Oh, my...

Usually taking a taxi in Basel is pretty nice. Outrageously expensive, of course, but lots of the cabs here are relatively new, immaculate, very nice cars (Mercedes, etc), and I usually only take one if it's for work so the high cost doesn't bother me so much. Anyway, your typical Basel cab is a far sight better than your average DC cab.

So it came as quite a surprise yesterday when I had to take a taxi to the train station for my quick trip to Frankfurt. It was the usual nice car with a very nice old driver. But when I got in and shut the door, the combination of stale cigarette smoke and body odor was unlike everything I've ever experienced. My eyes were watering, I wanted to retch, and I was horrified that my suit would somehow pick up the smell on the way to the station and last throughout my meeting. (Thankfully, I think the trip was short enough that it wasn't lasting.) I've never smelled anything quite like it.