A relatively smooth start to the trip with a United flight to Frankfurt and every seat full. Coach, Business Class and First Class (not that we were sitting there, back in crowded Coach). A short flight, only 7:45 hours arriving at the ungodly hour of 5:40 am. Big advantage to staying loyal to one airline and becoming a Premier flyer. In our case, 1K on United. This gives access to the Lufthansa Senator Lounge, a truly great Airport lounge. The Senator Lounge has ice cream bars, showers (love their toilets — the kind that sanitize with a bar that automatically rolls around the seat when you flush), three kinds of yogurt, cut up fruit, fresh fruit, salami, cold meats, cheese, juices, coffee, different kinds of breads and rolls, hard boiled eggs, a pasta bar for meals later in the day, cereal, nuts, candy, wine, beer and soft drinks. Did I forget anything? Lufthansa sure didn’t. Another perk that Lufthansa offers throughout the Airport. Free newspapers (Wall Street Journal, International Herald, USA Today, to name a few) for all Lufthansa flights regardless what class you are flying.

A 30-minute flight from Frankfurt to Zurich and tell me when was the last time you took a 30-minute flight and attendants still managed to serve soft drinks and cookies. Lufthansa is amazing.

Arrival in Zurich, the luggage appeared, and down two levels, still in the Zurich Kloten Airport to the Bahnhof (train station). We needed train tickets for the ride to Bregenz, Austria. All SBB (Swiss Train Company) personnel speak English and many other languages. A snap to buy two round trip tickets for 150 Euros total. Whipped out the old VISA card and transaction was completed along with a timetable showing what train to take and where to transfer. This would involve three separate trains.

Down one more escalator to the platform, train whips in, no seat reservations required and on the first train, a 55-minute ride to St. Gallen. The Swiss are completely efficient. Arrival on Track 2, the next train is on Track 3, adjacent to 2. Another 30-minute ride from St. Gallen to St. Margrethen. Off the train and again, the next train to Bregenz is on an adjacent platform – a good thing with only three minutes between connections. The last 20-minute ride to Bregenz, all on immaculate trains with electric tickertape-type signs in every car displaying the next stop. No excuse to get off at the wrong stop.

At the train station in Bregenz on a beautiful day with time to wait for the complimentary transfer to the Hotel Tannahof in Au, Austria…