Zachary

The band

The other band

Cooking stuff (temporarily inactive...)

 
Ever think your bag would be misdirected by the airlines? Sure! You've heard lots of horror stories, but they usually end with the luggage arriving on a later flight and being hand-delivered to your destination. What happens if the bag is not delayed, but really lost?

It's been 3.5 days now and the airline has no clue where my bag is, except that it was last scanned in Frankfurt. I've talked to the baggage claim folks 5 or 6 times now and the questions they've asked me made me realize I didn't pack very well.

Do you know the brand of your bag without looking? Do you remember everything you packed in each bag? If the luggage tags were ripped off, would your identification be inside somewhere obvious?

Uh....

Next time I travel, I'll be doing the following for each bag, including any carry on since they are always at risk of being checked at the gate on a full flight (like one of my "misrouted" bags).
-outside tags on all bags; I use my business card for these instead of my home address
-include a copy of to and from flight itineraries and lodging addresses with phone numbers
-attach business card to itinerary
-take a digital picture of my open luggage, or when all my items are sprawled out on the bed, so it's easier to remember what was packed
-note the brand of each bag; try to find out the airline "code" for your bag, or how to describe the bag in their terms. My lost bag is apparently a "22".
-don't pack anything that's irreplaceable!

And know:
-what are the carry-on bag restrictions? (weight, number, special bag fees)
-what are the delayed and damaged bag policies? If the value of the bag is higher than their policy, declare it...value of international traveling bags may be calculated differently.

And DON'T expect an apology from anyone!! :(

posted by hbt at 8:45 AM

 
Only one month left - pretty soon I'll have to change the name of my blog to something else.

Ahhhh Thanksgiving. I quote Halloween as being my favorite holiday, but Thanksgiving is really right up there. It's all about food + family. Hard to go wrong. And after years and years of the tradition, you grow to look forward to it, and find comfort in having the same foods every year because you don't get them many times outside the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season. Being in Germany right before the holiday, several Germans asked about the holiday since they don't have an equivalent (it's all about the pilgrims). Seems a couple of them had been in the U.S. during the holiday and were invited to houses to celebrate - I think it really comes across as a nice holiday.

My family has other traditions as well. From a little girl, I longed to be included in the pinochle games with the family. I'd sit and watch, then I was old enough to help keep score, then finally to start playing, usually with a parent leaning over my shoulder to help me. Ever since then, it's been integrated into my Easter/Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. I have more memories than I can count or distinguish any more, playing with my parents, my grandmother, and my great aunt and uncle. And I'd hear story after story about my other great uncle, that would bid without looking at his cards - and still win! I think I only once shared in a game with him when he came to our house from Missouri for Christmas, and it was, unique. :) No one played quite like him.

Last night was no exception to the tradition - we played pinochle. I partnered with J.T., and Dad played with Grandma. Overall, uninteresting hands. Last time we played, Mom and I kicked serious bootie, getting huge hand after huge hand. Of the 12 or so hands played last night, only 2 were worth noting (and, of course, both were mine...) Despite that, we lost.

I also handed out the gifts from Germany (not so traditional) - schnapps, chocolate, crystal bracelet, crystal Christmas tree topper. Sadly, the bierkruge are still lost somewhere in Frankfurt (grrrr!). And I bought myself...a big crystal that sits in my belly button. One clear, and one light blue. It's adhesive, not pierced (Grandma was relieved!) I'll be ultra-cool at the next band gig. :) I also got myself a bierkrug. Can't wait to see it again.... *sigh*
posted by hbt at 1:09 PM

 
So an American, an Englishman, and a Swabian (southern German region) are in a bar together drinking beer. A fly lands in each of their beers. The Englishman says, "Waiter, please bring me another beer." The American plucks the fly out, tosses it, and continues to drink his beer. The Swabian carefully props the fly up on the side of the beer glass and says, "Spit it out!"

"Liabr da Maga verrenkt, als em Wirt ebbes gschenkt."

Or, "Rather a stomach pain than leaving food on the table."

I constantly left food on the table - I would make a bad Swabian. My German friend said if I didn't eat all my food, it would rain the next day. Based on my intake, I expected constant, torrential rain, but alas - I must have caused rain elsewhere in the world because the weather, while cold, was more than bearable, and I understand warmer than usual.


A brief introduction to Swabian dialect
posted by hbt at 10:24 AM

 
Dorothy was right. There's no place like home. Even seeing the scattered lights of Sacramento from the plane was comforting. A successful trip I think. Productive, amazingly fun, educational - and a time warp. The trip felt like I was gone forever, and yet, it was over in a blink. I did SO MUCH. I naively thought I'd blog during my trip. HA!

Next time I take a big trip I will do my best to travel light. I thought I trimmed down compared to my last international travels (no industrial strength hair dryer for example) and yet my bags were still too damn heavy. The airlines were nice enough to lighten my load on the way back and by the time I had to go through U.S. customs they had lost 2 of 3 bags. Quite a feat. One is/was somewhere in Denver, and one is/was somewhere in Germany - laptop included. I can't even log on to my work email to say I won't be working... Today they should be hand delivered to the house. Thankfully I don't need any of it for several days.

But the trip home was not a total loss. The stewardess asked me and the girl next to me if we wanted the exit aisle on our flight from Denver to Sacramento (and she asked if we were both older than 15 -- uh....yes...). Then the gentleman across the aisle leaned over bribing us with a $100 not to take the exit row because he wanted it. After much declining, and him not getting the exit seat because it was given to a 3rd party not aware of these negotiations, he insisted on us taking the money anyway. Uh, whatever dude. J.T. and I drove straight to Mikuni sushi had a nice dinner.
posted by hbt at 2:21 PM

 
I'm outta here! Off to Germany on Monday for two full weeks. Works is sending me. Work does have its perks sometimes (besides getting paid...) The only downside is being away from home for and away from my sweetie. We saw people-sized duffel bags at the luggage store, then thought the better of it.

I'll be back just in time for Thanksgiving, which means J.T. is running the show this year. I ceremoniously handed over the master spreadsheet yesterday.

If all goes well, I'll have easy Internet access from my hotel room and will be able to blog during my trip. :)

Wish me luck!!
posted by hbt at 11:03 AM