WEDNESDAY, 5/1:
I will never understand people who ask
for and/or buy a window seat on an airplane, and then just shut the
blind down and never look out of it the entire flight.
What's wrong with them???
Greetings from 35 or so thousand feet
above the Atlantic, where we're on our way back home after this quick
journey. I'm ensconced in my usual window seat, where I could—and
have—spend the entire 7 and a half hours from London to Chicago
staring out the window. You start by seeing England and Ireland,
then you see water for a couple of hours, followed by a quick glance
of Greenland if you're lucky. Then you see nothing but barren rock,
which means you're over Labrador in Canada. Soon you start to notice
roads and signs of human habitation, followed by a gradual greening
of the environment, and before you know it you're glancing at the
Mackinaw Bridge, Lake Michigan, and the skyscrapers of downtown
Chicago.
That is, you'd see them if it wasn't
cloudy out, like it is today. Or if the flight attendants didn't
electronically darken the windows, like they can on this 787, for a
few hours.
Oh well...what's a boy to do, right?
Our layover in London wasn't too bad
this time. I think we only had an hour and a half before we could
board the Chicago flight, which is nothing compared to a four or five
hour wait that we've had to endure in the past. I don't know if
you've ever had the pleasure of spending time at Heathrow, which
I've lovingly referred to in the past as a “seething pit of
humanity”. There are people everywhere, all crammed into small
spaces and all talking on their phones or dealing with their
screaming kids at the same time. Over the past few trips Loraine and
I have developed a plan—we stop at a H.W. Smith shop, pick up one
of their sandwich specials (including Dr. Pepper with real sugar!)
and a few pieces of chocolate, then find the corner that's farthest
away from people. Depending upon which building you're in it
actually can work quite well; this time, we were in Terminal 3, so it
wasn't as peaceful as it could've been, but like I said, it was
relatively short this time around.
And that's always a good thing.
The sandwich deal you get at the Smith
shops also includes a drink (the aforementioned Dr. Pepper) and a bag
of chips, or crisps, as they're called in England. I don't know why,
but over the past few trips I've developed a bizarre fascination with
this flavor--
What. You haven't had shrimp-flavored
potato chips before? Then don't judge. Besides, they almost
(almost) taste like shrimp.
Honest.
8-)
It's election season yet again in
Germany, this time for seats in the European Parliament, and this
means you can see election signs on almost every lamp post.
These are for the Green Party and Die
Linke, which translates into “The Left”, two of the up and coming
parties of the country. When they held national elections last year
and the AfD, the “Make Germany German Again” party, won 12% of
the vote, the news media went ape over it. What they didn't mention
is that both the Green and Die Linke parties combined for almost 30%
of the vote, which was almost as much (if not more) than the two
“traditional” parties (the equivalent of our Democratic and
Republican parties) For the rise in nationalist parties (like the
AfD) around Europe, in some countries like Germany left-wing parties
have had even more success.
It just doesn't get reported in the
media as much as a party that wants to kick out anyone in Germany who
doesn't look like a German. And we all know happened the last time
someone wanted to do that. But the groups that are being targeted by
prejudice are fighting back, with information tables set up.
The thought behind it is this—you
speak with someone in a targeted ethnic group—in this case,
Muslims—and you (hopefully) go away with an understanding that
people are just people, and that the hate spewed by certain political
groups is unjustified and, in many cases, completely fabricated. It
seems to be working, as parties supporting a diverse Germany are far
outpacing those who want a white Germany.
Except, perhaps, in media coverage.
Speaking of things that could be
considered uniquely German, how about this sight, repeated each and
every morning we were in Leipzig?
Germans are big on recycling, and even
when walking drunk down the street will remember to put their empties
to the side so they can be picked up and reused.
Although it's not our scene Leipzig is
big on both Goth and Punk culture. In fact, you can even see a punk
rock mom on occasion--
The city also hold the world's largest
Goth festival each June, as thousands of black-clad young people
descend upon the city in celebration of their lifestyle. It probably
accounts for the large amounts of tattoo and piercing parlors
throughout the city as well. Those are just a few of the things that
make Leipzig a unique and fascinating place.
I can't wait to go back again.
Okay...a few totally random pictures I
took and haven't had a reason to post--
I actually don't think you can take a
bad picture in either Leipzig or Berlin. I really don't. Even if
you're just looking for a totally gratuitous shot of lilacs--
The lilacs that have been bursting
forth while we were here were an unexpected bonus. And really,
appreciated, too. I can't wait for ours to come out in a month at
home!
And, of course, because this was an
urban trip we didn't get the chance to see any cows, which was a big
bummer. Well, I shouldn't say we didn't get to see ANY, as I saw a
herd out of the window of the train on the way to Berlin yesterday
(and no, they didn't stop the train so I could get out and take
pictures). And then we did see one other cow--
That counts...right?
It's a pity we didn't have more time
and, perhaps, a rental car in Berlin. Readers of my daily blog for
work will recall that I took an Ancestry DNA test last summer, and
found out that the Schwemin side of my family was Prussian, After a
little research on my part I discovered that they lived in a small
village only 60 or 70 kilometers north of Berlin. Back then it was
part of Prussia/Germany; after World War II the area was given to
Poland. It's a small place; if you look at it on Google Earth it now
appears to have five or six houses in it. Still, it would've been
neat to at least drive through, and see where my great-great
grandfather lived before moving to the U.S.
Oh well. Yet another reason to come
back, right?
Speaking of family, here's Mallory's
picture for this year--
I think by now you all know the story
behind this, so I won't explain it yet again. This year, she has the
historic St. Nicholas church courtyard, where all those protests in
Leipzig took place, as the background.
Hope you enjoy it, Mallory!
With the exception of not being able to
see RB Leipzig practice this past Sunday the trip has met (or
exceeded) all of our expectations, and the credit for that has to go
to trip planner extraordinaire, the Most Amazing Woman in the World,
Loraine. She puts in countless hours of studying, planning, and
worry to make sure we get the most out of every jaunt we take, and
she did her usual amazing job this time.
So thanks, The Most Amazing Woman in
the World. I don't know anyone else I'd like to travel down back
alleys, on trams, and into soccer stadiums with but you!
That's about it for this time. Unlike
previous expeditions we don't have a “next trip” planned yet,
although there are several ideas percolating around our heads (the
train travel we so enjoyed the past week has really made us think).
So until next trip—whenever and wherever that may be—thanks for
following along. We ope you enjoyed traveling along virtually as
much as we did in person!