I have always liked traveling; always liked visiting different parts of the world, experiencing it all: the countries, the cities, the people, the sounds & smells, cultures, food and so on. We never have to look far to find fun stuff and new experiences while “out there”; such a big part of dragging a suitcase around. Here are a few examples from a recent trip I made.
I visit my Mother in Denmark at least once every year. She’s 92 and in a home. She has dementia and is not that mobile; with the use of a walker she can slowly move around in her room and still function without a lot of help from the staff. For longer “excursions”, somebody will roll her around in a wheelchair.
I had invited my Mother and some friends of hers to lunch at a local restaurant. To get her there, I had to stuff her into a wheelchair, roll her to my car in the parking lot and (gently) get her into the passenger seat – piece of cake.
Without incidents I parked her in the chair next to my car. To make room for her I had to move stuff from the passenger seat to the rear seat; didn’t take more than perhaps 15 seconds. After I was done I turned and was shocked to find my Mother gone. Now acknowledge that she could not have disappeared by her own strength. So I quickly looked around and there she was, powered by gravity, rolling backwards towards the other end of the parking lot, while quietly saying: “I’m afraid” (in Danish, of course).
I immediately sprang into action by laughing hysterically as I stormed after her. I tell you, I found it so hilarious, though my Mother stated several times that she did not think it was. All went well and due to her dementia, she had forgotten it within minutes. But I had learned a very important lesson: Wheelchairs have brakes – now, how convenient is that?
I stay with my childhood friend Claus and his wife Kirsten when I visit Copenhagen. Claus wanted me to see some new, architecturally unique buildings that he likes. We needed to take the METRO to do so. I had never used this subway system in Copenhagen, so that would be cool to try. Claus was eager to show me how fantastically well it worked.
Taking the escalators deep into the ground was rather awesome; the design, the platforms and a lot of people. Claus proudly talked about how perfect the system had been from the beginning; perhaps with a bit of bragging in his voice?
But now we found the platforms packed with people like sardines. Claus’ face showed surprise and a bit of horror. “What the heck is going on?” he said in Danish. This otherwise perfect METRO system was failing him, just as he wanted to show me how grand it was.
We quickly found out that some of the lines had been closed due to signal failure. Claus was stunned and his pride nicked a bit. But he hesitantly switched to plan B – the Copenhagen bus system that you can always rely on 100%; though taken the METRO would have been a lot cooler.
Considering that about 35% of all the people working in Copenhagen bike to and from work in any weather, the bus system carries the vast majority of the rest. With gasoline at approximate $9.00 per gallon, cars are not you major mode of transportation; and we whine about $4.00? So we waited for bus number 2A, which arrived moments later.
The busses in Copenhagen are really fabulous; clean, on time and very efficient. So off we went. I have always enjoyed riding the busses, safely sitting there watching people and all the stuff passing by outside; so we were rolling along, chatting away and now laughing about the non-functional METRO.
But after about 15 minutes, a huge bolt of the bus, glass shattering and the extreme crashing sounds you only experience when a large moving bus hits a much smaller van (or what now used to be a van). And then the bus came to a stop and all went quiet.
Now, what you would expect would be passengers running around trying to find out if everybody was okay. But it seemed like all were well. The doors swung open and then everybody quietly got out and headed for the next bus stop which was about 50 meters ahead. Nobody went over to the smashed van, perhaps because they saw the driver, seemingly alive, walking towards the bus. No, they were all focused on continuing their journey, getting on the next number 2A bus.
At this point Claus was shaking his head, so for safety reasons we decided to walk the rest of the day; kind of funny, though, as nobody had been hurt other than perhaps a bit of Claus’ pride.
As the METRO had failed and the bus had crashed, we decided to comfort ourselves with a mid-morning beer. This is actually a Danish concept, making it legal and in some cases advisable (like after this morning’s events), to drink a nice, big and cold glass of beer
We quickly decided to do so at Hvid’s Vinstue, which is a pub/tavern that opened in 1723, therefore much older than the USA, by the way. After involving two waiters in fun conversation, drinking the aforementioned beers, we were off on our somewhat adjusted quest – while having a grand time; Claus and I always do.
We went down the pedestrian street Stroeget and quickly ran into the marching Royal Guard. They march through Copenhagen to Amalienborg, where the Queen lives. I assume they guard her from evil things, huh?
They are kind of cute with their big, furry hats and are a charming part of life in Copenhagen. Claus and I stood there and admired them, while they were waiting at a stop-light (yeah, they actually stop for red lights – go figure). Suddenly we were grabbed by three policemen plus two real soldiers and pulled to the side; we quickly found out that we had been standing where the guards were going. In retrospect I did think it weird that there was so much room. What else could go wrong? Actually the rest of the day went well and was very enjoyable.
(The soldier stepping on the white line, was shot the next day)
(ONLY KIDDING)
Flying long distances are not fun for me anymore. I get kind of bored, no matter the entertainment I try to occupy myself with. But things were a bit different on American Airlines flight 1711 from Chicago to San Francisco Sept. 19, being the connecting flight that would finally bring me home. After 9 hours from Copenhagen, that was what I needed.
I sat in row 24, which is economy. If you ever fly economy, I highly suggest that you do NOT bring your legs along, okay? Anyway, two flight attendants rolled the drink-cart down the aisle from the rear to the front of the plane. With 24 rows of 6 seats to serve before getting to me, I figured I’d be home in bed by the time it was my turn to get a drink. But then J.P. flew in on the scene.
J.P. must have worked her magic on the rows behind me before I noticed what was happening. Suddenly she was there, smiling and all. “What do you want to drink?” She asked. “Two gin and tonic, please,” I answered. She asked other passengers around me, and as fast as she had shown up, as fast she disappeared – and as fast she got back with all the drink orders. I was so totally taken by the way she worked the aisle, getting the drink-orders, serving the drinks – back and forth – full speed.
If I’m not totally off, she single-handedly served half the plane. It was fascinating to see how she worked in her own zone, no doubt. It all happened in such a blurry speed and efficiency – and smiling was a big part of it. I really like watching people being effective about whatever they do; J.P. was way beyond that. Next time I fly, I’m making sure it’s a flight J.P. is working – I can highly recommend it (of course, I’m not sure that’s her real name).
When we go with the flow the opportunities traveling constantly serve us, we can find fun in so many unexpected places. I do believe that I get the most out of my trips, no matter how boring some aspects are (flying; except with J.P.) But I am also very fortunate, because as much as I like traveling, as much I am looking forward to return home. That’s a combination that is hard to beat; don’t you think?
Till next Monday: Bon Voyage…
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