In fact, greetings from the airport that I've referred to on occasion as a "seething pit of humanity". We're in the middle of a four-hour layover before we get on a plane for Chicago, so even though it's only been, what, 12 hours since I wrote the last one of these, I did say I'd wrap up the adventure with a few final pictures and stories.
And since I always keep my word...
We're sitting in a bank of seats in the center concourse of Terminal 3, and when we sat down I noticed a purse in the chair next to me. I didn't do anything with it, other than keep an eye on it to make sure no one walked away with it. Then about 10 minutes later a lady with a southern US accent came running up, literally yelling "has anyone seen a purse"? I picked it up and gave it to her, and as her eyes started to water she explained that she was sleeping, woke up, and walked away without it. She thanked me profusely, and went on her way.
First of all, she didn't really need to thank me. After all, I was just doing what I'd hope someone would do for me should I leave my backpack somewhere. And second of all, I totally get it. I know the mental haze and brain fog that early morning international travel can cause.
I was happy to do what I could, and I'm glad it worked out.
By the way, I'm not actually using Heathrow's wi-fi to type this. Instead, I've turned my "Europe Phone" into a secure wi-fi hotspot. In fact, Loraine's also using the hotspot to Instagram stalk Tim Civeja (but they're friends, so it's okay). A couple of years ago I bought an unlocked phone, and every time we come over here I buy a SIM card (or, as they call it, a "Holiday Package" from Orange, which is a French phone company. The one I get includes 20 gigs of data, plus calling and texting to the US. I can't recommend it enough, especially because as we're out walking we just wander wherever we want, knowing that Google on my "Europe Phone" will get us back to where we need to be.
It really is a handy thing to have.
Okay. I mentioned I have a bunch of pictures I haven't shared yet, so in no particular order...
We had hoped that in driving around I might be able to (for the first time in almost a decade) see and photograph a cow. But alas, that was not to be. So I picked up the next best thing--
I think it might be my new best friend.
Speaking of weird things you can buy in bookstores, let me introduce you to the coach of the German men's World Cup team--
Julian Nagelsmann used to coach RB Leipzig, the team we've come over here to see twice, so when a toy company put out little figures of the players on the team and they included him, we knew we had to get one.
Even if it really doesn't look too much like him.
Let's see...what else is there? Speaking of things in toy stores, how about the game of Life, but in German?
Or what they sell in roadside gas stations to drivers who are feeling a little fatigued?
Because I'm a 12-year old at heart, I suppose I should include this one--
At our hotel in Frankurt last night, a freaky looking storm system moved through. Thankfully, there were no aliens hiding behind it; otherwise, I would have been looking to Will Smith and/or Jeff Goldblum for a little help--
And for one final time, your daily wall of chocolate--
That's about it for this trip. Loraine and I would both like to thank those of you who've been reading these. We've enjoyed your comments, both those you've left here and on Facebook, and we're glad that you were able to travel with us virtually. I would like to thank my esteemed travel partner, as well. You guys don't know the amount of work she does in finding us interesting places to go and weird things to see, so if at any point you've through to yourself "Wow...that's interesting", that's because of Loraine.
She deserves all the credit.
Well, now we only have three hours until our flight from Chicago. Hopefully, we won't get stuck behind a seathole, as we were on the way over, and hopefully, they actually let us back into the US. Keep your fingers crossed on both counts, if you would. We'd appreciate it.
8-)
See you next time around!
(jimkoskimqt@gmail.com)
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