04/25/26- Interesting trip this time as Sharece is staying home but I’m meeting Kelvin in London. We planned a three week whirlwind around Europe to get some more countries under his belt and to have a fun father/son time.
My early flight out of San Diego is set for 6:15am, which means a very early wakeup. Luckily we are only fifteen minutes away from the airport. I said my heartfelt goodbye’s to Sharece as she drops me off at departures and start the journey without her for the first time in years. I’m sad she’s not going on this trip but her sacrifice is for a good cause.
I do have to wait about ten minutes before dropping of my bag and for security, since both don’t open until 4am, but once it does I breeze through and arrive at the gate with over an hour to spare for the first leg of the trip to Dallas.
I sit down near the counter and shortly after am greeted with the sounds of people’s cell phone videos echoing from nearby. Bruh, it’s 4:30am, have some respect for the dead. I deal with it until an elder lady sits next to me wreaking of stale cigarettes. “Nope”, immediately I find another seat.
Once on board the plane, I doze off for a bit before hearing the captain state we are delayed due to a mechanical failure in one of the wheels. Apparently a part needs to be replaced and it may take up to thirty minutes or so. Not trusting the timeframe, I contact American Airlines via the app to go over my options before hearing all is fixed and we are ready to take off (1.5 hours late). At least my next flight isn’t until 3:10pm Central Time so have plenty of time still.
Our original plan was to meet up in Dallas to take the 2nd flight together, but my plane got switched for whatever reason to an earlier one several months ago. I don’t mind too much as I saved two hours on the layover, but this means we won’t see each other until he lands in London.
As I try to board the plane, the ticket reader says my seat number is not assigned. Perhaps this was due to me contacting customer service before but they quickly fix the issue and place me in the back of the plane with no reclining seat. Figuring to just make due, I settle in only to have the flight attendant hand me a new ticket. Puzzled, I take a glance to see the seat number is toward the front. She smiles and says I’ve been upgraded to Premium Class. Oh, uh… okay. Nice.
I grab my belongings, filter through the congested and compact rows and like an oasis I see my seat, with double legroom, large monitor, blinder sides for privacy and a goody bag of headphones, lotions and a blanket. I quickly sit down like I belong but internally I’m riddling with excitement over this new situation (especially for the long nine hour international flight). Well done travel gods… well done!
The flight is pretty smooth as I try and sleep through most of it. The first course dinner is presented like a first class meal, with chilled silverware to boot, and it’s quite good. It’s about this time I get a text from Kelvin saying he has made his international flight as well, which is a load off my mind. I’ve been tracking our flights through Flightaware and see him about three hours behind mine. Fun.
04/26/26- Plane lands around 6am local time and I’m thankful for the extra room because I was able to get some much needed sleep.
Passport control is swift and my bag is practically waiting for me on the carrousel when I arrive. Of course now I’m faced with the decision on where to wait for Kelvin. For the time being I plan to stay at baggage claim so I can meet him when he comes down, but that may change if I get kicked out for any reason.
The three hours pass by as I meet up with Kelvin around 9:30am at his baggage belt. Finally, we can get the day started. Our AirBnb also is allowing us to check-in early (originally was stated around noon), so we grab his bag, locate the overcrowded tube and take it an hour to our destination. At least we’re able to sit down for most of the journey.
Checkin-in is simple as I follow the directions sent by the host, however the three flights of stairs is not my friend. Our room is also very basic with a separate shared bathroom, but we planned to stay within a budget during this trip and this was one of the better locations to do so.
After maybe thirty minutes of putting our heads on straight, we venture outside and walk the ten minutes toward Big Ben and Parliament. It’s here that we see streets closed off for a marathon as people line the block cheering on the mammoth amount of runners hurling down the road.
Continuing past Big Ben, we walk down the bridge, making a loop around the Thames River, before checking out the Jewel Tower. It cost 9 Pounds to enter with only two small rooms to see after navigating some spiral stairs, but it’s interesting enough to understand the history as it was once part of the Palace of Westminster housing King Edward III’s personal treasure in the 14th century.
Our legs are feeling the ache, but try to see if we can cross through the marathon to the other side to continue the day, only to realize that it will most likely take about thirty minutes of waiting for the runners to be redirected before we can do so. We decide instead to find a place to eat, settling on the pub Grafton Arms.
It’s virtually empty when we arrive, but by the time our food comes to the table it fills up fast as the football match begins. The fish and chips is quite nice, very light and crispy, along with the shrimp scampi, but I’m not able to eat much more than half. Kelvin orders an appetizer and we share a beer before trotting back to our AirBnb. The stairs back to our room is the final culprit to call it quits by 4pm and we do everything we can to try and stay awake until at least 8pm to completely flip our schedules over to their time zone.
04/27/26- I think I slept for close to 11 hours last night and wake up around 6am. The rest did me good as my legs feel somewhat replenished, but I’m expecting today to tighten them back up again.
Since we’re both awake, we pre-purchase tickets to the Tower of London at 10am online and head out to a pastry shop nearby for breakfast. The vanilla custard cream donut is exactly what I’ve been craving to start the day. After about half an hour or so we hit the tube, which is packed for rush hour, and arrive an hour before they open. We take this time to stroll around the area before getting in the line that’s already forming.
Once inside, Kelvin has the bright idea to head up the outside walls as everyone else scurries into the middle of the complex. This proves to be quite enjoyable as there’s nobody in our way while we stroll at our own leisure.
We spend a good forty minutes ducking in an out of towers before coming back down where the Crown Jewels building is. Despite there being a waiting area that looks like it would be an entrance to an amusement ride, we’re able to walk right in without wait. Photos are not allowed and they’re very strict about it (don’t ask me how I know) but interesting enough to see how elaborate the crowns and garments are.
Once back outside, we stumble upon various characters dressed in old English town clothing putting on skits as they reenact village life. It’s quite entertaining and funny as they appear out of nowhere and just start conversations with the tourist or themselves. Their accents are literally the best part.
After a bit more roaming around, we enter the White Tower, named after its stone-washed, white interior, and proceed to climb more stairs. The first two floors have multiple knight’s armor and wooden horses with some worn by Henry VIII himself.
The next floor up is the chapel, which seems out of place with its elaborate structure. Now finally it’s time to make our way down all the stairs to the bottom and head out. Overall, we spent a good three hours here with my legs feeling the brunt. The mid-day sun is also starting to beat down on us making me scurry to find shade.
