Visting

A “business” trip

A short jaunt to Switzerland isn’t enough to merit detailed updates on the travel blog but it would be a shame not to document the incredible time we had touring Switzerland for a few days with friends. I did, in fact, have a business meeting to attend: it just happened to be the day after my birthday which prompted the idea of spending a few days having fun for my birthday before doing that work thing. So we did!

There were many firsts on this trip. First time leaving Aberdeen airport at the a**crack of dawn. I was very glad that the taxi app I used to book a cab at 3:45 AM did not let us down. Of course, the lack of traffic here at that ungodly hour meant that we actually got to ABZ before the counter was open to drop off our bags. Eventually they were ticketed through to Zurich (forshadowing….) and we had plenty of time for breakfast before our BA flight to Heathrow. Just like Rochester and Kansas City, you can’t really fly anywhere from Aberdeen without changing planes and for this trip that meant braving Terminal 5.

And you probably guessed that it didn’t go very smoothly. Let’s start with the fact that we were both denied boarding through the automated gates. Frank’s boarding pass flashed “seating assignment” and mine flashed “boarding denied.” Seriously!?! Frank got a new boarding pass which worked fine. I did not. But the gate agent eventually gave up trying to fix it and let us both board. Even though were were literally the last people on the plane, we still had plenty of time to sit and gaze out at the tarmac before take off. That’s when we noticed Frank’s suitcase sitting on the ground outside the aircraft all by itself. We then watched a baggage handler pick up the bag, through it on the cart and drive it BACK to the terminal! ARGH! We altered the flight attendant who had the captain radio to the ground crew. No, we were told, it must have been a mistake because all the bags for this flight were loaded. Are we sure it was our bag? Um, yes? How many green LLBean cases with neon yellow handles do you think pass through LHR Terminal 5? It’s not like it was a random black Samsonite. But maybe we could be wrong.

But of course we weren’t. We get to Zurich and there is only one bag. We think things are fine because there are two more flights from London to Zurich that day so surely we will only have to wait a few hours. Nope. It took two days for the bag to arrive. But we didn’t wait for it. We had several busy days planned. Starting with exploring different places around Lake Zurich and a fantastic racelette dinner with our wonderful travelling companions. The next day we were headed south in the intermittent rain and grey skies that would be with us for most of the trip. But that didn’t stop us from having a lovely time visiting Einsiedeln abbey and the Black Madonna – so much pink marble!!! Then it was time for lunch while cruising Lake Luzerne where we saw the place where Switzerland was founded. A visit to the Willem Tell monument and a cup of coffee in Altdorf rounded out the day.

We were spending the next two nights in a hotel owned and operated by the Swiss National Bank with the most amazing views of the surrounding Alps. A “quick run” before dinner turned out to be a seemingly vertical hike up (then down) the mountain where my shorts and Tshirt were not quite appropriate for the light snow that started. But dinner was excellent and put us in just the right mood for what I have since dubbed the “Playroom Olympics”! The hotel had both ping pong and foosball in the kiddy room but since there were no kiddies about, we took it over. Scotland vs Switzerland. A mixed bag of results – mostly Switzerland kicking our butts but there were a few redeeming shots in ping pong before we hit the hay.

The rain the next day meant that the many outdoor activities on the agenda would be a bit soggy. However, it turned out that the calendar would be our worst enemy since most of them were not yet open for the season. So it was off to an amazing the amazing Giessbach Falls with the accompanying art deco hotel on Lake Brienz. Amazing! A hard act to follow but the St Beatus caves held their own. Nearly 1km of tunnels into the mountain with so many cool rock formations. So amazing! Back to the hotel for cocktails, another fantastic dinner, and round two of the Playroom Olympics. This time Scotland managed to not be embarrassed at foosball but completely lost all ability to play ping pong. I think we needed to be happy with the Silver medal!

One last fun day before work which was MY BIRTHDAY! And I awoke to about 10 cm of snow! (We were in the Alps!) As we drove down from our 1400m height, it mostly became rain but as we were headed to the Swiss Museum of Transport, there was no worry about the weather. We mostly stuck to the planes, trains, and automobiles so we’ll need to do the planetarium and chocolate parts next time. Still a fantastic time all around. Then a little wander around Luzerne with the famous bridge – including some shopping – and it was time to head to Zurich to prepare for the work stuff. As we approached the city, the sun came out and provided some much needed warmth and vitamin D.

