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Exploring the former East Germany Off-the-Beaten-Path: Wismar

1 August 2019 by Raul 1 Comment

Most of us experience the former East Germany via a visit to Berlin. I don’t know about most but, for me, most of my time in Germany has been either in Berlin, Munich or the western parts (Dusseldorf, Koblenz, Heidelberg, etc.). This past summer, I got to venture elsewhere. More precisely, northern Germany with focus on Hamburg (read here for top things to do there for free) and Lübeck. It was while visiting the area around the latter that I happened upon an unexpectedly wonderful town: Wismar, in the former East Germany, a coastal city by the Baltic Sea. I was exploring off-the-beaten-path Germany.

Wismar, East Germany, DDR, Germany, platz, German squares

Main square

To say that it was a great find would not be inaccurate. And it is a far cry from the experience of Berlin which, I am sure, is more of an outlier than the norm. Visiting Wismar is definitely off-the-beaten-path Germany!

Is Wismar the Jewel of the Baltic Sea?

I don’t claim to have explored the towns around the Baltic Sea to any great extent so I can’t say quite that. But I can probably say it is likely one of the great “undiscovered” (by the North American travel audience, at least) destinations on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

I have to be frank: I had not heard of it at all before I landed in Germany for this trip. Only upon looking for a half a day trip to take from our base near Lübeck did I discover Wismar. I will let you decide from the photos what you think but know that Wismar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002. But look at the architectural details of the town’s buildings!

A long history

Wismar was one of the Hanseatic League towns that dotted the coasts of northern Europe / Scandinavia. Its origins can be traced to the 1100s. I was surprised to learn that Wismar became part of Germany only as recently as 1871 and that Sweden only renounced its claim to it in 1903! Today, it claims about 42,000 inhabitants and it seems in the process of being re-born from and getting past the era of Communism.

A town re-born out of the ashes of communism

For a visitor, Wismar is a manageable town, easy to drive around, easy to walk around. Not hard to orient oneself from its main square where there is still a surface parking lot. It has a good amount of medieval architecture for a country where WW II destroyed many, many old buildings. And the town has been spruced up significantly since East Germany got rid of its Communist regime and the shackles it imposed. Wismar is colorful and feels alive!

It was interesting to learn that some key renovations / repairs from the WW II damage had to wait until the early 1990s to start. Almost 50 years of ruin – unbelievable how much neglect of the human soul and history Communism brought.

Restoration of old buildings still going on

Out of the ruins of WW II – churches in Wismar

St. Mary’s (St. Marien) is a key example of the ruins from WW II.

The nave was severely damaged and it was not brought down until 1960. The bell tower survived (it probably had some repairs) but the nave was not re-constructed by design. That space, instead, serves now as a memorial to what was and what happened. Powerful.

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The bell tower from 2 sides

Looking at the tower/facade from what would have been the inside of the church

The bases of the columns

Nearby St. George’s survived structurally but, with repairs carried out ONLY once Communism fell (40+ yrs later!), it has been re-opened but not as a church but as a museum.

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How the church was (unrestored still) in 1990…

The best part of visiting St. George is to go up its bell tower. It has an elevator so it is accessible to all. The platform on the bell tower provides a great view of the town around it (not quite 360 degrees, unfortunately, but good enough).

While our time in Wismar was short, it opened my eyes on what was possible to explore in the Baltic coast of Germany, and especially its eastern part. So much to learn and see (and to eat) in off-the-beaten-path Germany!

salmon, German potato cakes, German food, comida alemana, Wismar, Germany

This was an amazing lunch and a nice break from sightseeing!

Beautiful image to close out this post on this charming Baltic town!

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Filed Under: Europe, Germany, Travel Journal Tagged With: Alemania, brick Gothic architecture, churches in the former East Germany, Communist towns in Germany, discover Germany, East Germany, Hanseatic League towns, reise, travel, travel in Germany, turismo, Wismar

Great Drive Series – 17-Mile Drive in California

12 September 2016 by Raul Leave a Comment

I have been to San Francisco once or twice for very short visits but have not gone further south than the airport – on this trip I would get to do the 17-mile drive near Monterey and see famous Pebble Beach. I coupled a short business trip to San Fran with a visit to friends who leave near San Jose, California. I really had no plans going in but I did want to see legendary Silicon Valley and get a sense for how the home of the likes of Apple, Google and others was. My friends suggested that beyond that, I should also check out the 17-mile drive and Pebble Beach. I liked the idea and the rest is history. Let’s get to that drive but first…

Leaving San Fran – Caltrain!

