One Day in Four Countries - 一天四个国家
August 6, 2024: Today was a busy travel day as our daughter had a noon flight from Geneva to New York City, and we were heading to Frankfurt, Germany. We had an early start, booking a 6:40 am FlixBus to Geneva. The hotel staff went above and beyond, setting up a special breakfast table for us before the usual service hours—an act of kindness we deeply appreciated.
However, our journey didn't begin smoothly. The FlixBus was delayed by half an hour, and without any updates, we started to get anxious. Thankfully, the ride through the tunnel was uneventful. The bus stopped in Chamonix to pick up more passengers and then headed to Geneva. At the France and Switzerland border, we were stopped by French police or immigration officers. They boarded the bus, checking everyone's travel documents. Afterward, there was an unexpected delay as one officer had a heated conversation with the driver in Italian. We were puzzled but later learned from a fellow passenger that the issue was related to unpaid taxes by the bus company. Eventually, the driver resolved the matter—possibly by paying the required fee—and we were back on our way. It was a strange experience, especially considering that FlixBus is a well-known company, akin to Greyhound in the USA, and runs this route daily.
In the midst of all this, our daughter received a notification from Delta that her flight was canceled and rebooked for the next day. At least this meant we no longer had to worry about her missing the flight.
After saying goodbye at Geneva's train station, we caught a Swiss train to a small town in Germany. The train was spotless and punctual, and we had an entire first-class coach to ourselves. But once we switched to a German train, everything changed. The trains began running late, and the first-class coach quickly filled up. We arrived at Frankfurt’s main station late afternoon and then transferred to a regional train that took us to our hotel near the market.
After a short rest, we ventured out to a nearby restaurant. The moment we walked in, it felt familiar. We realized we had dined here two years ago. We shared a schnitzel—two pieces—which were decent. Later, we passed by a döner place and couldn’t resist ordering a gyro. It was delicious.
We ended the evening with a stroll along the river, crossing one iron bridge to the other side and returning over another. Since we had visited this area before, it didn’t excite us as much, so we headed back to the hotel.
We started our day in Italy this morning, traveled through France, Switzerland, and ended our day in Germany.
2024年8月6日：今天是个繁忙的旅行日。女儿中午要从瑞士的日内瓦（Geneva）飞回纽约市（New York City），而我们则要前往德国的法兰克福（Frankfurt）。我们很早就起床，预先买好了早上6:40的大巴（FlixBus）从意大利Courmayeur前往日内瓦。酒店工作人员非常贴心，为我们特意提前准备了一桌早餐，这让我们非常感动。
然而，旅途一开始并不顺利。FlixBus迟到了半个小时，期间没有任何通知。问了其他几位也在等大巴的乘客，都没收到消息。我们开始有些焦虑，因为女儿要赶飞机。终于等到大巴，幸运的是这次过隧道非常顺利，没有遇到任何堵车。出了隧道，巴士来到法国的Chamonix又接了几位乘客之后便一路往日内瓦方向开去。没想到在法国和瑞士边境被移民官员拦下了。他们登上巴士，检查每个人的旅行证件。检查结束后，巴士依然没有动静，其中一名官员与司机用意大利语激烈地争论了起来。我们不知道发生了什么，后来旁边的一个女孩告诉我们，问题出在巴士公司没有缴纳税款。最后，司机下了车，十分钟后他回来了，巴士才重新启动。我们猜测他可能是去缴纳了相关费用。这真是一次奇怪的经历，特别是考虑到FlixBus是一家大型的全球交通公司，类似于美国的Greyhound，而且这条线路是每天都有运营的。实在不明白发生了什么。
与此同时，女儿收到达美航空（Delta）的消息，告知她的航班被取消，直接帮她改签到第二天。这至少让我们不必再担心她会错过航班连接。
在日内瓦火车站与女儿告别后，我们搭乘火车前往德国法兰克福。没有直达火车，我们需要转车。首先坐的是瑞士的火车，从日内瓦来到巴塞尔（Basel）。火车干净准时，而且整个一等车厢只有我们两人。然而，当我们在Basel换乘德国火车后，一切都变了。火车开始晚点，越开晚的越多，一等车厢也迅速被填满。我们在傍晚抵达法兰克福火车总站，然后换乘地区列车前往酒店，酒店位于市场（Market）附近。
稍作休息后，我们去了附近的一家餐馆。刚坐下就觉得这地方有点眼熟。结果还真是，两年前我们曾在这里吃过午餐。我们点了色拉和一大份炸猪排（schnitzel）（两片）来分享。到法兰克福之前就一直想着要吃炸猪排，终于如愿以尝。吃完经过一家土耳其烤肉店（döner），忍不住又点了一份烤肉卷（gyro），味道非常棒。
酒足饭饱从一座铁桥走到对岸，再从另一座桥返回。由于我们两年前曾来过这里，这次就没什么特别的新鲜感。
今天从大清早开始赶路，从意大利到法国，再到瑞士，最后来到德国，一天踏足四个国家。
