Frankfurt, my home for the night was to be the Steigenberger Airport Hotel. It must be the granddaddy of German airport hotels. Getting there from the airport is a simple shuttle bus ride with the bus coming every 15 minutes past both of the main terminals.
After checking in, I headed downtown to Frankfurt on the train that stops directly beneath the airport and heads into the main railway station. There a web of S-bahns and U-Bahns reach every corner of Frankfurt. Tourists can purchase an unlimited pass for the transport system and lots of discounts for museums and shops for Euros 8. Otherwise the one-way ticket is around $5.
I walked from the main train station to Alt-Sachenhausen, one of the city’s tourist (and not-so-touristy) nightlife areas. I have to admit that on Sunday night, the area was dead. However, I found an excellent Italian pizzeria, Borsalino (Grosse Rittergasse 102, tel. 069-611398), with a flaming wood-fired pizza oven and where every table was full. I decided to eat there. A good-sized pizza, a salad and a half-liter beer came to only Euros 15 (about $22) with a small tip. Not too bad. 
After pizza, I strolled along the Main River back to the train station. The city lights sparkled on the river, old ladies fed scores of ducks and swans, joggers padded past me along the riverbank trail, cyclists glided down their river path and lovers snuggled arm in arm. From the main station the S-bahn whisked me back to the airport and my hotel room.
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