Urlaub!

Judy loved the word: Urlaub. She never did like "krank feiern," the other way Germans get time off from work. Urlaub is legitimate—it's vacation (instead of calling in sick). On Tuesday, while riding my bike after returning from California, I suddenly realized that I won't have another race, another responsibility for a whole month. I know, y'all think that just because I'm retired I don't have a worry in my life. The reality is that I work more than I ever have. If you were to see the paperwork (OK, electronic paperwork, mostly) that comes with these races, you'd be amazed. I do have a lot of flexibility in my work, but I'm not just loafing all the time.

Busy, busy, busy—London's Heathrow, as seen from T5

But now I am. I am sitting in London's Heathrow, on the way to Munich where in a few hours I'll be picked up by Sabine. Right now she's putting in the last few hours of work at her job in the City of Munich's landscape architecture department—and after that, it's Urlaub for her, too, for two weeks. We've been planning a relaxing trip to Hungary's Plattensee region, and if AA and BA are reliable, we'll have bikes to ride as I hope they will be disgorged from the baggage conveyor belt in MUC in just a few hours.

My (upgraded) flight across the big pond was superb: The crew was extremely friendly, the steak dinner was truly outstanding, and the almost five hours of sleep I got were rather refreshing. And now I'm in the Galleries South in Heathrow's T5, my favorite lounge. After a rejuvenating shower (I love the six body jets that these showers have—when I redo my house I will have to make sure I update my own bathroom) I just had my favorite breakfast: kippers, poached eggs, bacon, baked beans, and toast. How much more British can it be?

Beats the hell out of cereal!

In a few hours I'll be in Munich and my Urlaub will start in earnest. Life is not just good, it is extremely good!

Jürgen