I left San Fran on a Wed afternoon by taking the Caltrain down for the hour ride to San Jose for $9.25! Note that the hour ride is for the “express” train that makes less than half a dozen stops between the two cities. The express only runs at peak times which in the afternoon means from 4 PM until the end of rush hour. I killed some time at the station to avoid taking the non-express with all the annoyance that that would bring with all the stops. The 4PM was not packed but was pretty well “attended” with commuters from school-aged kids going home to worker bees heading back home. The train is a double-decker so plenty of space. Except I did not find a spot for suitcases so I had to place it on the seat next to me. Maybe that was better as it was with me the whole time?

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The only photo I have related to the train… sorry! And the shades were given to me at the conference.

17-Mile Drive and Pebble Beach

I am not a golfer but I knew, of course, about Pebble Beach. To be honest, I really did not know where it was. At least I had heard of it. But I had never heard of 17-Mile Drive. We left San Jose and drove through eucalyptus forests and passed by sand dunes as we approached Monterey. Monterey has an awesome aquarium but I preferred to add Carmel to the itinerary so the aquarium will be for another time. (Read about the aquarium here.)

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The drive through the eucalyptus forest

Starting on 17-Mile Drive

Upon entering Monterey (or its outskirts), we took a left hand turn to enter the route that would take us to 17-Mile Drive. We hit a gate where we paid $10 for the right to enter “The Drive”. The drive seems to be in private property, hence they get to charge for driving through it. It is not a park but the setup looked like one. While I am grateful -if it is private- that they have found a way to let the public in, I wonder how this choice piece of land came to be private property… an item for research (on a rainy day with nothing else going on…).

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The route of 17-Mile Drive

There are quite a few stops along the way by the ocean which is quite nice. You can get out of the car, eat something, walk on the beach, or watch the sea otters (or perhaps a whale?).

The Pacific Ocean roaring against the rocks; we saw some seals

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Instead of boring you with the actual shot, how about two of me getting ready for it?

The water is quite frigid so there will not be any swimming but I had to dip my toes just to feel it!

Into the cold!

Cypress Point

The most spectacular stops were Cypress Point Lookout and Pescadero Point. The place was first spotted (that we know of) by a European as far back as 1542. Over two hundred years later, a missionary gave Cypress Point its current name. Supposedly the cypress tree growing on the rocky point is like 250 years old – they are trying to get it to stay alive until 300 (according to the sign). Wonder what they plan to do if it gets to 300. Chop it? It sure makes for a beautiful sight and an iconic image representing the California coast.

The Lone Cypress

During the drive we ran into Cypress Point Club and latter the Pebble Beach courses. What a setting for golf! Not that I play but if I did…

Cypress forest native to the area

I did not get to snap any good shots of these so I will leave you with some “sea art” from the Pacific coast: no one does it better than nature! From here we went on to Carmel and visited its famous Mission – you can read about that part here!

Marine vegetation imitates art?

My favorite shot

It is neat when travel unexpectedly shows you something you had no real understanding of – or perhaps even knowledge of. This visit qualifies under both – an unexpected enjoyable side trip!

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Filed Under: California, Great Drives, US & Canada Tagged With: 17 Mile Drive, algae, California, Cypress Point, drive, ocean, Pacific, Pebble Beach, photo, scenic, sea, travel

Great Drive Series – Along the Columbia River in Oregon

7 June 2015 by Raul 5 Comments

Oregon has been a place I have always been wanting to go. When the opportunity to go on a business trip to Portland arose, I was thrilled. Though I was not able to append a weekend on either end of the business trip to get to explore more, I did have a Sunday afternoon and the hours after office hours to check some of the area.

My favorite part was driving along the Columbia River Gorge. I had not read up much about the area before going and it surprised to discover there was a gorge along parts of the Columbia River, near Portland. I discovered it by looking outside my seat window as we were close to land in PDX. I was very lucky to have picked a window seat (I am a serial aisler) and that it was on the right side of the plane which not only afforded me the opportunity to discover the gorge but also to see Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams. (Clearly, the airplane’s window was a little dirty and, seemingly, so was the air right above – notice the brownish line killing my clear view of the top of Mt. St. Helens).