The work stuff happened and then we had some more time to wander around the city in the sunshine. We made the obligatory stop at the Fraumünster to see the Chagall windows, did a little more shopping and cocktails before meeting friends and colleagues for dinner. Then the trip was pretty much complete. The flight home was less painful (although I will avoid Heathrow at all costs now!) and we managed to arrive with all our belongings where they should be. Now to prepare for the next trip scheduled for 5 days later…..

Just a few photos from the trip. Nothing could do it justice.

Travelers and traveling

Just as we return from our holiday sojourn around Great Britain, the fall conference and meeting season starts.  For me this meant one week to remember what I do in my office before leaving the office again.  First destination: Houston.  A conference and set of meetings that we affectionately refer to as “the poke my eye out with a fork” meetings.  This installment did not disappoint.  My conference presentation rocked – thanks to the participation of my office12039405_847588595355600_1021846917256066242_nmate Dave the minion – and then I got to sit in room full of generally intelligent people listening to a consultant discuss how he can fix all our woes.  {sigh}  The highlight of the trip though was a dinner with some friends from NoVA who had headed to the Lone Star state at the same time as we were packing up for KC.  Dinner out with Mark and Beth was wonderful and we got to share tales of new adventures as well as share instances of the joy and pain of watching the kids grow up and move on.  It made the humidity of Houston and the turgidity of the consultant nearly bearable.

But I was not the only one on the move!  While I was languishing in the confines of a branch conference room, many of my friends and colleagues from my previous life in DC had descended on KC for a conference of their own.  I was sad not to be able to be there to show them the best parts of my new home (or be with some of them at the K when they watched the Royals clinch the division for the first time in 30 years — grr!).  I was happy though that one person stayed behind to hang out with me.  Theresa and I met several years ago at just such a conference and were lucky enough to only be two hours apart.  So we could have visits back and forth between DC and Richmond – and now she was visiting KC!

We only really had one full day so we had to make the most of it.  After I arrived back at KCI from Houston, we picked her up and Friday evening was spent in the ‘hood.  She got the walking our of Brookside: up the trolley trail for dinner at Julian and then some Foo’s Frozen Custard before wandering back home.  Saturday’s goal was to do as much KC as we could in one day.  We had a leisurely breakfast on the back deck – pancakes and bacon taste better al fresco – and then it was off to the City Market.  The farmers market was in full swing and we stocked up on goodies from kale and tomatoes to bison jerky and lavender.  Then it was oFullSizeRenderff to the Plaza Art Fair where hundreds of artists stall and  food stands take over the plaza.  The sun was shining and the day was glorious.  We had poutine – Kansas City style so there was BBQ involved – and wandered through the crowds, chatting with artists along the way.

To escape the glorious but relentless sun, we wandered to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to see how some of the famous people did art stuff.  I had been to the sculpture garden before but never inside the museum.  I was pleased to see a decent collection of Pissaro in the impressionist room.  He really is one of my favorites. Once we cooled down and felt cultured and refreshed, it was back home to grab the picnic and the appropriate garb and then – Destination Kaufmann stadium! We hadn’t failed to notice that every time we take a visitor to the K, the Royals lose. Has to be coincidence, we thought.  So with cheese, charcuterie, veggies and hummus, we made our way to the HyVee view section (read: cheap seats) to watch the Royals take on the Cleveland Indians.  And lose. So much for coincidence.

And so our full KC day was done and it was off to the airport early the next morning.  We had just enough time to get the house in order and get some chores done when another visitor phoned to say he had just landed in KC and how about a drink?  Peter and I worked together in DC, pretty closely in the couple of years before I left, and had become happy hour buddies.  So it was back to the Westin to pick up another visitor.  We had dinner on the back deck (our favorite dining spot these days) – a gourmet feast of burgers, potato salad, kale with bacon and local pickles.  Throw in some cheap red wine and couple of glasses of Virginia port with some good conversation and you have a complete evening.

So come visit – who knows what we’ll have planned!!!