We rest for a few moments by the riverside as I take off my shoes to replenish my feet on the cold, stone rocks. The Tower Bridge is next on our list and just a stones throw away. Luckily there’s an elevator that takes up to the top walkway and gives us a great view of London. There’s even a glass bottom section where we can look straight down to the cars below. So happy to have near perfect weather as you can’t beat the 68 degree temps and blue skies here (especially in April).
It’s now time for lunch as my stomach reminds me I only had a donut this morning, and locate an affordable place about a six minute walk away, but once we get there we find they’ve closed early. Wanting to taste a local favorite of Sheppard’s Pie we continue to search until we find a more pricier restaurant down the way called The Ivey.
This place is decked out and upscale with the waiters wearing actual suits. We’re asked for our reservation, but didn’t realize we needed to make one, but they find us a table just the same. They allow us to split the Sheppard’s Pie two-course lunch that comes with a unique Crab and Chive Cream starter (served on watermelon and topped with crushed avocado and radish). Both were very good and would highly recommend this place. The price of 22 Pounds ($29 USD) isn’t too bad either.
It’s now around 3:30pm, and instead of going back to our hotel we decide to hit one more place. We take the tube to Westminster Station and I go out on my own to the Churchill War Museum while Kelvin walks down the road to Trafalgar Square. The War Rooms is quite pricey at 34 Pounds, but it’s interesting to see the bunker used by Winston Churchill and parliament during the World Wars.
Now that my body is completely spent, I meet with Kelvin back at our AirBnb where we stay in for the rest of the night. It was a quick trip here, mainly for me to reconnect from prior trips and Kelvin to get a quick overview, but it did its job of kicking our butts. Tomorrow our train leaves early in the morning, so will need plenty of rest.
04/28/26- It’s very early at 3am. We gather our things and walk a few minutes down the road to the bus that’ll take us to St Pancras Station. Surprisingly the weather doesn’t seem too bad considering it’s in the 40’s.
We have to switch buses during the journey, but we soon arrive at the station about 90 minutes early, mainly to have time to check out the Harry Potter 9 ¾ wall. Upon arriving we find they still have the sign up but no longer have the cart embedded into the wall like the last time I was here. A bit disappointed and curious, but we continue to the Eurostar platforms to check-in.
Security is much like an airport as our bags are scanned and we go through passport control. We find seats in the lobby and wait another thirty minutes before we’re able to board. Amsterdam here we come.
The four hour ride is helped by the two hours of sleep I’m able to get at the beginning, but unfortunately there isn’t much of a view of the country side. Once our train arrives, we dart out, set our GPS for Hotel Library Amsterdam and walk the fifteen minutes through the chilly 50 degree weather. The wind is exceptional strong as it swirls every which way, so much so I have to put on my gloves mid-journey. At least it’s blue skies.
Our room is thankfully ready with free cappuccino coffee to boot, but the elevator is quite strange as we have to hold down the floor button the entire ride, otherwise it stops. Might as well be run by a handheld pulley system? Once we settle, we stay for another hour or so before putting back on our warm clothes to begin our tour of the city.
The day is beginning to warm up as we walk about ten minutes to get some burgers and then another five minutes to the Royal Palace, which was originally built around 1655 as a town hall before being converted over by Louis Bonaparte (Napoleon’s younger brother) in 1808. All of the states rooms come off the central hall of the palace, making each unique with its own private entrance.
Upon exiting, we venture down the way toward the canals (with one of the more famous ones being around Herengracht) and take in the views of the boats traveling down as bikes line the guardrails. This is what brings many to Amsterdam and the serenity doesn’t disappoint. I don't quite understand why there is so much trash everywhere. Was there a huge party last night sponsored by Heineken?
We are now twenty-five minutes from our hotel and our legs are tired once more. Along the way we enter a grocery store and stock up cheaply on a few items and hole up in our room for a spell.
Around 6pm, we go back out for dinner (at De Haven van Texel). They don’t have any room inside so we have to brave the cigarette smoke, moving tables one time to try and stay clear from, and order the Stampot. Now I know what you’re thinking (Amsterdam… stampot… hmmm), but strangely enough it has nothing to do with weed. It’s a traditional Danish dish made from a combination of potatoes mashed with vegetables and garnished with a large meatball. Not bad tasting and I finish the meal with a glass of port wine while overlooking the canal.
04/29/26- What a great night’s sleep. The bed is comfy and the fan is more than enough to cool off the room. This coupled with how nice the rainwater shower is makes this an excellent choice to stay at.
I spend the morning catching up on a few things. Kelvin is not as interested in museums as I am so we plan to do our own thing today. The place that has my eye is the Rembrandt House museum which is only about a ten minute walk away.
Between 1639 and 1658, Rembrandt painted and had his art dealership run through this house (until he got too far behind in debts and had to sell it along with much of his work). The cost is a bit steep at 23.50 Euros ($27 USD), but it is quite informative. There are about five floors or so, each depicting his work alongside showing his studio, kitchen and where he taught others his trade.
Back outside, I locate where the Rembrandt Memorial is and walk around the canal another ten minutes to the statue before continuing on another sixteen minutes toward Rijksmuseum (which is the national museum of the Netherlands). I did try to get tickets for the Van Gogh Museum but they’re already sold out for today, and second hand retailers are selling for more than double the original price. So Rijksmuseum it is.
I’m allowed to enter thirty minutes before my timed ticket starts, which is good because I had nothing I wanted to waste time on otherwise, and make my way through the exhibits. The first floor is loaded with Dutch artifacts and statues which is pretty cool, but I soon continue to the next floor up for the paintings.
It takes a few rooms but manage to find some of Van Gogh’s work, including a self portrait he painted to work on his craft. The third floor is more of the same, just by different artists, and I soon exit to begin the route back to the hotel. Since it’s now a 36 minute walk, I opt to take the Metro back to the train station to save my legs.
I return to the hotel around 2pm and stay in for the rest of the day. Kelvin does go out after dark to check out the Red Light District, but I need my rest after all the walking these first four days so far.
04/30/26- Over ten hours of sleep isn’t bad and I’m up before 8am. We purchased tickets for Keukenoff to see the tulip fields in bloom, with our bus not leaving until 11am. It should be another sunny day so I’m expecting very good picture opportunities.
We leave our hotel around 10am, walk ten minutes to the train station to hop on the metro train, take the train four stops only to have to wait in a long line to board our bus that’ll take us to our destination. The line literally wraps around in a spiral. We could’ve cut the wait in half if we wanted to stand, but thirty minutes is way too long for that sort of nonsense. Finally we board only to have one seat available. We take turns switching off as the other sits on the elevated step.
