Back in the USA

Well, I’m home from Germany. It was snowing the day I left, the first time in over a month. Ironically, I was in Southern Germany six days earlier and saw quite a bit of snow in Stuttgart.

A week earlier I had gone with a friend, Corwin Gal, north to Gothenburg, Sweden. He was picking up his new Volvo at the factory and asked if I would like to go along as his co-driver. Gothenburg was bare of snow! Sweden was really interesting. What I found surprising was that everyone I met there spoke excellent English. When we arrived at the hotel, I asked whether they spoke English, fully prepared to ask if they spoke German if the answer was “no.” The young woman behind the desk looked and said, “Of course I speak English!” In my mind I was thinking, ‘Of course? Hey, I’m in Sweden. What else would you speak?’ Much of the television programming, like most of Europe, is American and British English language shows. For instance, I watched NCIS in English on Swedish TV, with Swedish subtitles. There are less than ten million Swedes, so it’s not cost effective to dub over the shows in Swedish.

Denmark, like Sweden, was incredibly expensive. Our meal in Copenhagen cost us $70 each! I would leave Europe with Euros, Swedish Kroner and Danish Kronor, and US dollars in my wallet. Most interestingly, to me, were the differences between the close Scandinavian neighbors. Sweden was easily the most “American” European nation I saw. Large autos predominate, and the streets, despite the age of the cities, were wide. Additionally, outside the cities were wide open spaces and large homes. The terrain reminded me a great deal of the Delmarva Peninsula.

Copenhagen, on the other hand, was a more typical European city. Their difference was the MASSIVE use of bicycles, even in the dead of winter. Every street in Copenhagen had bike lanes and everyone, it seemed, was riding a bike in the January cold. Bicycle racks were more common than auto parking spaces, and to be honest, it was a good thing. If all the people in Copenhagen had cars instead of bicycles, Corwin and I would STILL be stuck in Danish traffic!

So, I made it through the clearing process, mailed home my tools, and packed my bags. Clearing German Customs and the normal hassle through security were surprisingly easy. The flight wasn’t uneventful, as the Delta Air Lines Boeing 777 was improperly loaded and out of CG, so as we began taxiing away from the gate at Frankfurt Main Airport were quickly diverted to another spot on the ramp and a pallet was unloaded from the aircraft. As we pulled up to have the pallet unloaded the pilot announced that he anticipated a ten-minute delay. 57 minutes later we finally taxied out to the runway. As a result, we took off an hour late. Happily, the airplane was nowhere near full so I and everyone else were able to stretch out in their own row. Nice.

The flight was smooth, but there was cloud cover all over Europe. It began to break up at the Western Irish coast, but was spotty over the Atlantic. I tried hard to spot icebergs, Iceland and Greenland from 30,000 feet, but all I saw was occasional whitecaps. Thankfully, the clouds cleared completely just before Labrador, Canada. Watching the ice pack and bare coast of the Canadian Shield, covered in snow was amazing. I observed a small town (maybe 30-to-40 buildings) below on the Northeast Canadian coast with an airstrip above on the hilltop, and a single road leading out of town to literally nowhere. And I think I spied a famous ice road.

Since arriving in South Carolina, I’ve been to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (now THERE’S an awkward title), and I’ve called and gone online to the Texas Workforce Commission. I bought a new sink and plumbing items, began to tear out our second bathroom, and have had to begin training my daughter’s dog to stay off the furniture and the bed, and the cats to stay off the kitchen table and counters (yuck!), as the wife will not discipline the animals.

Additionally, I bought a new 18-inch Husqvarna chain saw, and I’ve cut and cleared some trees and stumps in the yard, pulled up some vines, and burned it all in the backyard. We threw a party the week after I arrived and had a wonderful time with friends and family. AND there’s the unpacking. Clothes, books, magazines, tools, etcetera. On the upside, everyone loved their gifts.

So far, what I miss about Europe is the incredible food and the history. I also miss responsible, educated drivers and the laws and law enforcement enforcing those laws. I DON’T miss the traffic cameras.