2014/03/29

I need to resolve the banking situation. People are answering my question in the email list. They suggest visiting a branch in Rennweg. Another guy suggests visiting the main post office near HB (everything is near HB in Zurich.) I wake up early and go there but I cannot find any PostFinance branch. For sure, there is a UBS branch but it is closed. Will be back here on Monday. The day is sunny, the weather great and lots of people are all around. As good as it gets. I spot a Swisscom store but this is not my priority yet. Going back to the PostFinance branch near the HB. It is located in the “Kasernenstrasse”. The sound is familiar. I got it! The lyrics of the famous Lili Marlen song. Makes sense. In the old days there could be barracks there. Cool, but it does not solve my problem. To make things worse, there is scaffolding all around the building and it seems they are doing some renovation there. Cannot find the entrance. Have to go round the block twice to realize that they moved to a nearby location. I find the branch and enter for a fourth (!!!) time. In front of me there is a couple of Greeks (I can spot them effortlessly, even when they are silent) who are serviced by an employee there who is trying to help them in less than perfect English. The work gets done but come on guys!!! This is the busiest tourist spot of your country!!! Put someone who can speak perfect English there. The sight of a new generation of Greek immigrants gives me guilts for my good luck and I great the Greeks. A warm word never hurt anyone.  My turn to get service. The lady at the desk announces to me that her shift is over and she calls a colleague to help me. She has a hawkish nose, perfect blue eyes and died blond hair. I get it. She is Turkish. The name on the tag in her uniform confirms my suspicions. Now, I get angry. I explain the problem to her and she calls up someone. She claims that this is normal because what I have is a temporary registration and not a work permit or something like that. The interesting part is that she says a letter from the bank with extra details to fill out should be on its way. I could get it as early as today. Nothing to do there so I go back to the HB to have lunch. Food looks delicious and the pastries even more. Plus it is so cool to be sitting in open air in Europe and get service. Tough luck. I am fasting for Lent so I end up getting some fries with ketchup in Burger King. The fries taste better than in the US but I have to pay for the ketchup. Cheap Europeans! :)  I go back to the swisscom store I spotted earlier and buy a prepaid plan for data and voice for 50CHF. The sim card works immediately. RIP 512 206 6032, long live 41 797 1212 76 !!! You have been the most important cell phone number I ever had in my life. I got some of the best and worst news in my life so far through you. You graduated three handsets, an early motorola model, my first blackberry/smartphone and my first Android phone. I will miss you so much. I try to call home but nobody is answering. Back to my apartment with a stop to a close by super market. I buy a decent amount of stuff and a shopping bag and carry them with me to my apartment. No need for a car, what an upgrade from the US! I check my mailbox and find the letter from the bank indeed. Long story short they think I am a “US person” and ask me to fill out form W-9, essentially to renounce any confidentiality of my bank account. Switzerland is coming under huge fire from the US for being a bank heaven. Taking the form with me and going to visit a prospective apartment and then back to the city for some sightseeing. The apartment is close to Oerlikon but again Zurich public transportation is perfect and I get there pretty fast.  The city looks wonderful on such a nice day. I can even see the Alps. I take pictures. After walking for a couple of hours, I stop at a Starbucks, get some hot tea, fill out a renting application and the reply to the bank and get some rest. Lots of young people around me. A lot of them smoke. Stupidity is universal! I find an Italian place to accommodate for my fasting needs. The place is full of Europeans dressed in casual smart style and I look like a filthy tourist. Still, money talks and I get service. Taking the tram back home. Can you believe I did so many things in a single day using public transportation?