Time to say goodbye. But gradually. Today I say goodbye to Kosovo and to Balkans and to exoticism. My plane from Pristina leaves at 9 but there is still one more stop for me before I have to go back to normal life and work in Germany. And this stop is probably the highest contrast I could get to the Balkan countries: Switzerland.
I arrive at Genève at 12 and take the train to Lausanne where I will meet Francesco and spend a couple of days.
While walking the streets of Lausanne, I am so overwhelmed by the charm of the city and the beauty, cleanliness and order of everything, that I get almost a little emotional. This is a completely different world which I appreciate now more than ever. Even speaking French feels somehow pleasant. Unlike neither the French nor the Swiss stereotype, people are extra nice and helpful.
This world has its price of course and this might be the biggest contrast of all. For my 20-minute train from Genf to Lausanne and one lunch, I could have travelled 6 hours by bus, eaten 4 large Steaks in a fancy restaurant, slept one night in a double room and drank 6 coffees in Kosovo. A normal worker in Kosovo earns 300€ a month. In Switzerland you need to work 13 hours (!) in the worst paid job with minimum wage to earn the same. It’s no wonder that there are so many Schatzis.
Anyhow, I am glad they take credit cards so I don’t have to see the misery and my lunch is really good.
Francesco arrives two hours later and we check into our hyper fancy hotel that we would never afford if it wasn’t an invitation by his congress. I’m officially a parasite for the next two days. In return, I participate in dinners with other linguists, which is not as boring as it sounds and everyone is very nice.