Once there, we scan our ticket and are surrounded by hoards of zombified people making their way toward the gardens. I’m talking pets, kids, people in wheelchairs, it’s like Disneyland for flower lovers. Kelvin and I split up as he prefers to enjoy the walk around without stopping every two second for photos, which I don’t blame him one bit.
Snaking my way around the crowd, I do my best to get some intriguing shots. The further I walk the more I realize how vast this place really is, and on the other side is loud carnival music playing by a small pond and fountain. Seriously, all this is missing is “It’s A Small World” ride.
After an hour plus my camera has its fill of flower shots and I’m ready to leave. Seems a bit of a waste of $45 USD for this place (including round trip bus fare) but where else would I get the chance to see this? At least there are barn animals.
I meet back up with Kelvin, find the bus to take us back to Amsterdam (with the wait much shorter) before jumping on the metro. This time we get off two stops early to check out the Heineken Factory.
We purchase two tickets at the kiosk just as the behind the brewery tour is about to start. The lady speaking through the microphone is quite overbearing as her voice loudly projects in the small room we’re in. I’m beginning to wonder if we got jipped into overpaying, but as it continues it does start to get more interesting.
Much of it is a self-guided tour as if moving through a museum or past advertisements and bottles, but every now and then a guide will explain the beer making process. Then it gets weird as it feels like we’re in a nightclub with a lightshow and holograms surrounding us. We haven’t even got our beer yet and already I’m feeling like I’m in the matrix.
Finally, we get to the sample area and are told it’s the freshest we will ever taste in their beer. I’m not a beer fan myself, but it is cold… not sure about refreshing at all. Maybe that’s just me. After going downstairs to a few more floors we reach the bar, present our token and given a pint of Heineken each. As the people start to filter in, we locate an empty table to relax for a spell before tossing around the beanbags in cornhole. Of course I can’t finish my beer and Kelvin downs it before we leave.
Two metro stops and a short walk later we are back at our hotel around 5:30pm. It was an interesting day to say the least but enjoyable to a degree. This wraps up Amsterdam for us as we prepare for next destination.
05/01/26- Our bus to Bruges, Belgium leaves at 8am, however, we still need to get to the bus station. Instead of dragging our luggage to the metro again I thought it best to call an Uber, which takes less than twenty minutes.
Turns out it arrives quicker than expected as we get dropped off forty minutes before our departure time. The wind is quite chill, and with no place to duck inside to escape the cold we opt to park ourselves under an overpass while we wait. Now I know what a hobo feels like.
We board our Flix bus with assigned seats, however, there’s no place to put my large backpack conveniently as the overhead space is way too small. Once we start to drive, I find another open seat to spread out, of course that only lasts thirty minutes as more people board at the next stop. Luckily, I find another section of seats not taken and quietly enjoy the remainder of the four hour journey. That is until traffic delays us another hour.
We take an Uber from the train station to our AirBnb and arrive shortly after 1pm. Once settled, we buy tickets for the Belfort later today and waste no time in getting our day started. First up is food as we are pretty hungry and find a place along the way to the town center. The tacos are a bit dry but honestly I’m too hungry to really care at this point. The cucumber in it also is surprisingly good.
Since May 1st is Europe’s holiday (like our Labor Day) we knew there may be a crowd, but didn’t expect a full blown out festival. People are out in droves crowding the scenic Quay and hogging the streets, so much so that it’s impossible to comfortably walk without dodging.
We make our way to the town center and it is vast. Horse-drawn carriages sporadically clunk by as the view of the buildings leaves me in awe. This is the type of town I’ve been waiting to see.
The heat is starting to bake, as it’s now up to 84 degrees, which is quite a change from Amsterdam and London. I am regretting not putting on shorts and a t-shirt now. To escape, we duck into the Provincial Palace (free to enter) and roam around it stylistic building and mini museum for a bit.
Afterwards, we split up for a spell while I check out the Church of Our Lady down the road. The walk is only about 7 minutes but again the heat makes me crave the shadows, but once there I’m relieved to be in a well air-conditioned place.
Next up is the Boniface Bridge around the corner. It’s very small, medieval type bridge but literally loaded with people. I don’t know how much it can actually hold but it appears the world is about to find out.
I meet back up with Kelvin and rest our legs for about an hour before entering the Belfort (Belfrey of Bruges) at 5:30pm. We needed that break because the 366 steps to the top is quite grueling, but luckily they have landings every so often to rest at.
High above the ground (272 feet) we can see an entire 360 degree view of Bruges and the surrounding area. The slight, calming breeze is perfect until the bells begin to chime loudly above us. It’s a small tower, so not much else to do now but to trek back down the stairs.
Happy with day so far, we stop over at our AirBnb to change clothes before ordering a local favorite, Stoofvlees (which is a type of beef stew made with beer and mustard sauce). You can layer over fries but that didn’t seem appealing enough as the stew is all we need. The presentation isn’t the best, looking like chef-borardee out of a can, but it tastes very good which is all that matters.
Exhausted, we stay in for the rest of the night. Not sure what will be the plan for tomorrow as we did most of what we wanted to accomplish in Bruges. I wouldn’t mind checking out City Hall and getting some pancakes, but also looking forward to just getting on our six hour train to Luxembourg.
05/02/26- Decision time as we contemplate whether to go out into Bruges a little more or make today a rest/travel day only. Our train ticket is open-ending so we can leave pretty much anytime before 6pm, but wouldn’t mind just getting to Luxembourg early enough to take a shower and relax.
We check out of our AirBnb room at 10am, store our bags in the lobby and walk toward the town square ten minutes to Chez Albert for waffles. I’m surprised to see no line for this take-a-way place as it’s one of the hot food items to try, but shortly after ordering I notice a line of ten people suddenly show up behind us. We’re such trend setters.
I ask for the strawberry and whipped cream and am met with, “What kind of chocolate would you like, milk or dark?” Curiously, I ask if it comes with it and she says it’s extra. Wow, presumptive sale… very interesting. I graciously decline her request but thanks for the offer.
Eating this waffle along the way back to our place is a bit challenging but so worth it. I’m enjoying every bite as I try very hard not to entangle my hair in the Belgian flag on a toothpick impaled into the whip cream.
Soon after, we grab our bags, call an Uber to the train station and jump on board as soon as we can to secure seats with our luggage. Unfortunately, the train is medium full with no obvious place to store them, so I scrunch into a seat with my belongings and make due. By the first stop I notice there seems to be just enough space between and under the seat next to me which houses my large bag. This would be great if this journey was direct, however, we have two changes we’ll eventually have to make, with this first train lasting about two hours.
