Over Christmas and New Years, I was able to make to the U.S. to spend the holidays. Ok, so I'm a bit behind on posting... My trip ended up having a really inauspicious start. Perhaps most of you know the details at this point, but I'll give a little recap anyway. I had been stuck at BESSY (two posts below) for the previous weeks doing synchrotron measurements during the days and nights. Then, initial flight in the string that eventually should lead back to the U.S. departed early the next morning. I packed up in a daze the previous night and made it in plenty of time for the flight. I boarded the plane on time without problems. But, that was the end of the grace period without problems for this trip. We ended up getting stuck on the runway for several hours, just sitting there. Apparently the problem was ice. First, they de-iced the plane. Then, they said that the runway needed to be de-iced and that that would take another hour. During that time, apparently ice developed once again on the surface of the plane, so it needed to be de-iced again. And so on.... Eventually, we got off the ground to Paris (the trip was to be Berlin-Paris-Detroit-KC) but of course I had missed my connecting flight before we event left Berlin, so I knew that there would have to be some adjustments.
I was able to get a flight out of Paris for early the next morning to try again. I made an ill-fated attempt to take the train into Paris and see something for an hour or two, and then got a couple of hours sleep before departing again. Wearing, of course, exactly the same clothes as the previous day because they suggested I keep my bag checked in order to avoid problems. Strangely, they flew me back to Frankfurt before heading on to Detroit and KC. But, the cool part was that they didn't have any regular seats available, since it was the holiday rush, and so they upgraded me to 1st class. This is a HUGE difference for a transatlantic flight like this. It would be in general. But, especially for someone who is significantly taller than average. In order to illustrate, here is a photo from my business class flight to the U.S.
And here is a picture from my return flight back to Berlin at the end of the trip. Even this picture doesn't do justice to the discomfort and knee-bruising which was this flight.
In any case, I eventually, arrived in the U.S. after a marathon couple of days of traveling. But, of course the airline had lost my bag. There were a few things that I wanted in there. Clothes and things for me were one. Christmas presents for my family were another. They later found my bag a few days after Christmas, but by then, Christmas was already over, so it was a little less than ideal. I also got the impression that they didn't treat my bag with absolute gentleness. For instance, here is the ship in a bottle that I had brought back as a gift.
Anyway, enough of this travel nonsense.
I did make it back, though the moments after arrival may have possibly been the most exhausted moments of my life. The first few days we were basically snowed in with record snowfalls. We even skipped midnight mass for Christmas because the roads were not navigatable. But, I was eventually able to pack in quite a lot, and see quite a few people in a short period of time. Got to eat KC barbecue. Multiple times. Went to Houston for New Years and to catch the Mizzou bowl game. Actually, that is an interesting story in and of itself. A friend of a friend happens to work with a senator from the state of Texas. So, he managed to get us tickets in what I think was the best luxury suite in the stadium, right on the 50-yard-line. I think it may have been the best seat I have had at any sporting event (and I have had some good ones, so it's a debatable point). The result of the game, I don't really want to talk about... But, the seats were amazing. All you can eat and drink of course and pretty much all of your needs being catered to. Here is a picture of the commentators for the game, who were sitting right next to us.
I got to compare beards with my dad. This was just after a trim, so you are spared the pictures of the grizzly beasts at their most bushy.
In short, here is a list those who I was able to see. Some briefly, and some for a longer time.Mom, Dad, Anna, Karen, Casey, Rooster, McGillicutty, Anita, Love, Paul, Lori, Kristine, David, Grandma Rose, Agatha, John, Barb, John-John, John R., Racheal, Mike, Amelia, Mary, James, David, Ernie, Pat, Homer, Kendall, Adam, J-Brown, Megan, Jeff, Bill, Kim, Rosemary, Dennis, Diane, Denise, and I hope I haven't missed anyone.
Good to see you all. And to those I missed, hope to see you soon either in Germany or back in the U.S. soon!
