The Last 4000 Miles

We had no goal beyond getting home today -- and there was one added bonus to the trip: Rebecca decided a few days ago to come home for a couple of weeks to write her thesis proposal while lying on our couch instead of staying in her apartment by herself.  So we knew that we could probably find her in the Brussels Airport before our respective flights, once we got back on WiFi. It is an amazing world where a person can decide on a Tuesday to take an international flight, book it for $170 and travel on Thursday..  Of course, you have to have no luggage at all, but our kids manage that.

The walk to the bustling Gare Noord was quick and downhill.  We got on a train without any stories to tell, and we got off at the Brussels Airport.  Such seasoned travelers.  As we were going up the escalator into the airport, remarking that we had been on this very escalator 18 days before, up swoops Rebecca right behind Jon, with a joyful laugh. She had managed two train connections between Maastricht and the airport and we all were ridiculously early for our flights. But we know that it could have been different, very easily, and we were glad to have time to lounge around.

We had breakfast sitting down and then we made our way to the gates. They don't tell you until it is just about time to board which gate you are departing from, so there is no incentive to go and hang around.

All of our travel was successful. Becca's flight left an hour before ours, so as we were walking through the airport in Iceland we could hear the announcement for her plane, and she sent a picture of boarding in the snow, so we had to take one too.

When we got back to Dulles, we checked to see where she was -- making her way back from BWI using another assortment of public transportation.  Michael L. picked us up (more snow here than in Iceland) and then we went straight to the Springhill Metro stop and scooped up Rebecca.  It was all very amusing.

While we were on the plane, we did our final accounting.  We counted how many trains, planes, cars, buses, city buses, subways, boats and trams we took to while in Iceland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany. We went to nine museums, some more successful than others but we learned something memorable at each of them. And we rated the quality of the food, the venue, and the value of the restaurant meals we ate. We only rate these places against their own potential, not on a grand scale.  So a neighborhood Bulgarian restaurant can get a 5/5/5 for being interesting and welcoming with tasty, authentic food at a good price. It does not have to be fancy at all. We ate a lot of really excellent soup on this trip, and only once was the soup a disaster. Even though I am not such a great walker any more, we did manage to see a lot on foot.  My travel companions were patient and kind and let me sit on any bench I found. We came home healthier than when we left.

It is very nice to be in our own house with our own bed and bathroom.  My mom made us some delicious stew for dinner, which Rebecca started eating as soon as we came in the door.  Stephen dropped by when he saw our lights on and he and Rebecca were still talking away at 11:00 when I finally went to bed.

When you go on a trip, you are reminded how much of the world's collective effort goes into moving people from one place to the next. Everywhere you go, people are moving.  It is an incredible modern reality, how many resources we commit to moving humans, all day and night, in every direction. It will be so great to be stationary for a few days.  I am sure there is a blessing for that, but I don't have a clue what it is.

When we thought we were saying goodbye to Rebecca in Maastricht.

When we were together again at the Brussels airport with Becca's purple WOW airplane in the background.