At our first transfer stop we only have six minutes to catch our next train. Nicely enough, there was a screen on our first one that tells us ahead of time what platform we’ll need to go to. Even though we have to maneuver down and up stairs, we safely get on board and find seats immediately. We do have to switch seats onc time as we apparently sat down in the first class section, but there’s plenty of space to move around.
Our second transfer station in Triosvierges, Luxembourg is a bit weirder. We expected to wait around an hour before we can board but soon find that due to track maintenance it stops short of our destination and will need to transfer to a bus in Mersch. This should be interesting. At least we’re able to jump on an earlier train and not have to wait the full hour.
The last stop comes up and we quickly try to locate the bus. It takes a few minutes but L11 arrives and takes us straight to Luxembourg City station. From here we call another Uber and get picked up by one of the glass top Tesla’s (which is always pretty cool) and arrive at our AirBnb shortly before 6pm.
Our instructions guides us through an outdoor restaurant to the main door and up two flights of steps (of course), but once we see the apartment layout we’re happy. Although the slanted ceiling will most likely be an issue at times.
Not wasting any time, I change into shorts (because I’m smart now) and we go straight out to Chemin de la Corniche. It’s only a seven minute walk away but completely uphill, so much so that it feels like I’m on a stairmaster machine set for expert level. Once we power through that and the steps that follow, we’re met with a gorgeous view of Luxembourg. It’s no wonder why this is called Europe’s most beautiful balcony.
We only stay a few minutes before making our way back to our AirBnb to try out the Italian restaurant we passed through earlier. Outside seating is all they have, and of course they have some smokers, but the margherita pizza is very good (especially after we add their chili olive oil on top).
Overall it’s been a good day, albeit a long one with all the changes. We’re also officially one week into this trip with a few more to go.
Side note: The water pressure here is not very good. It takes ten minutes for the water to heat up and in the middle of my shower the water completely turned off for about five minutes before kicking back on automatically.
05/03/26- We’re going right back out into the grind today to Luxembourg airport. Not to fly anywhere but to grab a rental car for the day. An Uber would cost around 25 Euros each way, so we’re opting to take the bus for free. By the way, Luxembourg has free transportation… who knew!
We walk thirteen minutes through a back trail to the bus stop and take it to the airport. We’re the only ones there at 9am, get the keys and find the car in the garage. The entire process is very easy and soon we are on the road.
Our first destination is Schiessentumpei Waterfall, which takes about twenty-five minutes to get tp. We park down the road and proceed to hike 500 meters. It’s a simple trek with some stairs as we maneuver past several families hogging up the trail.
The falls are beautiful (although small) but it’s overrun with people leaping from one rock to another trying to get their selfies in. On the way back to the car we decide to walk the main road to avoid going up the long wooden stairwell we came down earlier.
Next stop is Beaufort Castle, about a thirteen minute drive away. Dating from the 11th century, this castle is mainly ruins now, but is quite interesting to roam through it (especially the torture room).
At the end of the tour, they provide us a free sample shot of their liqueur which they make onsite. It’s surprisingly good and very sweet but nothing I would want to buy and take home with me.
The last location is to Vianden Castle (another twenty-five minute drive). This is one of the largest fortified castles west of the Rhine with origins dating back to the 10th century. After purchasing our tickets the rain begins to fall, so we check out the visitor center first hoping to wait it out.
After about ten minutes we brave the drizzle only to have the cold wind blowing profusely. What a day to be wearing shorts and a t-shirt as I left my jacket in the car. Fortunately, the tour of the castle is mostly inside as we go from room to room. Occasionally, we’ll hit a balcony overlooking the town, which is a great view.
As soon as we leave to head toward our car, the rain and wind stops as the sun comes back out through the clouds. This allows me to get one more distance shot of the castle before heading back to the airport to drop off our car.
The drive takes almost fifty minutes. We fill up the small amount of gas used, although I did have a time trying to figure out the pin on a credit card thing with the outside machine. Americans don’t have pins. I am able to fill up and pay inside after, which works perfectly. We then drop off the rental and take the bus back into Luxembourg City where the rain picks up again during our ten minute walk to our AirBnb.
We rest for about thirty minutes, change in warmer clothes and grab the umbrella before heading out to the town center for an early dinner. We didn’t realize that the path to the old town center went back up the steep incline we walked up yesterday, so now our legs are really hating us right now. Somehow, someway, we get to the top in one piece.
We order the Kniddelen (a traditional Luxembourg dish with flour dumplings and served with ham and cream sauce). We were hoping the dumplings would be stuffed but it’s good just the same. As we explore the town we notice a pop-up carnival full of parents and kids playing as if the rain doesn’t bother them. It's surprising how many family groups we've run into.
Around the corner we see the top of Notre-Dame cathedral and go in. There’s no charge as we check out the basement crypt (converted to a prayer room) and the cathedral itself. Finally, we head back for the night, but not before getting a few grocery items from the Monoprix store (which is similar to our Target).
05/04/26- Woke up this morning to an email from Europcar regarding the return. It states all is well, however, has the windshield marked for a chip. Now I know they aren’t going to try and charge us for this when we had it for less than a day with around 100 kilometers driven, especially when there was no traffic around, we heard no crack and I was very safe in my driving. We’ll see what the final bill comes to, but we may end up having some words, with the credit card company involved. Just say’in.
Now on to brighter things. I’m able to sleep in and rest as today should be a light day. The rain is still falling but shouldn’t interfere with what we have planned.
We buy our tickets online for Petrusse Casemates, which consists of a series of underground tunnels used for defense of the fortress above and as a bomb shelter during the World Wars. Of course we have to once again walk up the steep path to the top (why can’t they just build an accessible elevator for the public), and arrive around 12:45pm.
The long staircase down already has me dreading the way back up later, but we follow through the cave-like tunnel as far as we can take it. On the other side, we exit to a grand view of the fortress walls, but of course we’ll need to scale more stairs to get back up. Oy, I’m beginning to feel the burn in my hamstrings.
Back at the top, we see Gelle Fra Monument, which commemorates the thousands of Luxembourgers who volunteered and perished during the First World War.
Continuing on, we grab a few items from the Monoprix and walk another six minutes or so to the free panoramic elevator. This is supposed to give us a great view of Luxembourg but unfortunately the one day of the month it’s closed happens to be today. Eh, what can you do?
With nothing else on our agenda, we trek back down to our AirBnb, enjoying more views along the way. We thought about going back to the pizza place we went to the first night but it appears almost every place is closed on Mondays. I do find a bar nearby that has a decent priced jalapeno burger and it isn’t too bad. Meat is always good with sore muscles and this was sorely needed.
