| Having carefully prepared for this trip over the previous months, and
finally packed the night before (after making last-minute changes to our
hotel reservation in Bayeux to avoid being there the same day as President
Bush), we rise slowly and unhurriedly (masking a high level of excitement)
on our departure day. Pam arrives at 10 am to take us to the airport.
We arrive in plenty of time, proudly show our passports at the counter,
and, with no bags to check, head for the gate. We run into a couple
of statistics students (Li Chen and Dazhe Wang) at the first security stop,
and breeze through remainder with plenty of time. After a long walk
to the gate, we see Dazhe Wang coming our way -- he's on the same flight
to Detroit, but he's going in the opposite direction -- to China and then
to see World Cup games in Korea. After a thankfully forgettable flight,
and failing to get a better connection (or bumped), we eat some sandwiches
while watching a hockey game -- little did we expect that on our return,
these same Red Wings would be playing in North Carolina! Our long
flight was a little bumpy, and while Carol kept a vigil, John got a few
hours of shut-eye. |
| The plane lands at 7:30 on a bright, sunny Sunday morning. As
we taxi to the gate, Carol spies some rabbits -- wildlife! -- only Carol
would be looking for wildlife on a trip to Europe. Despite the jet-lag,
we're surprisingly alert (although it's still morning and we're not morning
people), and after going through immigration, and laughable customs, we're
in Europe! We find an ATM and successfully get money, and just a
short walk away, we find the train station. We find the Raileurope
help desk, get our railpasses up to date and information about the next
trains. And after a quick grocery stop, and we're catching the 08:40
train from Schiphol to Duivendrecht (what a scuzzy train station!) to intercept
the ICE to Koln (Cologne). In just an hour, we're on our way!
The ICE is small, nice, modern, and very fast. Carol gets some
coffee; John gets some more z's. We arrive in Koln ('Cologne' in
French or English) at noon -- way ahead of our schedule! Our first
task is to check our bags. We found some automatic lockers, and we're surprised
at how they work: you put money in and a door opens, you put bags in, push
a button, the door closes and you get your claim check. After a moment's
wonder if our bags are gone forever we're off to explore the cathedral
(Dom in German), which is right next to the train station. Hungry, we look
for a place to eat -- our first language challenge. In the 'food
court' we find a place with a mixed menu serving cafeteria style.
Carol orders some potato au gratin with broccoli by pointing, and mute
John orders a small baguette with cheese. Kind Carol shares her great
choice with hungry John, and we agree on a food strategy: always order
different things and share our bounty. |
