Leaving Basel Switzerland

Ok...I know what your thinking. I took a picture of Nadia (front desk at Swisshotel) so I could have a picture of a rather attractive Swedish blond before I left the country. Well, it's just not true! As you can see, Nadia is holding up Flat Stanley for Leslie's first grade class from Auburn so they can learn more about different countries and their cultures. I just happen to think "the people" are very important when learning about other countries so I decided to ask the first person I saw before I left the hotel.... and as luck would have it Nadia just happened to be available. She does get your attention however!

The day went great. I slept til 10am and then met my Fedex buddy (Clell) downstairs and took off for the Reine river and the old city of Basel. The streets were packed as the weather was nice and the European holiday (Labor day) was beginning that evening. We ate at a sidewalk cafe and then strolled deeper into this old city (architecture was awesome) and looked at the dozens of watch shops and eventually stopped and had some dark Swiss chocolate and a latte. It was delicious to say the least! By the way, my hotel room had an expresso machine which has been the best feature that I have seen in any of my hotel stays to date! Gotta get one!

Anyway, we walked a couple of hours, took some pics and then got back to the room in time to relax before we took off for the airport and our Paris flight. The flight this afternoon was much easier. Just having 2 flights under my belt made the language barrier and procedures seem a little easier. The flight into Paris was only 40 minutes and it was daylight the entire time, which made it easy to see the Effiel tower and the city. I did find out from my good friend Teus Groenwoud that the golden fields that I saw yesterday in France are the SunFlowers in bloom. That made it even prettier when I found them again today. Anyway, it was pretty neat to see the Effiel tower off my left wing as I flew the final approach into the Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris. Our ground ops only lasted 2 hours and then we launched off south towards Milan Italy. It was a gorgeous night and I got to find my North Star during the last portion of the flight. Finding the Big Dipper and the North Star is part of my ritual when I fly at night. Kind of my security blanket I guess. My partner (Capt) decided to jumpseat back to Paris after we landed so I am in Milan alone tonight/tomorrow and then I deadhead back to Paris (Luftansa) tomorrow night to join him for our Tel Aviv flight on Sat. I did manage to have one glass of red wine (Italian vinyard) before the bar closed in the hotel at midnight. It was a great day in Europe but it's time to say goodnight. I promise to resume this adventure in another 8 hours.......

Blue skies always...........

My First Paris Flight

As you can see from the picture of Flat Stanley, Mrs Moore's (Leslie) first grade class from Auburn made his first Airbus flight from Basel Switzerland to Paris France. The airport literally sits between Switzerland and France depending on which Exit you take once you have entered the airport terminal. That's why this no parking sign is written in both languages.

We left Basel this afternoon for our 43 minute flight to Paris. I was glad it was a daytime flight so I could see the terrain and small towns as we flew into the terminal area surrounding Paris. The language barrier was as difficult has I had imagined (my southern brain vs their accented English) which really makes the flight difficult. Believe it or not, the taxiing on the ground (following their instructions) is the most difficult. When you are in flight you can ask them to "repeat" because you have their undivided attention. However, when you are simply on the ground you are competing with dozens of other airplanes (speaking the native tongue) and the ground controller can barely get a word in "edge wise", which is tough because screwing up on the ground while taxiing is just as deadly. Anyway, the flight into Paris was awesome. The small farm plots all seemed to be a bright day glow looking yellow, which was pretty cool with the sun setting around them. I have never seen farm plots this color before??!! I also saw those same large wind generators in various locations which again seemed out of place. On final, I did notice a small village less than a 1/4 mile off the right side of the approach end, with a old stone church and huge steeple in the middle of the town. It looked like the same steeple that you saw from the movie "Band of Brothers". A real contrast in Old vs New!

We stayed on the ground about 2 hours and then loaded up and flew back to Basel. That was my leg and again it was a short flight of 42 minutes. Almost, too short because you are always scrambling to program the computers, listen to "difficult" radio instructions and prep for the impending approach and landing. Clell (Captain) and I were both glad to be back on the ground after this flight. Our limo (Mercedes) was waiting for us on the Switzerland side (landed in France) and we got to the hotel at 11pm....just in time for a couple of glasses of the "house Cabernet"........which was HESS from California. What a hoot! I promise to drink better tomorrow night when we land in Milan. We did get to visit with a pharmaceutical "buyer" from Austria at the bar, and really enjoyed that conversation. Learned all about the dangers of chemicals and pharmaceutical ingredients being shipped from China to Europe, which are oftened not properly documented. Our new friend said we were very brave to fly "unknown cargo" and that we should invest in a private parachute. It was a fun conversation and I bought him a beer for his concern ;)

Ok, tomorrow I am hiking to the Reine river and will do more pics and exploring of Basel. This will be our last day here, as the next two days will be in Milan and then Paris before we go south to Tel Aviv. Have a glorious day and be proud to be an American!

The saga continues..............

moose

Starting my European Trip

Greetings family and friends from the chilly damp skies of Basel, Switzerland. I just arrived this afternoon after a two hour stopover in Amsterdam enroute to Basel. I started out last night (Monday 4/27) in Memphis and flew non stop to Amsterdam. It was an uneventful 8+ hour flight, which is always the best kind. The Merlo they served me was a perfect fit for the chicken and stuffed mushrooms that I ate while watching "The Wrestler" on my personal TV two hours after we took off. I think I managed to sleep about 2-3 hours, albeit my knee was rather uncomfortable (thanks to my triumph over the CMM two days earlier). All in all.....a good flight ;-)

Not much to report yet, except for the beauty of the landscape of Amsterdam that I got to enjoy during the 10 mile approach to landing that was clear below the rain clouds. I knew I would see lots of canals and farmlands but the modern (hugh wind generators) was somewhat of a surprise. Not very esthetic and actually "stood out" (like a sore thumb) amongst the beauty of the green landscape. I did think the farms & farm houses that lined the taxiway at the Amsterdam airport reminded me of the pictures that you often see from WWII documentaries. Very pretty and quaint.......quite interesting next to this multi-billion dollar airport!

The weather into Basel had low ceilings so I couldn't see much while airborne. I will give you all a better description when I fly out and back to Paris tomorrow. We leave about 5pm and should return to Basel by midnight. I did get out today for an hour and strolled the streets with Clell Ray (Captain on our trip) and had a cold beer and gyro from a sidewalk cafe. Lots of young people on the streets, which was probably normal for 5 in the afternoon. The town looks industrial to me and very working class. All of the cafes were smoked filled at 5pm so we ate outside...but it was fun. I took a couple of pictures tonight and will do a better job of exploring in the next two day.

This journey (until May 10th) will include layovers in Paris, Milan, Frankfurt and Tel Aviv. I promise to enjoy every aspect of it and will share it with you all as I fly across this interesting and historical continent. And so it goes............