Quick catch up
3:01 AM
The past few days have been a total whirlwind. Tuesday I voted, finished packing and stayed up late to see who won the election. Yay someone that I voted for actually won! This is the first time since I've been able to vote!
Wednesday was the day we flew out of Dulles. First, we entered the International line at United. An employee showed us to the electronic line...which was pretty long. We waited our turn, but when it was time to sign in using the computer we were unable to check in. Finally I realized that since we were bringing a pet, we had to see a real person who would verify all of the dog's paperwork. aiiie. So --get into line to see a real person. All of Mo's paperwork was fine, which was something that I was definitely worried about. However, as expected, all of our checked bags were massively overweight. If a bag is 50 lbs it considered overweight.
Well, the empty bags were 25lbs, so of COURSE a filled bag was over 50. A bag over 50 but under 70 was an additional $50. In contrast, if the bag was over 70lbs the fee was $300!!!! So all of our bags would cost about $1k. What the holy hell?!!! So we "re-cajiggered" the contents until all of the bags would be under 70lbs each. In the end it was actually kind of funny. I have to take a fair amount of books because I'm traveling to Basel first and foremost to do a literary criticism thesis on Joyce Carol Oates. Therefore it made the most sense to stuff all of the heavy books into my carry-on. "Any one on this plane need any reading material?!!"
Mo was amazing on the plane ride. The trip is about 8 hours and I felt really bad for the poor pup. The airline insists that the dogs must stay entirely in their carrier the whole trip. Mo didn't complain at all. No whimpering or scratching or barking. Just perfect pup.
Customs in Frankfurt was thankfully a breeze. Again, no problems due to Mo. Anything that involves bureaucracy makes me incredibly nervous. Adding to that proclivity for nervousness, is the language barrier. My German still stinks. So, I was sure customs would be a problem but instead it was super fast and without a second glance.
We will be staying in Cologne a few days with friends before driving to Switzerland on Monday. While I am thankful to have a little stop off before feeling thrust into the new world it is also a bit hard to be a house-guest right now. I don't want to worry about being social or if Mo will get into trouble. I'd rather just relax and explore my new world. That said, it is nice to have all the amenities and comforts of a home here (which I will have to gather on my own in CH)and an immediate social life.
Sweet Dreams and Goodnite
3:01 AM
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