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Mt. St. Helens on the left, Mt. Adams on the right; the Columbia River and the gorge in the middle

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Close up of the mountains (and the window smudge!)

Getting to the Columbia River Gorge from Portland was very easy. Just take I-84 East. To visit the most famous of the waterfalls, Multnomah, one doesn’t even really have to get off the interstate: there is a parking area in the middle of the interstate (a rest area) and a tunnel under the lanes to get to the waterfall.

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At the top of the photo, you can see the rest area

But it is nicer to get off earlier (at Troutdale or Corbett) and then do the scenic route, passing other waterfalls along the way. The scenery is beautiful.

The first main stop is phenomenal: Vista House on the Crown Point Scenic Corridor. You enjoy great vistas up- and down-river of the Columbia River from this high vantage point. I wish I had been there for sunrise or sunset (or both) – bet the view would have been even better!

After Vista House continuing eastbound, a series of waterfalls come before getting to Multnomah Falls, the tallest falls in the state. There are several trails available to get out and walk. I reserved my limited time to go up the Multnomah Falls which rises over 600 ft.

I did the round trip up and down in slightly less than an hour. It is nice they numbered the switchbacks going up but it certainly made me anxious to get to the last one – I’d rather not know how many I have left!

Latourell Falls on the left and Multnomah Falls on the right

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At the top of Multnomah!

Yikes, close to the edge!

I do wish I had had time to go to the coast and visit the Lewis & Clark National Wildlife Refuge. I enjoyed reading the story of Lewis & Clark a few years ago and would have enjoyed seeing where their journey ended where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. Next time!

Filed Under: Great Drives, Oregon, Travel Journal, US & Canada Tagged With: Columbia River, gorge, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, Multnomah, nature, Oregon, outdoors, photo, Portland, Samsung Galaxy, travel, Vista House, waterfalls

St. Paul Outside the Walls: Rome’s Less Seen Basilicas

24 April 2014 by Raul 3 Comments

As one may expect, Rome does not lack in the church category. All types and sizes up to the best know, St. Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican. However, there are three other major basilicas in Rome: St. John Lateran (first among the four for being the oldest), Saint Mary Major (Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore), and St. Paul Outside the Walls (Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura). As the term “major basilica” implies, they are of high importance to the Catholic Church and any other basilica is just “a” basilica or a minor basilica.

As with St. Peter’s and St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Walls was built is on top of the site where St. Paul was buried. The original church was built in the fourth century and it got built on and modified up until the nineteenth century when a fire destroyed a good bit of it and it got reconstructed. The modifications it went through in those 1400 years were done for different reasons: fortifying it against potential invaders, repairing damage, beautifying it, or simply making it larger.

Of the original church only a couple of things remain (the triumphal arch with its fifth century mosaics, and part of the apse). But it was other details that grabbed my attention.

First, was the images of all the Popes right above the top of the columns. It really gives a great sense of the longevity of the Church.

Rome, St. Paul, Outside The Walls, fuori le mura, major basilica, Catholic Church, St. Paul's chain, colonnade, travel, photo, Italy, — Popes’ likenesses on the friezes

Second, how uninviting the exterior is (at least on the sides), hiding the interior beauty of this church.

Third, to me it seem a different style of architecture for a church. I suppose this derives from the fact that its design goes back to a very old design even if it was modified through the centuries. So it may not be a design that is odd but one that I am not familiar with.

St. Paul Outside the Walls, facade, Rome, Italy, Catholic Church, major basilica, statue, mosaics, photo, travel — The facade and statue of St. Paul

St. Paul Outside the Walls, facade, Rome, Italy, Catholic Church, major basilica, statue, mosaics, photo, travel, colonnade, columns — Colonnade to the side of the basilica’s facade; note the garden that sits in front of the facade.

Fourth, the colonnade inside the church (around 80 columns is pretty spectacular.

Rome, St. Paul, Outside The Walls, fuori le mura, major basilica, Catholic Church, colonnade, travel, photo, Italy, — The beautiful colonnade and what I assume are marble floors

Fifth, the stucco ceilings which are so beautifully decorated.

Rome, St. Paul, Outside The Walls, fuori le mura, major basilica, Catholic Church, travel, photo, Italy,, ceiling, stucco — Some of the beautiful ceilings at SPOTW

Finally, the altar and the tabernacle on it are beautiful crowns over the tomb of St. Paul. One can take a few stops down to see the chains that held St. Paul prisoner in Rome.