Side note: I am impressed with how clean Luxembourg is. Amsterdam is nice as well but the trash spread out everywhere makes the city look… well, trashy. Now, find a way to replace the stairs with an elevator and I’m set.
05/05/26- 4:30am is way too early, but our train leaves at 6:10am and its check-out day. Our original schedule had us leaving at 7:30am but it changed about a week ago to the earlier time. At least we’ll get to Germany sooner.
We call an Uber and get to the station with plenty of time to board and find open seats for us and our luggage. The first two hours allow us to rest with hardly anyone around, but by the time it gets closer to our stop in Koblenz we notice more people getting on and the train slowing way down. Not sure what the holdup is as the announcements are all in German, but we arrive an hour delayed.
We call an Uber and wait five minutes but the app keeps searching for a ride. This is when I notice the bus can take us straight to our rental car, Enterprise, so we walk the five minutes to the bus stop and as I reach for my credit card to pay the driver exits with a cigarette in his hand while motioning us to just board. So we did. Thirty minutes later we’re getting our rental agreement and on our driving journey in Germany.
First things first as we stop over at McDonalds to get a quick hamburger (something filling this morning) and I try out this Cherry infused Sprite, which is very good. We then drive over to our hotel, B&B Hotel Koblenz-City. Our room isn’t ready yet but we’re able to park our car and rampage the town.
Just as the weather predicted the sun is coming out, so we hurry to the Alstadt quarters (Old Town), take a few photos and continue to the cable car area. The total walk is about twenty-five minutes so our legs are beginning to feel the ache, but once we get in the cable car that takes us over the Rhine River we are very happy. We even get the entire compartment to ourselves (this after asking the couple behind us if they could take the next one).
The glass shell allows us to view the town in all directions as it ascends to the other side, and once the doors open, we step out like a ski lift. Definitely a cool experience.
Not sure where to go from here, we try to follow the path but it seems to take us further away from the Fortress. Weirdly, we stumble upon an artistically designed overlook that I know we would’ve missed if we didn’t venture this far out. It provides a perfect view with the bend of the river and the town.
Going in the proper direction now, we use our same ticket to enter the Fortress and jog around the grounds for a bit. It’s interesting for the most part with several rooms that allow you to see how life is living here, but not much after that.
We take the cable car back to the start and check out the German Corner, where the Rhine meets the Mosel River and decorated with a super large statue of William I on a horse (the first German Emporer).
Going back through Old Town, we stumble upon a wine store which allows us to taste some of their Rieslings before getting some food at Altes Kaufhaus. We order the Sauerbraten, which you’d think would be brats with sauerkraut but it’s actually roast beef with cabbage, heavily marinated sauerkraut and a potato dumpling. It’s very filling as we barely are able to finish.
The last thing we go see is the spitting boy fountain, which is around the corner. Every two minutes or so water spits out of his mouth, spraying on anyone not paying attention. We then try to find a grocery store but wind up in a mall, so we call it a day to be continued tomorrow.
Side note: The rental car company didn’t charge me for the windshield so all is good there.
05/06/26- Ahh, a restful night’s sleep. It’s raining this morning and all we have on the agenda is wine tasting, so no reason to wake up early. I previously contacted three wineries nearby to visit for a tasting, which allows us plenty of time to wake up fully and go to the grocery store along the way.
We arrive at the first place, Winegut Weyh, around 11:45am and knock on the door with no answer. I try to text the number provided and email but still ten minutes goes by (in the rain) until we see a local woman dropping by to pick up her wine. She calls the number and the winemaker drives right up. I mean we could’ve called ourselves but didn’t want to pay the per-minute charges so I’m happy someone else came by to assist.
We’re given multiple wines to taste (all for free) with the majority of them being Riesling. I do feel a bit rushed as it seems we’re invading on his personal time, which throws me off, but overall the wines are good and we buy a few bottles.
Since we didn’t stay as long as I thought we may have (I’m use to American wineries where you can sit and enjoy your wine for however long you wish), we decide to try to find another winery. Unfortunately, the two we go to are only open to large groups and not walk-ins. So we wait another thirty minutes in our car before the time for our next appointment comes up at 1pm.
Second winery, Winegut Krober, seems more inviting. The winemaker allows us to taste several selections and is much more interested in our conversation. He even has a contraption for pouring large bottles that I had to try out.
With a short lunch break in between, we journey to our last winery, Madame Flock Wines. The owner takes us on a tour of his wine cave, from an old underground World War I bunker abandoned for ninety years. He uses primarily a flashlight to guide us around so it’s pretty eerie. Next, we sit and sip on his entire collection of reds and whites for the next few hours while enjoying conversation. Truly one of the more fascinating wineries I’ve been to and thoroughly enjoy every moment.
With the time pushing 6pm, we find a restaurant Konigsbacher Treff on the way back toward the hotel and order some great food, Schnitzelstreifen (breaded schnitzel strips) and Spaghetti Aglio olio e Peperoncino (don’t ask me exactly what that is but something to do with olive oil sauce). It’s just very good.
05/07/26- Koblenz is complete and with that the wine tasting, but never fear as there’s more adventures to come. We wake up around 9am (well before the noon checkout time but we’re anxious to get on the road), and set our driving course for Nuremberg.
The drive is a long 3.5 hours as the rain comes down periodically in sheets and the traffic stalls several times for construction. The cool thing is driving on the autobahn. For some parts the speed limit went as high as 120 km/hr, but there’s stretches where the speed limit goes away and you’re free to drive as fast as you want. I take full advantage going as much as 173 km/hr. Needless to say we make it to Nuremberg thirty minutes earlier than expected, around 1:15pm.
As instructed by the hotel (PrivatHotel Nuremberg), we park in a nearby lot and once we check in find out that we didn’t need to pay at the kiosk for the two days of parking (35 Euros) and could’ve received a discount through them directly. Would’ve only saved a few Euro but we’re good with it.
After a brief rest in the room, we put on our layers and set ourselves for whatever chilly weather is to come, and come at us it does with around 50 degrees and sprinkles of rain. How is this May?
We stop at Bratwurstdose Nurnberg, a small outdoor eatery, and get the brat sandwich. Literally, the best cooked brat I’ve had. We then walk over to St Lorenz church, which is quite tall. The inside is very dated with not much renovation done as we’ve seen with others, but has a charm of its own. It also was badly damaged in the war and restored over the years to follow.
Our journey continues to Nuremburg Castle as the rain finally stops, but the pathway up begins. First it’s the cobblestone walkway up to the castle from street level. Then, after buying tickets, it’s the spiral staircase to get to the top of the tower. The view, however, is very rewarding.
