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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

On a jet plane to Oslo

FRANKFURT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Dec. 8, 2009. 7:08A, local time.

Well, I can say it’s huge. Great shopping opportunities, though I am dismayed to see “New Moon” posters plastered on the windows of the bookstore/newsstand shop. I mean, really. You fly across the ocean to escape some of the mundane and less than appealing parts of our culture only to have it splattered in your face. At least it wasn’t more on the Tiger drama.

So the flight over wasn’t too bad. Never a fan of turbulence, it seems to find me whenever I fly these days. The forgiving part is that it was raining, so considering, the crew did an outstanding job. Looking further, it was a pretty sizable plane, and I had a window seat with a pretty decent neighbor, so I was good. A soldier, from Minnesota, southwestern area where it snows in the plains but no hills to ski or board. He was charming.

We both watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on our respective screens. Fresh-faced and anticipating a life in the service. Earnest. Spoke a few German phrases. Eager to get some rest. I’m sure he will have many more miles to go before that happens. I thanked him for his service, and said a silent prayer for him and his comrades. They all looked like kids, really. Younger than my cousins. I am probably almost old enough to be his mother.

As I sit charging my phone at this cubicle I’ve found, I realize the telecommunications companies have a true racket. Not a T-Mobile member, I don’t feel like ponying up the requisite Euros or dollars to gain access to my Facebook, email, or blog accounts for 60 minutes. Not when I’ll be in the air in about that time. There are plenty of other diversions I’ve lugged along on this trip, primarily on my iPod. Can’t beat music, books, and podcasts in that compact package. Kicking myself daily for not having bought one earlier, but this next-gen Nano is the truth!

It’s dark out. Rainy still. Locally, it’s a little after 7A. Will be boarding in about 15 minutes. The flight to Oslo doesn’t seem overwhelmingly crowded. Maybe I can swap out my aisle seat for a window for the two hours I’ll be on the plane.

Still trying to figure out how I will stay awake all day. Literally, we’re into Tuesday, and I haven’t closed my eyes on Monday yet, as it’s about my normal bedtime now. But after I’m off the plane, I’ll be on the go until well after sundown – especially since sundown is at 3P or so. Sheesh.

Now I know why they call Norway “Land of the Midnight Sun.” We’ll see how this sunbaby recharges with just 7 hours of sunlight to go on daily for the next week. Should be interesting to say the least!

Time to shut this down. Gotta try and wrangle that window seat in the moments I have before boarding.

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