Going Home
It started here. Room 105 (I think, I've already forgotten... it was the last on the right before the double door rooms. The alarm went off at 6:00AM and the process of final packing began. This is the view from the room overlooking the pool and private dining room that had candles lit the night before for the 0 guests who ate at that table. On a side note, even though the sign said jumping is discouraged (how polite) I dove in head first to that pool and it was still rippling after I left. It was a good dive.
After a light breakfast and perhaps 3 Nutella packs I didn't really need but felt the need to pack anyway my sister drove me to the train station and slowed down to a nice 20Kph as I jumped out into the street. Ok fine, she parked the car gave me a hug and then left me stranded at the train station. Man the truth is hard sometimes... she dropped me off, gave me a hug, shared some small talk and THEN she left me to fend for myself as she went off to ski with her co-worker. The train station was really no big deal, it is just odd to be in the middle of a city speaking no German and waiting for a train you think you can find on your own. Obviously I made it to the right train and even managed to get on my connecting train early so I could race to the airport and... wait.
The Munich airport is the first or only 5-star European airport (just ask them), but as far as drinking fountains are concerned I found 0. I had one water bottle with me for the whole trip and I would fill it with water, throw in a little caffeinated Crystal Light and I'd be a happy camper. No such luck in Munich. Thankfully with the help of a Google search I determined it worth the risk to drink from the tap water in the bathroom.
The flight was fairly uneventful. I was fortunate to have an entire row of three seats to myself, so naturally I just kept to myself in my single seat. I was able to finish The Art of Work and Make your Mark both conveniently available through my affiliate links Amazon. I also watched Mission Impossible:Rogue Nation which was pretty good, albeit full of impossibilities in the story line.
Upon arriving in the great US and A I made it through customs without much fanfare only to emerge to this bastion of retail greatness. London had Dixon's (Which really did look horrible as commenters mentioned when the guy who did that came to Apple) and Burberry (the new Apple Retail chief came from Burberry). I really don' have much to say of value, I just find irony in the difference between retail offerings at home and abroad.
As seems to be their strong suit, United's flight from Dulles to Grand Rapids was late. By two hours. I feel bad for the people who work on the ground at United as I'm sure this is mostly out of their control. I just can't fathom how one airline can be so poor at scheduling and coordinating flights. As I arrived in GR at 9:30 I saw the 7:30 flight to Midway waiting for their plane. The worst part of the flight delay was instead of being greeted by my smiling children, I was greeted by this...
After mom and dad picked me up from the airport it was a quick ride back to Zeeland where I kissed my sleeping kids and laid out their gifts. In addition to things that cost money never underestimate the power of free as in trail maps and Nutella packs.
A shirt and two bags of mints just as she requested.
International Man of Fashion. Italia, Amsterdam BMX Club, and IAMSTERDAM hat bright enough to point a United Flight to their destination. Late as usual.
An Amsterdam t-shirt and a diary to write in when I undoubtedly embarrass or bother her for the next 13 years. (At 7 I figure I have at least 13 years before she realizes what a genius I am)
While proper thanks are still in order it would be rude to ignore the efforts of my sister Sarah, my Aunt Marlene and her husband (that makes him my Uncle if you are confused) Ward and their two girls Jillian and Naomi. I missed Kaatje by at least two days... hope your meeting went well. Also my folks for their help, my in-laws for taking care of the family when they were sick, and my lovely wife and kids for putting up without me. Or maybe they liked me being gone? Either way I couldn't have done it without a lot of people chipping in and I certainly appreciate it.
I can't wait to do it all again next year! (Insert laugh/groan/moan/flying toaster here)
Slopes and Tropes
Today I was able to "visit" two more countries by air, plane, and a Mercedes taxi-cab... but before I say anything else about me I need to say that my family back home appears to be doing amazingly well and although I'm sure they really want to see daddy, at least one of them just wants her mints (and a hug from daddy). Kayleigh and Ben with the help of Pa finished up their Pine Wood Derby cars this morning and although they used some pre-cut blocks and had a little help from mom and dad, these really are their cars and we couldn't be more proud. Take a look:
They each chose their own color and then they wrote things in Chinese, placed stickers, and if they listened to me lubed up the tires well enough that the other kids won't stand a chance... knowing Kayleigh even if I joked about that she'd throw a fit, something about rules. I like that in K and 1st they are already writing more neatly in their second language than I ever did in my first and only.
I shall now tell you about my day in pointless detail and then throw up a gallery of photos because it is late, I'm lazy, and I'm pretty sure my sister is going to clobber me if I don't actually try to go to sleep before midnight. This morning started at 5:00am because I'm a morning shower person and not an evening shower person, then it was off to Schipol for a flight to Munich. Since my sister spends a fair amount of time in the air, we were privileged to partake in the KLM lounge where we were met with breakfast and free wifi. I cannot believe what an animal I must have been just a few years ago before the era of pervasive smart phones. So we flew to Munich, I had a picture taken in front of a plane and then we went to the train station. Now... while at the train station we did a little shopping and for a while a person could be convinced that they were at an underground shopping mall and not a train station. We went up to the street to get a view of the area around us and sure enough, we were still at the train station... but I can honestly say I set foot on the soil of Munich East and even have a few small photos to show for it. We switched trains to Kurfstein and were accompanied half the distance by a professional drinking team. I know this because they all had similar jackets, and had equipment crew carrying off the empty bottles of beer as they departed the train.