Rome, St. Paul, Outside The Walls, fuori le mura, major basilica, Catholic Church, travel, photo, Italy,, tabernacle, mosaic — Tabernacle at the altar, and, in the background, mosaics dating from the 13th century

Rome, St. Paul, Outside The Walls, fuori le mura, major basilica, Catholic Church, travel, photo, Italy,, tabernacle, stucco ceiling — Top of the tabernacle and the ceiling in the background

Rome, St. Paul, Outside The Walls, fuori le mura, major basilica, Catholic Church, travel, photo, Italy,, St. Paul's chain — St. Paul’s chains

St. Paul Outside the Walls is away from the beaten path of central Rome that most tourists stick to but it is an easy subway ride from that part of Rome. Whether due to your faith, your interest in architecture, simple curiosity or only trying to get away from the crowds, it is well worth checking out.

What lesser known bits of Rome have you visited? Any recommendations?

Filed Under: Europe, Italy, Travel Journal Tagged With: Catholic Church, ceiling, colonnade, fuori le mura, Italy, major basilica, mosaic, Outside The Walls, Paul's chain, photo, Rome, St, St. Paul, statue, tabernacle, travel

Great Drive Series – A Switzerland Sampler

25 November 2013 by Raul 19 Comments

When I worked in Paris many moons ago for 6 months, one of the neat weekend trips I took was a rather rushed visit to Switzerland. More than anything, we just wanted to leave France. Having visited Heidelberg and worked in The Netherlands during that period, we opted to go south: Switzerland (or Schweiz or Suisse, depending on which language you prefer).

We left work, grabbed our backpacks, and rode to the car rental offices in Paris to get our car. We decided all this within i a day or two from leaving so had no big plans nor hotel reservations anywhere. All we had identified was some target cities based on the easiest drive-around route. This was when the Internet was not yet matured so even if we had had the time we would not have gotten too much info on what to see and do. So drive we did.

That Friday night, we overnighted in a French town named Besançon, a town of about 200,000+ residents, somewhat east of Dijon, and not far from the Swiss border for all practical purposes. The town had an old casino which we thought we’d check out except it was all very smoky and we pretty much just walked right back out, opting for dinner at some non-descript café before going to our small hotel to rest for the night.

The next morning we crossed the Swiss border where we had to buy a permit to drive in Switzerland. I am not sure if that is still needed but make sure you find out before driving into the country. We felt that to aim for Geneva would put us to far west and that we would have to backtrack on the same road to head eastward so we opted for passing on Geneva (much as it is definitely worth the visit). We drove straight into Lausanne as our first stop though we made it a quick one to get info on the roads (i.e., get maps). We spied the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee facing Lake Geneva, no doubt paid for by money the sponsors of the Olympics pay the IOC for their monopoly. It looked like quite a pleasant city to live in, I must say.

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Sitting on the northern shores of Lake Geneva is Lausanne

Since we learned that Bern (Berne) and Interlaken were really the must-sees in the western half of Switzerland (we were not going to have enough time to explore the other half in one weekend AND return to Paris on time to show up at work Monday AM), we decided to not spend more time in Lausanne. The map below highlights in yellow the route we decided out which would take us close to Zurich but with no time to spend there, and would have us exit Switzerland at Basel, thereby minimizing backtracking in our route.

Instead we took off and decided the best route was along Lake Geneva (instead of heading back north of Lausanne and along Lake Neuchatel) where we were rewarded with views of the lake on one side and views of vineyards on the other (who knew!) before turning inland to head to Switzerland’s capital, Bern. The weather, as you may notice, was not the best for awe-inspiring photography (as you can tell) but the sights were still beautiful.

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Some of the many vineyards we drove by along Lake Geneva

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THE narrowest steps I have seen, right by the road and NO handrail!

Clock tower

Typical Swiss home along the shores of Lake Geneva

We arrived in Bern and sought the tourist information office – which you could count to be well-organized being a Swiss operation. And it was! The young woman helped us find a place to stay in the center of town – nothing fancy needed, just a clean bed and bathroom. We checked in but immediately took off to our main target: Interlaken.

