Travel

Musings From My Flight Deck

October 2022

I fly through Frankfurt at least a couple times a year. I like it less and less. Landing Turkish Airways from Istanbul, we deplaned from the rear. Not good when I am seated in row 5. Why? The Police are doing a Passport check at the ramp. Normal procedure for Istanbul arrivals? Seems to be.

Ride a bus to terminal and transfer to Z gates. More security. What a mess. Long lines and cranky workers. I have a backpack, I take liquids out, my phone out. Not good enough.

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By Pat, ago

Clearing Customs in Covid

26 September 2021

Travel is muscle memory. At least it was.  Much has changed because of Covid. I can’t utilize all the little perks of travel that once made the experience faster, easier and more pleasant. However, as I wrote earlier, travel may not be as easy but all the protections and requirements put in place are definitely worth the effort. 

One no longer travels without: 

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By Pat, ago

Living in the Age Of Masks

15 September 2021

Training through Germany

I love the tradition of dining on the sidewalks and in plazas. Weather here is perfect for outside seating. Dining in the fresh air and surrounded by the ongoing activity of local life gives me time to ruminate and people watch. It is always a pleasant, passive pastime.

Masks are no longer just for Halloween.

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By Pat, ago

Just Getting There – Almost Post-Covid

8 September 2021

I have to admit travel planning is NOT what it used to be. And being a solo traveler, I might be getting too old for this worry. I am used to 50 years of getting on a plane and going wherever and whenever I wanted. I always knew my independent trips were numbered at some point, but Covid was not what I expected would be the fly in the ointment. Even less did I think the situation would be worsened because a gaggle of nationalistic fascist would threaten the freedoms of the United States of America.

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By Pat, ago

2020 COMBO SMACK FROM HELL

If the grand entrance of Covid-19 in the early weeks of 2020 didn’t prove Robert Burns correct, that “the best laid schemes o’mice an’ men often go awry,” I don’t know what would. Covid would initiate the longest expanse of nontravel I have experienced in decades. Being socially responsible and just NOT wanting to let something like a virus take me, I have remained home. My Travel Calendar has never been this blank. My computer has taken a beating but my genealogy research has soared.

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By Pat, ago

No Guarantee One Will Like Travel

January 12, 2562 BE

There is no guarantee that someone will like travel.

When I moved to California 50 years ago, I had never been west of Des Moines. I had no idea what to expect other than it was my decision and my new job. So, if it was a bad decision, I could just move back? Probably it would have not been that easy.

When I first traveled in 1972, some 84 countries and seven continents ago, I had no clue what to expect. I had never traveled out of the country, let alone on my own. In both cases, I made the right decisions for myself and have never regretted the adventures.

Last Christmas, I gave my niece, Mikaela, the gift of travel. “Anywhere you want to go,” I said to this novice, 15-year-old potential tourist. I was hoping for something easy, familiar, comfortable. She chose Thailand. Thailand? Are you sure? Yes, she was and thus, Christmas of 2018 we traveled to Thailand. It was full of surprises for the both of us.

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By Pat, ago