International travel rocks!

I’m kinda new to this international jetsetting thing. The closest I’ve come to these types of trips is playing “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego” computer game. But once you get over the cost of the ticket, the flight can be quite pleasant, almost regal. The meals come with METAL utensils… and you’re treated to unlimited FREE drinks. For me, the highlight was getting a block of Tillamook cheddar cheese… YUM!!!

So what’s the catch… well, I was stuck in the aisle seat, and the two little old ladies next to me decided to indulge in the wine & spirits. Does Miss Manners have a suggested upper limit to number of bathroom trips per 10 hour flight? Oh well, I couldn’t begrudge them because they were also big Stanford boosters and Bill Walsh fans. I just hope they left some energy for their weeklong cruise.

The plan was to rendezvous with Ricardo in the Helsinki airport after my 18 hours of travel and his leapfrogging from Thailand. We were supposed to arrive within a half hour of one another in adjacent terminals; so we couldn’t miss each other, right? No problem! We walk out of our respective terminals and ran into each other mid-stride. What a fantastic harbinger for the rest of the trip!
The preliminary itinerary is to stay in Helsinki for a night, then overnighting to Stockholm for a few nights. We’ll then Eurorail it to Oslo, Norway before embarking on 4 day expedition through the fjords lining the Western seaboard. Our final stop in Scandinavia will be in Denmark after spending a night in Goteberg, Sweden. To save a day of travel, we’re aiming to hop a plane to Budapest and then cut back through Czech to Germany to celebrate Michael Brinkmann’s wedding in Munchen. We have a bit of flexibility on the last few days, and the stretch goal will be to visit Dmitry in Moscow. As the sun sets slowly in the West, I bid you a fine farewell.