Travel Day

We made it to the airport (which on some trips is the most difficult task).  This is our first trip on Icelandair so we have no expectations other than a snug place to sleep for the next 7 hours to Keflavik.  

One of the perks we really like comes from my American Express card.  Access to airline clubs and lounges at almost every airport.  Sonja loves them.  We weren't here 30 seconds and I looked up to see she had disappeared.  

...only to have her reappear a few minutes later.  

Ah, it's going to be a great trip!

Side note: just went over to refill our waters and Christina Aguilera is in the lounge.

Seven hours to Iceland.  Hour and a half layover and then another 3 1/2 hours to Berlin.  Should arrive early in the afternoon tomorrow.   Funny how that didn't sound so bad when I bought the tickets.  Now though, ugh!

Made it to Iceland

Only here for an hour and a half to change planes.   Pretty small airport but nice.  Chance to get some coffee and a croissant for Sonja.  First impression of Iceland... everybody is blonde and I feel like a midget.  As my brother Joe tells me, that should not come as a surprise. 

The 7 hour flight here didn't go off as well as expected.  First, we got up this morning at 2am to help with the time difference. Figured we would sleep on the plane.  However our seats were at the exit row and did not recline.  Even a couple of Melatonin didn't help us sleep.  Then, they lost our meals. With Icelandair you prepay for your meals when you check in. They couldn't find our meals even after I showed them our receipt.   But this is where I really appreciated the flight attendants.  They bent over backwards to take care of us, refunding the meals and plying Sonja with wine.

So now we're getting ready to take off for Berlin.   It's 7:30 in the morning here. I'm dead tired and Sonja is half lit from all the wine.  Gonna be a helluva trip!

Now I'm confused.  On the flight to Berlin, they brought us the dinners we had ordered for the flight to Iceland.  Who knows?

We arrived in Berlin around 1pm.  So far, things had been just a little bit off and not going as smoothly as they could have.  But we're on vacation.  Things could only get better.  We got our baggage and headed outside to meet the car I had ordered.  He wasn't in the arrival hall like he was supposed to be.  Standing with a big smile and a sign that said "William Lalor".   It was then I got a message from the driver that he was stuck in traffic and would be there shortly.  No worries, we're on vacation.  Things could only get better.   We headed outside to await Abdul and his Mercedes.  And then it happened.  We were chatting away, people watching and enjoying the warm weather when Sonja let out a squeal and yelled "what was that?"  She turned her head around and a pigeon had taken dead aim into her hair!  I wasn't going to laugh.  I wasn't even going to smirk or smile, but damn it was funny.  (Don't tell Sonja I said that).  A quick clean up just before Abdul arrived and whisked us off to the Mitte district of Berlin.

Along the way, we saw one difference between the states and Europe.  We pulled up to a stop light and just as in the states, there were people trying to wash your windshield for spare change.  However, in the states they are homeless people.  Here, the were gypsies.

Abdul got us to the Hilton and after checking it, showers were in order.  I think Sonja doubled their water bill.

First look at Berlin

We headed out the front door of our hotel.  Only to be greeted by this right in front of us:

Within a few blocks of the hotel, the photo opportunities were abundant.

Highlighted by a visit to the Berliner Dom.  A Protestant cathedral.

The best is still to come.

On all of our trips, I try to slip in a surprise or two for Sonja.  This being our 40th anniversary I wanted to do something special.  And I couldn't have hit a bigger home run.

I had been working with a young Portugese lady, living in Berlin.  Joana is a violinist and she was gracious enough to be part of the surprise.  I put Sonja on the subway and a bus and took her to a part of Berlin that had her completely confused.  Once at our destination, an apartment building, Joana came out and greeted us and up to her flat we went for a home cooked dinner!

Joana was a fabulous hostess.  We laughed, we told stories and we enjoyed a phenomenal meal topped off by a performance from Joana that just blew us away.

A wonderful start to our European holiday.