The drive to Interlaken (“between lakes”), as the name alludes, requires you to drive along a lake. The road was curvy and fun to drive. We arrived at Interlaken and walked around, admiring the beautiful town and setting, with the ice blue waters flowing between Lake Thun (Thunersee) and Lake Brienz (Brienxersee) going right through town. We found a neat spot to eat at and enjoyed a great late lunch admiring the view.

Interlaken, Switzerland, travel, tourism, Alps, ice cold blue, Canon EOS Rebel

Beautiful part of Interlaken

After some more walking, we headed back to Bern (wishing we had not found a hotel yet in Bern so we could stay at Interlaken instead… ) to have dinner and see some of the town.

Bern, Berne, Switzerland, view, vista, photo, travel, tourism, Canon EOS Rebel

Looking back towards Bern on the road towards Interlaken

The next morning we continued our drive (which took us back past Interlaken; the dreaded re-tracing of a route…) on our way to Lucerne, another Swiss town on the shores of the same-named lake. We parked, walked around town, had lunch and started the long drive back to Paris.

One thing about driving in Switzerland is that there are never ending things to admire whether they be structures, lake, our mountains. You could say we barely scratched the surface on this beautiful country – clearly there are other great driving routes awaiting but for one weekend’s worth of sampling, I am pretty pleased!

Filed Under: Europe, Great Drives, Switzerland Tagged With: Bern, Berne, Besancon, Canon EOS Rebel, driving, explore, France, Interlaken, Lausanne, Lucerne, map, photos, Suiza, Swiss, Switzerland, tourism, travel

Great Drives Series – Around Bordeaux

18 November 2013 by Raul 27 Comments

I have done a couple of trips into Bordeaux where I have explored the region by car. There really is no better way to explore the diversity of the region (and its wines!), which may seem at first to be more homogenous than it actually is. To venture inland, near where Bordeaux runs into the Dordogne is to see a totally different Bordeaux than you may see in the Médoc. To drive around Sauternes is definitely different than going to Saint-Émilion.

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Beautiful countryside in Bordeaux

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Fields of sunflowers dot the landscape in parts of Bordeaux

Both times I went were in the pre-GPS era but that did not make it difficult to drive around. A good map (and a good map reader somewhere in the vehicle) is all you need to be able to explore this area without too much trouble.

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Plenty of markers/signs help the visitor find their way around!

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With helpful markers like this one, you know you are in wine country!

One of our stops was the Château Ducru-Beaucaillou where we were taken on a private tour of this grand winemaker (through which I would run the next day when I ran in the Bordeaux marathon!).

Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou, Bordeaux, Medoc, France, winery, vineyard, chateaux, wine, photo, Canon EOS Rebel

Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou (I would run right past this spot the next day!)

If you are somewhat interested in wine, there will be plenty for you to do and explore. The town of Saint-Émilion is one of the gems of the region. Walk around but climb up to the top of the town. There are cafés up there too and nowhere better to be when the sun sets, glass of wine in hand – of course!

St. Emilion, Bordeaux, French town, France, sign, vines, photo,Saint-Émilion, Canon EOS Rebel

The way to Saint-Émilion!

St. Emilion, Bordeaux, French town, France, sign, photo, Canon EOS Rebel

Always remember where you parked in a new town! In this case, a nice map at the town entrance helped!

St. Emilion, Bordeaux, French town, France, view , photo, Canon EOS Rebel

View from the upper part of Saint-Émilion down to its main square

We enjoyed some of the big (and seemingly more commercial) chateaux but we also loved to more “rural” areas on roads less traveled and discovering the smaller vineyards and winemakers. Some of the information offices and hotels had displays full of cards of the many chateaux in the area such as the one below.

It was one of these cards that led us to discover a gem of a château in Sauternes: Château Sahuc Les Tours.

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The beautiful Château Sahuc Les Tours

The owners even sat down with us to share a bottle of their Sauternes and spent a good hour chatting with us about every topic that could concern French and American alike (they spoke excellent English). Sauternes (in the Graves area), if you are not familiar, produces a sweet white wine bearing the same name made from sémillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle grapes that have Botrytis cinerea (or “noble rot”) which concentrates the sugars. We got to see the grapes up front as they began to look like raisins. But don’t let the thought of rot keep you from drinking this wine!

