September 19, 2024

September 19, 2024

We woke early and took the tram back to the Zurich airport. Normally while we are on tour Aimee lags behind me; humorously once we begin the process of going home, I have trouble keeping up with her speedy gait.

Our flight from Zurich takes off on-time paralleling the line of Alps to our south. From the air these mountains rise up above the cloud layer like an impenetrable wall.

To commemorate our summer trip to Ireland our flight path crosses Dublin and then over the north shore of County Mayo where Aimee’s mom was born. I can see Lough Conn and Mt. Nephin in the distance. For the Titanic Belfast part, we crossed the southern tip of Greenland where I spotted numerous newly-formed icebergs floating offshore. If I can see them from 36,000-feet, they must be huge.

None of the new-release movies interested me, so I watched an old Grace Kelly movie and in desperation, I selected a Ghostbusters 2021 sequel. Little did I realize that it is the 40th anniversary of the original.

We landed in Chicago early. That is when our luck ended. I played the rookie traveller and left my jacket on the plane and had to go back to retrieve it. Customs was having some software malfunction causing Global Entry to backup. If that wasn’t enough, the tram for the international terminal shut down causing chaos to break out. There is no way to get to connecting flights at the other terminals. Eventually O’Hare rounded up some buses. We waited in a long line to board hoping our Swiss chocolate wouldn't melt in the heat. Thankfully we have a long layover so we don’t miss our next flight. Aimee and I are both cursing Chicago.

Our next flight takes off on time. We pass over our old Lombard house and then over the Fermilab particle accelerator in Batavia. Over Colorado, we get a nice view of Great Sand Dunes National Park. From the air, it is easier to see how the prevailing wind direction trapped this mass of sand in a cleft of the mountains. After landing in Phoenix, our driver meets us and takes us home. We have been up way too long.

We enjoyed our trip to central Europe. The Dolomites were stunning. We can see going back, taking day hikes to soak up the scenery, and stopping along the way to drink our new-found Radler beer beverage. We found eastern Germany to be enjoyable and easy on the wallet. There is lots to see and the food great.