Upon arrival in Kurfstein we hopped in to a black Mercedes and made our way up to the hotel. By made our way i meant we crashed in the back seat as a professional driver took us while thumping some European music. If you have a subwoofer and like rearrange the furniture by cracking the bass, I think you should give it a try. Wow... I made it this far in my stream of conscience babbling and failed to mention that country #3 was Germany and country #4 is Austria. We are staying in Ellmau to ski, eat, and if I ever get around to it sleep. The hotel is very nice and the staff even greeted my sister as though she were a regular guest. I guess that is what happens when you've been here for 10 (or 11) years running. Dear HR/Customer Service/Whoever take a note... this place knows their guess, remembers their guests, and treats them like old friends. Juxtaposed (that's a $0.25 word right) against my Uncle's story regarding the wonderfully inept (my words not his, although his sentiment was anything but positive) service at Tiffany's, and all I can conclude is that it pays to know who you are working for, and it also pays to say "I don't know. Let me check that for you". If you've read this far you just gained powerful insight to running your business (want to subscribe to my newsletter).
Back to the slopes... as good Dutch like people we waited until exactly 3:01 (Note NOT 3:00pm) oh wait... I mean 15:01 (Note NOT 15:00) to go through the line because the free skiing starts at 3/1500 and we weren't going to pay to ski today. I can't be certain, but it appears that the Austrian word for snow fall is rain. The snow picked up around 4:00pm (1600 hours for those playing the home game) and at my last check was still coming down. The weather report states that it is raining, there will be more rain, and it will probably rain tomorrow.... I hope they are right I love fresh snow.
Having honed my down hill skiing craft on the steep slopes of Bittersweet, Caberfe, Crystal Mountain and the occasional trip to the casino (I mean Searchmont) I was quite confident that I would be able to attack the hills of the Austrian mountains with the same aggressive approach of making as many turns as possible while maintaining a straight down the hill position. It is possible I underestimated the difference of mountains vs. man made hill. After a few runs I realized that I'm not in Kansas anymore, and I really do have quadriceps and they really don't enjoy being worked that hard. At any rate, the hills are great, even if there are piles of snow pushed around that catch an edge now and again, and I'm excited for another day on the slopes tomorrow. I'm also happy to report that my extended family is anti-snowboarder which is pretty much the only right opinion on snow boarders. I'm sure they are wonderful people who simply made a poor choice.
After our afternoon of skiing it was a quick snack, shower (it's see through! AND I failed to pull the curtains... sorry sir up the mountain) it was time for dinner. I was warned about the food, I was told about the option of the "kids" menu, but for one night I stood firm and ate of the big people menu. Thankfully it was a beef-fillet on potatoes with bacon wrapped carrots. I've never had carrots wrapped in anything but I do like carrots and I do like bacon and I'll tolerate them happily together. The food presentation is quite intricate as you'll see from the photo below. I decided mine looked like a shark fin. I also ate creme brûlée, and these tiny things that I think are called fruit(?)... I'll have to Google that later.
I think that is mostly everything. Oh... nope. I have declared in the hotel room, and now to the entire internet. If the temperatures approach 50F I will attempt at least a run or two wearing a bathrobe and the appropriate undergarments. Maybe I can fluff out the bottom of the robe and look like frosty the snow man screaming down the hill. I'm sure to make the website then!
That's it for now. Adios, good bye, and (according to Google) Auf Wiedersehen.
- Blue coat = me
- Gray coat = sister Sarah
- Red jacket = Uncle Ward
- Pink jacket = Cousin Jillian
- Black jacket with pink stripe = Cousin Naomi
Please note: It was warm, the snow came down and melted, obviously my snow pants aren't water proof. No shorts were stained in the creation of this slide show.
Â
Â
Friday in Amsterdam
Hi. I spent my day doing things and I have (have to hahahaha) I get to wake up early tomorrow to go on the next part of the adventure. So instead of snakiness, tongue in cheek references, or badly written jokes I give you some of my day in pictures. If I can survive the slopes tomorrow I might write more from the sauna in Austria. I hear they are quite the place for letting loose and unwinding after a busy day.
I'm in an airport
Actually I started this at the airport but then I got tired and decided to quit. Actually I thought I had all kinds of really funny stuff and it just wasn't leaving the finger tips. Instead I sat down and started aimlessly at the wall. Or read a book. Some might ask what is the difference between staring at a wall vs. staring at a book? The answer is simple. When you read a book you have to turn the pages. (My kids would love this joke). Speaking of books I was finishing Verne Harnish's Scaling Up, and if I can figure out the code I'm going to cut and past a link to it so that when you buy your copy I'll get 1/200 of a cent for the purchase.
