We were up fairly early today, and went right upstairs to enjoy our last rooftop breakfast. On the third time the staff seemed to recognize us (they didn’t ask for our room number this time) and even offered to mix in some cheese/ham into our eggs. Also for the first time we saw some other guests of the hotel at breakfast – until now we were dining alone.
After breakfast we went back down to our room for a little more rest and to pack up our stuff. Before we checked out we realized that we hadn’t eaten one of Malta’s signature dishes – pastizzi. These fried pastries are filled with various things – cheese, green peas, meats, whatever. We walked down the strip and bought three different kinds, and then brought them back to the hotel. The hotel front desk staff saw the bag and asked if we had bought some pastizzi – I claimed that they were just a supplemental breakfast. We ate one of them while it was still hot – the ham & cheese one – and it was really good. We put the rest in our bag to snack on at the Malta airport.
Checking out was easy and we caught another Bolt ride, this time to the airport. We arrived in minutes – and had plenty of time to kill at the airport. Besides snacking on the pastizzi we sat around people watching, drinking lots of water, and waiting for the check in line to open up. Surprisingly it opened up while we were walking by, and we were some of the first passengers to finish. Without our suitcase we went through security, and then on to the gate area where we found a cafeteria-style restaurant that served Prosecco. Woo-hoo! I grabbed two small bottles and checked out, and asked the staff for some cups. They gave me big wine glasses instead – nice!
As we sipped our drinks in the corner the airport terminal got busier and busier. There were a lot of young people wrapping up their party time at Malta, and there were fewer and fewer seats available to rest. It pays to get there early!
Eventually we caught a bus from the boarding gate out to the airplane, which was located a surprisingly long distance away. As the bus drove we passed huge construction sites, so I expect that Malta airport will be quite different in the future.
Our flight was somewhat delayed, but finally we could get on board. As we approached our seats we were surprised to see another couple sit down in them, making the guy sitting in the aisle seat get up so they could pass by and sit down. When we arrived we pointed out that they were in the wrong seat – just one row off, and they had to get back out, causing the aisle seat guy to have to get up again. Then we squeezed past him and took our seats. I was wondering if we should have just taken the other couple’s seats, but in the end our seats had a better view out the window so I was glad we did it. Unfortunately the aisle seat guy had a pretty ripe aroma, and so we had to put up with that for the flight.
I’m not much for views from the airplane but in this case we were flying pretty low and over some dramatic terrain. We watched Malta disappear below us, and then turned north, passing the coastline of Sicily to our east. The view of the island from the plane was complete, right down to a clear view Mt. Etna on the eastern side. I had originally considered a visit to Sicily as part of this trip, but in the end thought is was a little too much for the time we had. And later we heard that Mt. Etna erupted just a few days after we had flown by – so I guess it was a good thing we missed it.
Once we got to mainland Europe we passed over some strange coastlines in France(?) and then over the snowy Alps descending into Zurich. Upon landing the passengers broke into applause, which is a custom that we don’t see very often. Where does it come from I wonder?
We quickly got our suitcase and then found Roger waiting for us right outside the gate. It was great to see him! It had been a long time since he and his friend Phillip had visited us in Japan. He hadn’t changed a bit – still positive and friendly as ever. He drove us from the airport to our hotel in his car, and as we drove he filled us in on what he has been doing lately. It was great to catch up with him.
After dropping us off at the hotel he left to park his car and come back, and we went inside to check in. In the lobby was Phillip, patiently waiting for us. It was great to see him and very kind of him to come out and meet us. He wore a smiley face t-shirt with a big mustache – very stylish.
After we checked in and dropped off our bags in our room we went back downstairs and met Phillip to go out for drinks. We walked across the river to find a riverside outdoor cafe called The Rathaus, and ordered up a few beverages. Phil told us what he has been up to – getting over an antibiotics treatment, feeling better now and recently made partner at his company!
Roger showed up a little later, bringing along a special guest – Johnny! We had met Johnny ten years ago while dining with Roger at Maya’s restaurant on Lake Zurich, and he had been kind enough to drive us back after dinner. He was little greyer but he still had the same sharp sense of humor and still flirting with all the boys in the area. He especially was paying attention to our waiter, who was admittedly pretty good looking.
We drank some wine, Kuniko ordered a cocktail called “Schlampe” which means “Bitch” in German – that was good for a few laughs and Kuniko and I will never forget the word now. Johnny had us ordering another round while he insisted that we teach him how to say “big dick” in Japanese. He promptly taught it to our cute waiter who enjoyed dropping it around at surprising times. Kuniko was a little shocked with all the vulgar talk but it was good to have fun with these guys and relax.
Being back in Zurich was great – it felt exactly the same. The temperature was much cooler than Malta, not many flies (just a few wasps), and we sat outside watching the river go by. As usual you can tell that there is a lot of money in Zurich, and it felt clean and safe. We had really enjoyed our last visit, and it was good to be back.
After our drinks we all made our way towards the restaurant that Phillip had reserved for dinner. Johnny continued on to another appointment but it was great to see him and I’m glad that it worked out that he happened to be around.
The restaurant we visited was a sort of traditional place, in an old armory building. The tables were long and shared, similar to beer halls in Munich, full of dark brown wood and high ceilings. Despite our reservation there was still a bit of a wait, and as we walked to our tables we passed customers drinking from giant beer steins. Some looked larger than 2 Liters which is a fairly big beer commitment.
Kuniko ordered a traditional dish that we hadn’t tried last time, veal in a mushroom gravy sauce served with a big rosti (potato pancake). I had creamy beef dish seasoned with a hint of curry that really knocked our socks off. Roger and Philip recommended a starter so we had a big salad that was mostly just Gruyeres cheese and sausages, with a few pieces of lettuce and a couple boiled eggs. It was huge, and thankfully everyone else helped us with it.
I had a smaller beer – a local IPA that was quite good – and Kuniko had a local red wine (Pinot Noir) that was also tasty. There was something about how they ordered wine – instead of one wine you should order by mL. So if I said “two wines” it wasn’t clear how you wanted it delivered. We’ll need to work this out in the future.
We had two different waiters, and again I was impressed how they switched between languages as necessary. Our second waiter had sharp eyebrows and a passing resemblance to Nicholas Cage. He was a pretty funny guy too.
We passed out some gifts and snacks from Japan to the guys, and continued catching up on what everyone has been doing. They recommended dessert (already we were pretty full) so we relented and shared a caramel pudding. Roger ordered a monster meringue spiked with raspberries and ice cream. We helped him with that, but it was a lot of food.
Roger and Phillip split the bill and paid for us, and since we had paid for them long, long ago at a Kobe beef place it was hard to argue with them. But maybe it was a good think because of the rapid weakness of the yen. Roger went on home after that, and Phillip gave us a quick walking tour of the area before leading us back to our hotel.
It was great to see these guys, and we said goodbye to Phillip for this trip – hopefully we’ll have a chance to see Roger again later on during our stay. Once again we went to bed with very full bellies.