Next up is the Palace museum that takes us through several rooms showing anything from battle armor to large foyers with a view. Weirdly, the workers in every room seem to stare at everyone as they look around, like we’re all going to steal something. Um, everything is locked up.
The tour for the last section starts at 4pm and already I’m not feeling the vibe with several smokers hovering over the entrance and a large Japanese tour group mingling in. We’re ushered into a small room with a well as we all jostle for position to be able to look down into it. During the presentation, the guide drops water down in and counts six seconds before you can hear the echo splashing down. That’s a very deep well. He spoke mostly in German so couldn’t understand anything said, but we get the gist.
The walk back to our hotel is quite a long one, but broken up with a stopover at a supermarket and then to Schnitzery Nurnberg. The sandwich we get is so large that I can’t even finish half of it, but it is quite good.
Tomorrow is another chance to sleep in. Hopefully the skies are bluer but I’m not putting much stock into that notion.
05/08/26- I wake up to sunshine peering through the window and as I stare out I see blue skies developing. Oh man, today is going to be a great day.
Around 11am, we leave our hotel on a journey through town to capture what we can of this new sunshine phenomenon we haven’t experienced in days. I do take my jacket just in case because you never know. Immediately I’m scrounging for my camera to take photos of St Lorenz Cathedral in full sun.
We continue wandering to the Hangman’s Bridge and Tower, labeled as such due to the executions performed. The wooden structure offers great views of the river as the nearby buildings reflect off the water.
About five more minutes walk away we come to Weibgerbergasse, which consists of about twenty medieval half-timbered houses that survived the war raids. The colors glisten as the sunlight protrudes from the sky giving the street a sense of ease. If nothing else I’m glad I’m able to see this in near perfect weather.
Not far away, we find the entrance to the city wall which has surrounded the old city since the 12th century. There’s not much to this section as it primarily overlooks the outer part of town, but the walk down the wall is pleasant enough.
Last on our list for now is the Palace of Justice made famous by the Nuremberg war crimes trials after World War I. To get there we walk about ten plus minutes to the underground (U-Baun) and take it three stops, then another seven minutes walk. They have a museum (7 Euros) where I’m able to see the actual court the trials were held as they played a projected movie to make it feel like it’s happening in front of us. Very cool effect and bravo Germany.
With the day pretty much done of what we wanted to do, we decide to try and walk the thirty-five minutes back. However, the sun had other plans and begins to bake us without shade only ten minutes in, so we hop on the U-Bahn again (free by the way) and take it to our hotel.
After a few hours we find a place close by for food but it doesn’t taste very good. Some weird sausage in ketchup didn’t fulfill the dream of enjoying international food. After eating, we continue to find multiple booths set up around the block and it feels like everyone is out. There’s hardly any place to go without people bum rushing and smacking into us. Not feeling the vibe we head back for the night. I mean we do find a US/British Empire store which is quite interesting so there’s that.
Side note: We ended up buying 7 wine bottles total in Koblenz and it appears we both have room and still underweight in our suitcases.
05/09/26- Another great night’s sleep and another beautiful day in Europe. We pack our bags, check out of the hotel and begin our drive to Austria around 9:30am.
The three and a half hours goes by smooth with great weather and rolling hills. We arrive at our hotel (June Six Salzburg) shortly after 1pm expecting to pay 45 Euros for parking over the next few days but find street parking is free on the weekends. This is very helpful as I just paid 95 Euros in gas to fill up the tank. Yeah it’s very expensive here, roughly $9 US a gallon.
Our room is very nice as well (it should be as it’s by Marriott), and take a breather before tackling yet another city. The first thing we do is get some kabobs and it hits the spot.
The walk through this part of town is not the best as it feels more industrial (cars whipping by so fast that they seem to gun it for pedestrians crossing the street), but it takes about ten minutes before we get to Schloss Mirabell, a historic palace built in 1606.The garden is quite impressive and has a tremendous view of the castle in the distance. Any Sound of Music fans, this is one of the filming locations.
Our walk takes us over to old town where there’s quite a few people but doesn’t seem totally overcrowded. We make our way past the baroque buildings and life-size outdoor chessboard to the funicular that takes us to Salzburg Castle.
The view from here is spectacular and the wind is just enough to compliment the sun. We continue to the museum (which is very well laid out and easy to follow) and a strange marionette display that seems out of place but interesting all the same.
We continue up several flights of steps to the top of the tower for a broader 360 degree view of the city before taking the funicular back to the base. The walk to the castle and the steps has my legs aching again, but it’s truly worth the price and can’t be missed, especially on a great day like today.
On our way out of old town, we make sure to buy tickets for Mozart’s birthplace where the family lived from 1747-1773. There’s many intriguing artifacts throughout that help in following along Mozart’s journey during his early years.
And now it’s time to eat. We set course on foot twenty-five minutes back to our hotel, stopping once to get a margherita pizza, and end the day there. Two weeks on this trip now and it’s getting a bit exhausting, but can’t wait until tomorrow’s adventure. Stay tuned.
05/10/26- What a fantastic day to take a daytrip to Hallstatt. I’ve been planning to go here for years but rain spoiled my previous attempts. As luck would have it, the sun is shining and the sky is blue which makes me a very happy person.
We take the hour and fifteen minute scenic drive through the vast countryside. Mountains, lakes, bridges, you name it… it’s beautiful, and arrive around 12:45pm. The forecast called for some cloudiness today but the sky looks great to me. Matter of fact, the sun is a bit more intense than I expected.
After we park on the outskirts, we walk about fifteen minutes to get to the town of Hallstatt and notice the tourist hogging up the railings trying to get their selfies with the lake behind them. I, however, am more focused on the other side of town where the best view lies.
Along the route we pass souvenir shops, restaurants and any other place the locals feel will cater to the masses. It’s a little off-putting to see this place be primarily a selfie destination now, but whatever brings the cash in I guess. There’s also a museum and some cute nooks stashed away for those that aren’t just picturesque obsessed.
Speaking of pictures, we make it to the other side where I’m able to get that perfect shot that I’ve seen in the guide books (and the reason why I’m here). Ahhh, now I can enjoy the rest of the day in peace. I did have to fight through some tourists though.
Going back through town, we step inside the church (nice and cool inside) and check out a few souvenir shops before heading back to our car. We thought about eating here but the prices are much more than we wish to pay.
Before we leave, we find a hidden away park with an awesome view of the mountains where not many people are hanging out at. We sit back watching the swans for a few, all-the-while taking a mental image of how perfect this feels. This is how I want to remember this day, right here.