There we go... just click the link below. You won't be sorry.
Â
My trip left with two of the three (The third was in school as a 7 year old should be) leading ladies in my life dropping me off at the airport. As you can see, the little one wanted to help. From what I'm told she didn't quite understand that she was going home, and daddy wasn't. Nevertheless it was nice to give her one last hug good bye. As I walked in to the airport the gate agent told me my flight would be delayed, but that I'd still make my connection in Chicago. Now... due to a number of circumstances that are likely outside of my control, that poor girl was very wrong. After a delay in leaving, requiring a 2nd pull tug (who names these things?), and then what I believe to be an extraneous U-turn we arrived at the gate as my next flight was closing the gate. I raced like the Flash (Google that) to customer service and they worked on putting me on the next available flights while I received message after message that my flight to Amsterdam was delayed for mechanical reasons. After all was said and done I got to my gate and saw the photo below. I can't help but wonder if I had pulled my Flash run across the airport first prior to stopping at customer service. Oh well. If I had done that you'd never see all these great pictures I took from inside an air plane (Don't Google that, I'm the only one who takes in plane photos...)
While waiting around for my new plane to London, Heathrow where I was sure I'd run into Emma Watson I was able to watch the O'hare fire department douse a burning dumpster fire. I didn't actually see the flames, but I do wonder if perhaps the amount of people sent to put it out were really necessary. If you follow me on the Facebooks, and let's face it you do otherwise you wouldn't be reading this blog, you'll remember the photo of the empty seats next to me after I decided to freshen up for the long flight. Well... the seat on the aisle belonged to a man who actually took the time to freshen up AFTER he got on the plane which to me really is the better time. The three minutes I spent in the public restroom could have been all mine in the quaint, but private, air plane lavatory. As a courtesy notice, smoking on fights is not allowed, just in case a flight attendant never mentioned that before. Or that messing with the smoke detector is a $2,500 fine... which makes me wonder if any one has run the numbers and still decided to tamper/smoke in the lavatory.
If the picture ever loads here is a view from inside Terminal 5 at Heathrow. I'm not sure if you fine readers have ever been to Heathrow, but I'm pretty sure it is the largest airport in the U.K. (Am I serious?) I was in Terminal 2 and I had to take a bus to get to Terminal 5 which had to be a number of miles away. Also, the busses drive on the opposite side of the road which seems like no big deal at first, but then gets really disconcerting when you think the driver is turning into oncoming traffic.
Toilet paper makes a great bookmark. I just wanted to share this photo because as I read my book (Did you order your yet? Use the link above) I realized that this particular piece of toilet paper could quite possibly be the best travelled piece of TP in the world. It has travelled by foot from the pool in Jupiter, FL, to my house in an undisclosed location, to GR, to O'hare, Heathrow, and now Amsterdam. I almost feel that I need to take it on a boat ride so it can experience all forms of travel, especially as it will take a train later this week. At any rate, don't over pay for bookmarks that you'll lose or damage, use toilet paper and you'll always have a good book and a spare square when you need it. (that's a free travel tip right there)
As I write it is getting late and it is getting harder for me to finish... this is me leaving Heathrow and I can't tell you how excited I was to leave London. ON the flight I was given a bag of crisps which looked and tasted an awful lot like potato chips. Also, I flew British Airways from Heathrow to Schipol and if you have a few more minutes please Google Virgin Airlines British Airways prank. Actually I just did and I'm sure they are all great, but one in particular involved capping the tail of a British Air air plane in a fashion that required a crane to remove it. However, Virgin had rented all the local cranes prior to putting the cap on so the prominent airplane at Heathrow(?) was covered with a Virgin Tail for a full 24-hours.
My kids love Harry Potter and for some reason (Maybe I was desparate) I took this photo thinking it looked kind of like Privet drive. I did not see the playground or the tunnel where the Dementors attacked Harry and his cousin Dudley. (Oops, did I need a spoiler alert?)
Does that other plane look just a little too close? This was after I saw it fly over us.
I'm so close! I finally arrived in Amsterdam roughly 8 hours later than planned and here I am waiting for my luggage while my sister gets stuff done. After dropping off my luggage and picking up a few bikes we took a walk for dinner where I took this beautiful picture of a canal. I'm still looking for Henrietta, hopefully she'll be in the canal tomorrow on her way to the market.
Sarah took me for pancakes. This one happens to be a pancake covered in bacon and cheese.
Hagelslag!
Mom wanted a photo of me on the balcony with polish pottery. This counts right?
That's it for now, I need to rest. It is 12:24 here and 6:24 at my undisclosed location and tomorrow starts at the Apple Store... after coffee. Nighty night.