Sauternes, Botrytis cinerea, noble rot, wine, grapes, Bordeaux, Graves, Semillon, photo, travel, Canon EOS Rebel

Before and after…

That was such a good experience that I returned 7 years later to that chateau – and to my delight, one of the owners was there and, though she clearly could not remember me, realized I really had been there before as I recounted some of the things they had told us the first visit. Connecting with locals in a real way is one of the rewards of venturing out and exploring this world!

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The friendly owner of Sahuc Les Tours with a delicious bottle in hand

So while this post is about great drives, let’s not forget that this drive is about wine! Cheers!

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A beautiful wine in Bordeaux

Filed Under: Europe, Good Eats and Drinks, Great Drives, Travel Journal Tagged With: Beaucaillou, Bordeaux, Chateau, drive, Ducru, France, Francia, Sauternes, St. Emilion, travel, vino, Wine

Great Drive Series – Frankfurt to Maastricht

4 November 2013 by Raul 19 Comments

Among the many ways to travel and explore, few things beat driving around yourself, whether it be Tuscany, New Zealand or across the U.S., there is a freedom that comes with being on your own, able to stop at will for a photo, to rest or… to relief yourself (yes, I said it …).

I have done some great drives and I thought I’d start a short series on these drives and, hopefully, hear back from you on your own favorite drives along the way.

Today, I share my drive to/from Maastricht, The Netherlands and Frankfurt, Germany over a dozen years ago. I was in Frankfurt for business for a few weeks and decided to visit a college friend who was an ex-pat in Maastricht. I rented my car in Frankfurt and made my way, in about 3 hrs, to Maastricht on the famous autobahn. The autobahn between some cities in Germany fails to meet the wild expectations we have in the U.S. about fast speeds as there is too much vehicular traffic on some of the routes. But some parts of the route I took where free and clear just for me. That and along the Mercedes-Benz upgrade they gave me were the perfect pairing for a FUN drive. On the outbound leg of the trip, I drove northwest towards Bonn and Cologne (Köln) on the A3 and then west on the A4 past Aachen straight into Maastricht. I wish I had had time to explore Aachen, having been a residence of Charlemagne and where many Holy Roman Emperors were crowned back in the day. For that matter also Cologne and Bonn. So much too see and so little time…

Maastricht, Frankfurt, drive, map, A3, A4, autobahn, Germany, travel

The outbound route I took

On the way back I took a different route based on my friend’s suggestion as the landscape would be much more rewarding. It was indeed! I don’t recall the details of the route (which cut at some point across the incredible Mosel River) but maybe someone will recognize some of the locales from the photos and let me know more precisely where I went through!

I highly recommend taking the “road less traveled”. In this case, not the A3! Western Germany, near the border with Luxembourg and France, is simply a beautiful place to visit, explore and drive. Get lost, take your time, and sample this area!

Filed Under: Germany, Great Drives, Travel Journal Tagged With: autobahn, Canon EOS Rebel, drive, driving, germany, Maastricht, Mosel River, photo, travel, West Germany

Boarding Pass Stories: No Such Thing as a Free First Class

25 September 2013 by Raul 4 Comments

A funny thing happened on the way to Buenos Aires (BB.AA.) once… I was going for a short work week down in BB.AA.. At the time, my hometown airline, Delta, did not fly there so I had to connect in Miami to a United Airlines flight. The company was flying me on business class which was awesome for such a long flight.

I get to MIA and I find out I have been bumped off the flight. Me, someone who paid full fare for business class, gets bumped. Typical. Turns out, United had canceled the flight from the night before so the people from that flight were being placed on my flight bumping people off. In the chaos that is the Miami airport and with a bunch of Latin folks upset, it was hard to sort through this mess United had created.

Well, United’s great idea was to place me in a flight to Sao Paulo and then on another flight to BB.AA. from there. Since I had to get to BB.AA. the next day, I took the offer. And what sealed the deal was when they told me they would make it up to me by putting me on first class. Yes, this was back in the day when there was still a real international first class. And let me tell you – it was SWEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTT! The flight attendants were all over the service, constantly refilling champagne glasses, and taking care of every detail of the meal and the comfort of the passengers.

All said and done, the swap was not a bad thing! Of course, once I landed in BB.AA., since that flight did not originate in the U.S., the cabin was sprayed/fumigated right after we landed as was the custom in those days – and I am allergic to those sprays so I ended up two days in bed in BB.AA. missing my important first day of meetings at work. There is no such thing as a free first class…