Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Fog and Bilbao


I like working in fall. You don't have to worry about snow yet and it isn't so warm anymore that you are miserably hot in your uniform while trying to look fresh and proper.
No, fall would be perfect if it wasn't for the fog. For the last few days the middle of Europe has been covered in fog in the early morning hours. And fog normally means getting a "slot". A slot is a set time a plane can start its flight. And when there is fog and planes need a bigger distance from each other for take off and landing there tend to be lots of "slots". A slot can be one or two hours later than the scheduled departing time. A slot means the passengers might be very delayed and so is the plane, which is supposed to go to another destination and the crew who are also supposed to go somewhere else. Delays, delays and delays and all because of a little fog.

My crew and I were scheduled to have two overnights in Bilbao, Spain and I was amazed when we actually made it there, only 2 hours behind schedule.

Bilbao is a beautiful, old city on the ocean. Lots of old historic buildings ...

... but right in the middle, its focal point the Guggenheim Museum...

with Jeff Koons' "Puppy" in front of it...

The museum was designed by Frank Gehry and what a magnificent building it is!


I spent hours there. Walking around the museum. Up the stairs,

sitting on a bench inside, overlooking the river...

Jeff Koons "Tulips" on the terrace...

even the bathrooms are worth taking pictures of.

When, after hours, I finally left the Guggenheim again I walked past the Westie, got some Spanish food at little shop and went back to the hotel. Getting ready for another fall day and surely more fog.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Work


October has been a very busy month so far. I have been all over Europe...I must have seen at least 15 different airports. Lots of unique airlines...


Different planes ... this one is a Russian airplane. The area underneath the cockpit, with windows on the bottom used to be occupied by a human navigator who would lay there, look out of the windows and, with the help of maps, would tell the pilots where to fly:

One afternoon we ended up in Belgrad, which is not a city I am too fond of. It is nothing personal, it is just a city that doesn't really capture my heart. But I do know there are people who are very fond of it. One of them is a colleague, who made me change out of my uniform the moment we got to the hotel, exchange money and take a cab downtown.
There she went straight to beautiful, old coffee shop ...


...ordered coffee and cake for us and said: "There you go. What do you have to say about Belgrad now?!"

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Best Friends


Daughter's very, very best friend is staying over today. All afternoon long. After eating lunch and doing their homework I asked them to recite a poem they've had to memorize. They will also have to recite it tomorrow, together in front of the whole class.

It didn't go very well...

they kept on giggling...

laughter kept on bursting out of them...

no idea, what they will do tomorrow in front of their classmates...


Monday, October 5, 2009

Note


Husband has been abroad for over 2 weeks and I am gone on a lot of overnights. And while the kids are used to one of us not being home, they really dislike it when we are both gone.
A few nights ago son left a toffee and a note on my pillow. He worried about me staying all alone in the apartment at night, since he and his sister were staying at Oma's place.


But before I could find the surprise myself he came to me and said: "I left something for you on your pillow... but now I am wondering if it is going to make you cry - are you going to be sad when you find it?"
I hadn't planned on crying that night but when I did climb into bed late at night and all alone, I was very glad the toffee was there. Without it, I might have cried after all.