Chicago, Chicago, I’m coming your way.

The relentless march of time. It only seems like yesterday (well actually it was) that I was lying on the bed, thinking “ I have to get up in 3 hours and go to the airport”, and now that is all behind me. I put my head down and was gone out like a light. My wife told me this morning that she asked me to turn out the bedside light, but I was already gone. Flop, I’m asleep.
Yes I did get up in time, and no I didn’t miss the flight. The taxi picked us up at 4:40 a.m. exactly, as ordered. The taxis in Germany are punctual, which is more than can be said for the trains. But that’s another story. The driver put his foot down and we whisked along at 120 MPH in comfort talking about life, the universe and everything. Well not really, we talked about how expensive everything has got since the Euro has come in, swapping stories about the humble cup of coffee and its fortunes under the Euro. Imagine, a double tall cappuccino costs €3.70 in Starbucks, that’s all of 7.40 DM. Ah, the mighty Deutsche Mark, gone but not forgotten. Maybe the Economist should replace its “Big Mac” foreign exchange index with the humble cappuccino. The taxi driver had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the coffee landscape in and around Bonn. How much it costs, how hot it is, how strong, bitter, smooth etc. This guy really liked his coffee.
Enough! Where are we now? In Schiphol, Amsterdam. The flight has been delayed nearly an hour so we have to hang around here. But no worries, I am on holidays. Sooner here than in the office. I put the card reader in the suitcase so I can’t upload any pictures, silly me, didn’t think of that. Well maybe later when we get into the hotel.
Going to try and login to the local WLan network here. If you see this post I was successful. :-)

Moan Moment
No moans, I'm on holiday. :-)

Once apon a time.

In to the blue we go. With some trepidation I have decided to start a blog. The reason for this brainstorm is we are off to the USA for a four week holiday and I wanted to record my thoughts and feelings and share them at the same time with my friends (Hello Friends :-). We were in the states four years ago on a mega-tour and I have always regretted not recording my thoughts; not this time.

And what has held me back from keeping a blog? Fear. Fear of being boring, of writing poorly, of exposing myself and my thoughts to the world, of making mistakes, publicly. But caution is being thrown to the wind and I am jumping in.

It is 22:56 p.m. the panic is on, not everything is packed, I am tired, a bit strung out "have I got everything?", etc etc. The taxi is picking us up at 4:40am and then we are off t0 Cologne-Bonn airport. An other worry is my English. Yes believe it or not. Why do you ask? Well I speak German at work and my English is really getting rusty: Will anyone be able to understand me?
And what is with all those speeling mistakes? (that one was intended). Like I have just said, "I am jumping in", starting an adventure, having ago, and going to have fun on the way.