My Vacation “Rose, Thorn and Bud” and a Wee Junket to Scotland

 In the interest of keeping my 38 year marriage on an even keel, I am adding a retraction to the comments in my last blog regarding the limited conversations had by the men on our hiking trip.  Evidently, as per my husband, they did not speak solely of their jobs but also had deep (although I’m betting not intimate!) conversations about their lives and children. I stand corrected and now I believe our journey towards year 39 remains intact.  

Our daughter, a third grade teacher, often asks us “What was the rose, thorn and bud of our day.”  In other words, what was the day’s high and low points and what are we looking forward to in the day ahead.  In reflecting on this vacation, Norway’s scenery was my rose.  I huffed and puffed up a lot of mountains but the views from the top were always worth the sweat and cursing under my breath.  I’m not sure how many years my knees (most particularly the right one) will be able to withstand that strenuous of a vacation, but while I can and as long as I can use the greatest hiking invention known to modern man, the hiking stick, I’m going to continue those climbs..and probably the cursing.  

My thorn would be Norway’s near-constant daylight. Some of our hiking friends loved the near 20 hour per day sunlight. Call me old fashioned, but I like the clear difference between day and night. I am a terrible sleeper on a good night and it was a problem getting in bed after a day of hiking or walking around Oslo or Bergen and the light being like it was still afternoon. Thank God for blackout curtains, because I would have spent the vacation walking around like a zombie! 

My bud would be considering returning to Norway to see the Northern Lights.  A few years ago, we visited Iceland in the winter to experience those magnificent lights but it was a bust because it snowed every night we were there. We have often discussed whether or not we should again try to witness such a light show but were uncertain where to go to maximize our chances of actually seeing them. Northern Norway may be the ticket.  The problem is that during the time in which it is most likely to view the Northern Lights, Norway is dark nearly 20 hours a day.  At least I won’t have trouble falling asleep. 

Thanks to Scandinavian Airlines’ potential pilot strike, all our flights home were canceled and we had to quickly rebook on whatever was available.  We were able to fly to Edinburgh and then return home the next day on the “friendly skies” of United. Except for the November-like weather in July, I love Scotland and the Scots.  We visited this lovely country 11 years ago and I always hoped we would return.  Due to this being just a layover, I don’t think this counts as we arrived late in the afternoon, left in the early morning and stayed in an airport hotel. But I feel badly. 

I love the Scottish accent even though half the time and while speaking the same language, I had no idea what they were saying.  During check-in, our attendant was trying to explain to us that we could be upgraded to Economy Plus, but we had to do the “lean in” and ask her to repeat what she was saying several times before understanding that she was trying to get us more leg room on the flight. 

They are also just so nice.  On the security line, the staff had the standard questions that all passengers are now sadly asked on every journey.  But it just sounds so much nicer when a Scotsman asks the questions. The agent asked the American family in front of us, “Tell me now, what did you get to see in our fair land?” In my mind, I knew he was asking this question for security purposes to make sure they could actually describe where they had been, but it sure didn’t sound like it. The mother proceeded to describe every single  “firth” they saw and stated that they needed to come back because they just didn’t have enough time to see everything. I’m thinking she passed the test.  When the security officer came to us, we were asked a similar melodious question and we advised him that this was just a layover flight.  I felt so guilty that I was letting him down that I added, “But we’ve been here before and it’s a beautiful country!”  He then added, “Well, I hope you take a wee trip back again next year.” Of course, I said yes….You never know.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Joe Montana and the Bloody Weather

 There used to be a commercial after major sporting events that would say something like, “Joe Montana, you have just won the Super Bowl for the San Francisco 49ers, what are you going to do next?”  And Joe, like so man big winners, would say, “I’m going to Disney World!”  I think it’s fair to say that I have absolutely nothing in common with Joe Montana, but in the last month, and particularly the last seven days, I, like Joe, have been asked a similar question, because I am now officially retired.  I can’t tell you how many people have recently asked me, “You’re retiring? What are you going to do?”  I didn’t feel the need to outline for them my short-and-long term plans on how best to fill my days or to remind them that “retirement” usually means cutting back on work and relaxing more. Instead, I just told them, “I’m going to Ireland!” And thus, my one and only similarity with Joe Montana— we provided others interested in our future with a short response that  seemed to say it all.  
Read more

Dublin: A Brawl, An Arrest and Pat’s Excellent Adventure!

 Besides the anticipation of journeying to and arriving in Ireland, there was a bit of excitement along the way—and it started while in the plane. We were just minutes from landing when a fight broke out in the back of the plane.  A woman behind us started yelling, “Your child has been kicking my chair for the last six hours.”  The parent’s response, “Well that’s not my problem,” was not an acceptable to the woman, who then proclaimed, “Well, it’s not my problem, he’s your child!” The scuffling went back and forth a few times until we heard, “Mind your own business!”  Apparently, someone nearby tried to unsuccessfully intervene. We don’t know this for a fact as we couldn’t turn around due to the newly acquired “kricks “ in our necks from lack of sleep as well as our sardine-like positions in seats 27 A,B, and C.  None of us could understand why anyone would pick a fight at the end of a journey but maybe, between the kicking and feeling like a canned fish, she had had enough. The other
Read more

Air Travel: It’s Every Man (Woman) for Himself!

 As I continue to age, I am realizing that air travel is not for the faint of heart. No question, this is a young man’s (or woman’s) game.  Nearly 40 years ago, I remember on our honeymoon flight to Europe, wearing a lovely skirt and blouse set, coordinating heels and carrying on a toiletry bag that matched our checked bags.  This was all before my skin had yet to really age, and now, I can’t for the life of me remember what I needed or included in that cute little case.   The whole experience seemed so civilized.  Now, I’m wearing comfortable jeans, a scarf, regardless of the weather because of the varying airplane temperatures, running shoes for my inevitable sprint from one gate to the other for my connecting flight, and of course, carrying all my bags on the plane with me because standing near those luggage carousels waiting anxiously for my bags at the end of a long journey is often too much for me to handle.   This morning was no exception.  Even though I retired at the end of la
Read more