Le décollage

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Weeks of planning and hours of packing all came together on a chilly and cloudy October afternoon. It was gray and rainy enough to seem unpleasant but thankfully not bad enough to have an impact on flights which were running on time (or as close to on time as airlines ever run.)

I arrived at the airport good and early, having long since made a promise to myself that I would never miss a flight/train/bus due to my own lateness. Sure, its extra time in the airport, but I find that interminably long lines are a lot more easy to deal with emotionally when I'm not worried about being late.

Among the things I had learned in my research and experience from the recent business travel, was the ability to get everything I needed into a single carry on bag and personal backpack. This was a bit of feat, as it included a laptop computer as well as a DSLR camera and tripod. It was simplified by a dual laptop/DSL camera bag, which doubled easily as a day bag when the laptop was left in hotel rooms for tourisming. It was a National Geographic Earth Explorer (medium) backpack and I have no complaints (which is about the best review I can give for any product.)

With no customs on this side of the border, my early arrival and practice with passing through security expeditiously had me through and at my gate within 10 minutes of arrival. So early in fact that the passengers for an earlier flight were still milling about. I opted for a quick visit to the stereo-typically overpriced bar for a beer and a last few minutes of hearing localspeak. Language had me a bit concerned on this trip, as my previous trips had always been to places where French or English were spoken. This time around I would be going to Germany without knowing more than a dozen words in German. I knew the dozen most important words and my research suggested that a lot of people in the areas where I was going would speak at least basic English. I also made a presumption that would serious with my head, but more on that later (ooooo.... foreshadowing.)

Time ticked, as it tends to when waiting for a flight, very slowly. Soon enough, we boarded and left the gate for an on time departure. The flight was largely uneventful. There were no young children within earshot and the plane had the new (at the time) fancy personal entertainment units at each seat giving me a choice of many different films and television episodes to entertain myself with. This was great, since I can't sleep on a plane and it helped to keep me distracted. A brief seven and half hours later we slowed to a stop at a gate at Heathrow. SiliTrip 2009 was officially in progress.

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