We arrived home yesterday from a visit to Meg and Grrr's which included Greg, Annelise and Michael at certain intervals. I truly needed the whole day to decompress. Jet lag is a real phenomena and I am getting very old.
The constant theme which was a center of conversation everyday was the "group questioning:
What was the best part of ________?"
Seemed a pattern was forming and the best part of yesterday would be "today".
Upon landing in Frankfort, we took a Lufthansa flight to Edinburgh, Scotland.(The group wouldn't include Michael as he was now employed but was flying over to Venice the following weekend) So six of us were now in the the home land of "haggis" and the birthplace of scotch. The first wasn't anything I would "embrace" but I made up for this deficit discovering "Coalila, Ardbeg and Bunnahabbbarn." As with the haggis . . .scotch too is an acquired taste. Unlike the haggis the "acquiring" of the later came with laughter, good conversation, and a great buzz. (I was wishing I could name a puppy after each of the four regions of scotch production.) By day's end we would meet "Baby Bird' and not find Jimmy One or Two. I was to learn about tartan plaids and saw synchronized bag pipe players in full regalia.
(Hundreds and hundreds! Military Tattoos have nothing to do with skin and ink.)
Our next JUMP would be on to Berlin. Following the girls recommendation (who both stayed in Baum holder) we arrived, jumped on bikes, which is a very acceptable transportation which translated is,
"It is stupid to walk."
We peddled over 10 kilometers crossing from East Berlin to West Berlin. Being stupid American tourist the next day we went again, however sans guide. Berlin is the Beirgarden capital of my world, in my mind. Berlin's bed are not as great as Edinburgh's yet better than Venice's: but Meg's wins.! We drank iced coffees in Sony Square and brought home Salvador Dali to Meg and Grrr. (now totally Mom originals.)
So what does any self respecting, seldom-been-out-of-the-mid west-tourist (later to be synonymous with 'Northerner...from the north.') do next? Easy. . . Fly to Venice the town of canals, alleys, and leaning towers which would become the best and worse time of the trip. Mike wouldn't show up until he swam the grand canal ("al la LaCrosse stupid student slipped in style...The boy smelled like peaty scotch! ) and the gondola regatta couldn't settle my apprehensions about being the next soul lost in the labyrinth of side streets. Best put: I felt I was a human in the "herding bred" category in the Westminster Dog Show without MY sheep.
Best part of Venice was a boat ride to Murano and on to Burano.
We also got to buy Belgium beer and German wien in France and took a covered boat ride on the uncovered top deck on Rudishiem's Rhine River after the Garman told us to "Board the Ferry" which no one but Frau Garman saw coming. Here was the promise of seeing five 200-400 year old German castles... "two and a half down and two and a half back." quirked Meg.
Also walked avoiding wild gargoyles, giant slugs in the foggy mist of glen and dale in Abbelson, Germany.
I left my newly acquired walking club at Meg's just in case that wild pig comes a-calling.
I had purchase 7 lime green and obnoxious Minnesota 'LAND OF 10,000 LAKES' Tee Shirts in the Minneapolis airport which everyone in 'solidarity' refused to be caught dead in! Mine found me some Stillwater, MN friends in Venice. They told me they had just done an amazing Mediterranean cruise which included Istanbul on a ship of 3000 people and they were the only Americans. I had worn my shirt to shreds and was relieved no one read it. Great Sportsmanship Award...I won! I left a slime green Tee shirt with every member of the party in hopes someday they would remember they too could get stupidly crazy.
Sigmund Freud was the eighth member of the Kirschling traveling team. I was reminded of the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego. . .directly I was reintroduced to my old friend Oedipus Complex. What goes around comes around. I was once the queen of Oedipus! ( LOL)
And air travel cannot be totally appreciated till you have traveled Ryanair. Your carry-on must be under 10 kilos or you pay an Irish ramson, you must bring a self generated computer boarding pass or it will cost you your first born and you are allowed only one bag. Total count of two bags and you will give up your retirement $$$. This airline is "No Frills, Low cost", can only be booked online and guarantees and boasts, "No refunds...Why would we.?" If they hit a bumpy ride they sell smokeless cigarettes. They are rumored to soon charge for the one remaining toilet as they could then offer 'standing room' only to more passengers if they pull the other toilets. They are self proclaimed " The Best On Time Airline in Europe." They have a Ta-Da jingle which announces you are on time and people clap. Forget about First Class too becuz it doesn't exist: but you can pay more to board first, seats are not assigned...
you don't use jet ways...
you walk the tarmac out to roll away stairs and board and deplane both front and rear doors.
In defense of Ryanair there is a new "selling store" on Delta and Lufthansa too. Besides the merchandise catalogs; there are duty free CARDS, Pringles & M&M's are $3.00, Beer is $5 and drinks and wine are $7. You can contribute to airline charities and buy lottery tickets on planes in Europe. The small catch is they don't tell Americans they cannot collect on winning tickets. Second, if you buy duty free liquor, or perfume on the flight back to Atlanta, GA and only have a carry on it will be confiscated at US security as these items exceed the 3 ounce rule....This they don't tell you during the marketing to entice purchasing on board over the public address. It is resold to the next "stupid American." (I have taken to boarding with rations of food for 2 days.)
Back to life in Rapids. Yo Yo is home. Riley is getting a post kennel bath. I will keep up the exercise routine so off I go to the elliptical.