Driving back to Salzburg is bittersweet as we’re happy with the day but unsure of what else we may do. I didn’t count on us being in Hallstatt for less than two hours, but many things are closed on Sundays so we may just take it easy at the hotel. We do find an interesting town along the way where we grab a bite to eat.
Side note: We did have thoughts of checking out the ice cave nearby today but my research last night revealed it’s about 1400 steps and three hours worth of hiking (with an hour of it inside the below zero cave itself). Nah, not this time.
05/11/26- Today will be an interesting day as we leave Austria for Germany again. It’s very cloudy and expected to rain so unsure how this will go, but we’ll figure it out along the way.
At 10:30am we depart our hotel and drive almost two hours to Munich. As we approach the city center I just missed the light as it changed to red, and that’s when I saw the police car on the cross traffic. Quickly, I pull down a side road and into a store parking lot thinking I’m toast. After a few seconds I decide to leave the lot through a side exit and see that police car pulling in at the same time. They don’t stop or turn on their lights so perhaps they didn’t care or didn’t realize it was me. Either case, it was a close call.
I find parking in an underground lot near the center and walk about seven minutes through the sprinkling rain to Frauenkirche, a landmark church in Bavaria. This is primarily a stopover to get out of the rain but realize they have a tower that you can go up to, so of course we do that.
We power up the spiral staircase before coming to an elevator that takes us the rest of the way. What is weird is the manpower security at the bottom floor, elevator and the top as if we’re touring a bank. Either case, the top floor provides an excellent view of the city even though the clouds mask the full experience.
After leaving the church we find the rain has stopped and continue to the Munich Residenz. This is the former royal palace of Bavaria and the largest in Germany. It takes some time to find the ticket counter, and once inside we’re met with an amazing elaborate corridor filled with ceiling art and statues.
As we venture through we see room after room decorated with their royal collections and furnishings with no two rooms like the previous. Its mind blowing how huge this palace is and reminds me of the Louvre in many ways (architecturally that is).
Toward the end (or what I think is the end) there’s an option to take the long tour and explore the upper floor, which I do, and it’s filled with more rooms, antiquities and less crowded. This is definitely one of the better palaces I’ve seen and put together so well.
Upon exiting, we make one final stop to Marienplatz, the city’s main square since 1158 when it would host markets and tournaments from the middle ages. It’s mainly a large open area with the new town hall as the main attraction.
It’s pushing 3pm and now time to leave the city behind. We drive over half an hour to Munich airport to drop off our rental (I made sure to video the car all the way around just in case they try to charge me for damage I didn’t do) before calling an Uber to take us to our hotel, Premier Inn Airport Ost. Even though the airport is only about a six minute drive away a taxi wanted to charge 25 Euros, so we walk a bit further to the Uber stand for the cheaper rate.
Our hotel is basic with zero air conditioning but opening the window allows a cold breeze to swoop in. I smell people smoking periodically so not sure how bothersome this will be throughout the night, but time will tell. At least it’s just for one night.
05/12/26- The window being open works perfectly and I had a nice, restful sleep. Our checkout is at 12pm but our flight isn’t until 6:35pm, so we’ll have several hours to kill today between then. Most likely we’ll use this as our first full rest day.
We check out of the hotel at noon, purchase a bus ticket online and walk about two minutes down the road to the stop. The rain is starting again and it’s cold enough for me to put on gloves, but we only wait ten minutes before it shows up.
Once at Munich airport, we get lost on where to go. We see Terminal 2 in front of us and try to follow a sign toward Terminal 1 but after walking about three minutes we see another sign telling us Terminal 1 is back where we just came from. Confused, and frustrated since we’re dragging our luggage, we circle back only to find Terminal 1 hidden under a platform. Weird but okay.
We then walk another ten minutes through the terminal to Gate D for check-in only to find that we’re too early to drop off our bags. I mean we did arrive five hours before our flight but was hoping. Once again, we double back to the main entrance area to sit down and chill for the next few hours.
While waiting, we hit up a grocery store (yes, there’s actually a full-on supermarket at the airport selling frozen items and everything else). The prices are very cheap so we grab some practical stuff for our journey, me- fruit parfait and a drink, Kelvin- two beers and cereal… I didn’t even ask questions.
Around 3pm we finally check in our bags and go to our gate. No one asks to see our passport at anytime, only our plane ticket through a scanner, so that’s interesting. We then proceed to wait another two hours at the gate, passing the time watching small birds slide across the floor while eating a Toblerone chocolate bar.
We board our flight to Helsinki, Finland at 6pm and as we prepare to take off I hear the child behind me screaming, the older gents next to me yapping away and coughing all around us. Mind you this is a very small (2 seats on each side) plane so I’m already antsy. In fact, within the first twenty minutes after takeoff we experience heavy turbulence that lasts about ten minutes or so. I knew this flight was going to HEL I just didn’t realize it was the flight from hell.
The rest of the two hour trip isn’t that bad though as the plane settles and the child behind us moves to another seat. We land at 10pm (one hour time zone ahead of Germany), grab our bags and take an Uber thirty minutes to our AirBnb.
As soon as our host is done explaining the nuances of the apartment, we head out to find food. A sixteen minute walk later we find a taco bell of all places still open. Worth it!
05/13/26- I sleep in until 10am with no real plan of action for today. The following days should be sunny but today looks gloomy with some possible rain. In the interest of getting the day started, we find a grocery store around the corner and stock up on a few items since we have a full kitchen to work with.
The walk is a pleasant one, not too cold despite being around 50 degrees, and lets us see the grid-like layout of the city in the daylight. You can definitely notice the old Russian influence everywhere.
The sun actually is coming out (in parts) so we set course to explore the Western side of Helsinki. We take the #10 Tram eight stops, which Kelvin plays hero as the back door gets stuck open several times during the journey and he made sure to fix it each today. Even had the conductor make mention of him over the loud speaker for his efforts.
Our first spot is to the Sibelius Sculpture, a monument dedicated to the Finish composer Jean Sibelius and appears to be a collection of pipes to attribute to his music. This is one of the few sculptures where you can walk through and see it from all angles.
Not far away we check out the waterfront with the boats docked at the harbor before making our way back toward the tram station. Along the way we find a Tram museum, free to enter, which is not much but does provide some history with the trams dating back to the 1890s.
We then take the #4 Tram over to Helsinki Cathedral (this time we don’t have to mess with the door). The Cathedral is massive and has its own dedicated space on top of a long set of stairs. This was built in the mid 1850s as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia. The view from the top of the stairs is impressive although the inside is lacking a bit of charm for my taste.
