48+ hours in Heathrow

When I arrived here in London's Heathrow airport on--what was it?--Sunday morning, I thought, wow, I love this airport--transfers from terminal to terminal and breezing through security are a breeze. Well, it may be so, but those are not the only issues defining an airport.

Cancelled BA flights left and right, after other
airlines had started to fly again

Snowy and icy weather hit Britain this weekend, and from what I have read and heard and seen, Heathrow was and is totally under-prepared compared to most other airports of this caliber. And British Airways is none the better.

Long, long lines in Heathrow's T5 on Sunday afternoon

Make a long story short: I've been stuck here in London since Sunday, and now it is 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. But there is a silver lining: My flight to Munich is supposed to be on schedule, and my baggage (which has been languishing in the bowels of this huge airport) appears to be in a container marked MUC. I was not the only one who was inconvenienced: According to the newspapers up to 50,000 travelers have been stranded.

I really hadn't expected to be in the catacombs of The Tube on this trip

I don't know whether all of them were given hotel and meal vouchers the way I was. Maybe it was my flying on a (freebie) First Class ticket, maybe it was status, but BA did make accommodations for me. I stayed in two nice hotels (first in The May Fair in central London and then in the Radisson here at Heathrow), I was given generous meal allowances (and boy, those prices here are not the same as in Lubbock!), and I got to sample a few pubs along the way.

The May Fair, in central London, home for night #1

Still, this was a pain in the ass, to put it mildly. Interminably long lines, total lack of communication, few trained staff to assist travelers--it all showed how ill-prepared BA and Heathrow were (even though they knew the weather was coming. Ironically, there was less than an inch of snow outside the entire time. