Travel day from Zurich to Boston (Tuesday, August 11, 2015)

We were able to sleep in and take our time getting ready for our flight to Boston.  Then, we walked a few blocks to the Enge train station and took a train to the Zurich airport.  Our kids have really been troopers with all of the walking we have been doing, especially with luggage.  The swim backpacks seemed like a good idea to pack the kids' stuff in, but in reality they weren't the best option.  They are so flexible that we were able to really stuff them full and still fit them in bins as carry-on luggage.  However, they don't have a good internal frame, so they had little back support for carrying them long distances.  We will have to look into another option before our next family overseas trip (hopefully in 2 years). We have found that backpacks are essential when traveling overseas.  They are just so much easier to negotiate in trains and planes, rather than pulling lots of rolling bags. It was also nice for each kid (other than Jack) to carry their own clothing and personal items.  Jack just isn't quite there, yet.  At least we didn't have to bring a stroller or diapers on this trip, which was fabulous!
After checking in and going through passport control, which required lots of walking and what felt like a hundred different escalators, we settled into the Swiss Air panoramic lounge for a few hours.  They didn't have a meal available, so we made lunch out of their offerings of pretzels, peanuts, gummy bears and bread/butter.  We can be flexible when we need to be.

Here is a picture of our plane.

We boarded the plane and were ready to head back to the States.  As you can see, Dan caught me in the act of enjoying the complementary glass of champagne before the 8 hour flight.  

We were served a meal on the flight.  Dan's first course looked amazing, so he took a picture. 

Swiss Air flight attendants were very nice and attentive.  It is a great airline to fly, and I recommend it.  The 8 hours passed fairly quickly, thanks to in-flight movies, TV shows and games.  We all (except for Dan) managed to take a nap on the plane in order to better re-adjust to East Coast time.  When we landed in Boston, we breezed through Customs, thanks to Global Entry (definitely worth the time and minimal expense of spending an hour in the Charlotte airport for the application process, if you plan on traveling internationally).

After dropping our bags off at the hotel, we headed out to dinner at one of our favorite Boston-based restaurants, Legal Sea Foods.  Dan and I shared cioppino, so they brought us two bibs.  Jack decided he needed to wear the second bib to try a little seafood with us.  We are so glad to have a fellow seafood lover in the family.  The other kids aren't crazy about it.  Lyndon discovered that she liked clam chowder now, though.  Baby steps...

I absolutely love this picture!  Like father, like son...

We all loved our overseas travel, but it makes you very thankful for the comforts of home upon your return.  We were especially grateful for ice, free refills and air conditioning in restaurants!