nerd’s eye view

The Nerd Has Landed

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Weather? Foggy. Kinda cold. A shocking lack of snow.

The flight was, as always, freakishly crowded. I sat next to a woman from Holland who’d been living in Woodinville for the last 30 years. She was on her way to see her sister who was dying. She said she wanted to get there to see her before she died, that way it wouldn’t matter if she made it to the funeral or not. This morbid topic of conversation was surprisingly cheerful, believe it or not, there was something about the matter of fact tone that made it just conversation rather than a huge sad burden.

We landed in Schiphol a mere half hour before my connecting flight. I had to run, and I do mean run, across the airport to make it to my gate in time. I had just enough time to get a drink of water and to use the loo before boarding the bus that runs out to the little Dornier plane run by Air Alps to Salzburg. (I made the connection, but not surprisingly, my bags didn’t. They’ll arrive on Monday sometime, delivered by train.)

I’m always stunned by how nice the service is on those little planes. You get really good snack and the drinks are served in real glassware. The plane was noisy as you’d expect from a dual prop, but it wasn’t crowded and I had the two seat row to myself.

I’m wandering around slightly dulled by exhaustion, jetlag, and the remains of the nasty bug I acquired the day before I left. I got up the day before I flew, looked in the mirror at the back of my aching throat, and decided that things did not look good at all. Thanks to the miracle of Zithromax, I’m well on my way to mending, but I have antibiotic guts and an annoying night time cough. It’s okay, though. When you start your travels feeling sick and tired, and I mean literally sick and tired, things can only improve.

We’re off to have lunch with the family. Yesterday we got takeout from the Turkish place in Steinach, but this will be the first real meal I’ve had since leaving Seattle, three days ago. Man, am I hungry.