Now it’s time for some authentic Finish food. We walk a few blocks to a food market and order the Lapland Reindeer Kumpir. Basically it’s a loaded potato topped with reindeer meat, pickles, blue cheese and lingonberry sauce. One might expect this to be a tasty dish, but I find out very quickly that it is not. I basically have to order another taco from Taco Bell to get the taste out of my mouth. Things you learn.
It’s now pushing 5pm as the rain clouds are forming once again. We retreat to our AirBnb for the night and explore our options for the next coming days while enjoying home cooked pizza. Yup, still trying to forget about that reindeer.
05/14/26- The morning starts off well with another happy blue sky and a quick trip to the store. We’re stocking up for the day for our ferry ride across the Finnish Gulf to Tallinn, Estonia.
We disembark at 1:30pm but we’re expected to be there up to an hour before to check-in. We’re bored so we arrive an hour and a half early and proceed to wait. Luckily, they allow us to board the ferry at 12:50pm, and since we’re one of the first ones on we get our pick of seats.
Not knowing what part of the ship we should be on we follow those in front and find some comfortable seats near the back at the restaurant. Apparently there are no assigned seats and the restaurant is free game (meaning we don’t have to order anything). Once we shove off, I’m in prime position to take some photos of Helsinki at the rear.
The trip lasts two hours and it’s a boring two hours mind you. The bar area quickly fills up so loud talking is all around, not the place to rest. We try taking turns walking around the ship but there’s nothing that interesting to see other than a few shops.
We get to Tallinn at 3:30pm and begin our twenty minute walk through the city to the historic part of town (which is one of the best preserved in Europe). Immediately I’m drawn to the color of the buildings reflecting off the sun, but it only lasts for so long before hiding behind the clouds.
We get some souvenirs then walk through the main square before continuing toward the city walls. It’s now pushing toward the time this closes but we make it with twenty minutes to spare.
It costs 5 Euros to enter and we climb some steps to walk a small portion of the wall. Every so often there’s an entry way inside the towers that lead us to a nice view of the town, which is worth the price of admission itself.
Continuing on, we walk further to Pikk Street, which is a historic artery in the heart of this Medieval Old Town. We thought about checking out the city museum but 10 Euros seems a bit pricey for something we really don’t have much time to do.
With our three hour timetable almost up, we grab some food at KFC (badly in need of some good chicken right now) and head back to the port terminal for our ferry ride back to Helsinki. Again we’re one of the first ones to board and this time we choose the quiet section of seats and get a set of four to ourselves.
This time the two hour ride is much more relaxing and goes by quick as we watch the sun set over the water. We get back at 9:30pm, take the tram to our AirBnb and settle in for the night.
05/15/26- We are finally here, our last full day on the trip. A moment of reflection crosses my mind, but not yet as there’s more to do today. First thing I do is check in for our flight for tomorrow. We booked through American Airlines but it’s coded through Finnair so our seats aren’t assigned. Luckily, I’m still able to find two aisle seats next to each other.
Shortly before noon we begin our walk toward the ferry dock. It’s twenty-five minutes with very cold wind blowing our way, but we manage to pass the time with a few sites along the route.
Once we get to the dock we find that the next ferry isn’t for another thirty minutes. No worries as there’s an outdoor food court here where we promptly order a basket of fried vendace, which is a Finnish delicacy featuring small freshwater whitefish coated in rye flour. Honestly, this is quite good and a perfect snack to start with.
We purchase our ferry ticket (3.50 Euro) and wait five minutes before we can board. This is tiny compared to the barge we took yesterday of course and only a twelve minute ride to Suomenlinna Island.
With no timetable set for today we casually follow others toward the sea fortress (from the 18th century). On the way we find the museum and gift shop but we prefer just to enjoy the walk around the grounds.
The outside of the fortress is battered by cold winds drifting from the bay, but as we duck into the place itself we find reprieve. Mostly, it looks completely abandoned and unsure if the buildings are still in use to some degree, but every now and then we come across a shipyard or a tunnel that’s interesting.
After spending about ninety minutes, we take the ferry back for our next location, Uspenski Cathdral. This Greek Orthodox cathedral was completed in 1868 and somewhat intricate on the inside, although not much space (despite the large ceiling). It cost 5 Euros and although it doesn’t seem worth the price it’s our last day so why not.
It’s now only 4pm but we feel like we’ve accomplished what we set out to do. With our last day in the books we gather a few more things from the grocery store on our way back to the AirBnb and get set for tomorrow’s plane ride home. Oh, and saw one of those robotic delivery carts today so that's cool.
05/16/26- Traveling home after a three week trip is joyous and deflating at the same time. This has been a great vacation for Kelvin and I and always appreciate the time we get to spend together.
Our plane takes off at 12:30pm so we arrive at the airport over three hours early, mostly due to being antsy. The line for security is non-existent as we breeze through it to our gate; we board promptly and take our aisle seats across from each other.
During the ten hour flight to Dallas (our layover), I’m seated next to an older couple in the middle of the plane. The woman moves across the aisle to allow more room, however, the man stays seated in the middle seat right next to me almost the entire journey. Every now and then he’d move over for the middle seat to be free but then move back. Not sure why he’s choosing to literally be up against a stranger instead of basking in the spare space, but some people are weird.
It’s a long flight but we arrive at our layover an hour earlier than expected. As I check on my connection to San Diego I see an earlier flight that I can now make. We do have to pick up our bags in customs to recheck and I use this time to change my flight, but then the strangest thing happens as customs exits back to the main TSA check area meaning we have to go back through full security. Not a major deal but the sodas and water I kept from the plane I now have to drink or chuck them. I choose to not waste it.
I reach the gate for my second flight (after taking the Skylink shuttle from Terminal D to B) with twenty minutes to spare. It’s an easy three hours and suddenly I’m back home waiting for my honey to pick me up from the airport after 6pm.
What a true adventure this was and to spend it with my son makes it that much more special. Eight countries traveling by ferry, train, car, bus, plane and not one of them (outside of London) checked our passport. Even when we arrived in the states they just took our picture and the green check mark appeared. Lost are the days of getting our passport stamped it appears so I’m happy to still have my old passports as a souvenir.
Kelvin plans to continue traveling in the future and most likely will do the next one on his own, so hopefully this was a great learning experience for him. We saw castles, history, nature, cities (large and small, old and new) and ate some great and yet interesting food along the way. In a world of uncertainty, I’m happy to have a constant source of inspiration with my family.
END OF BLOG
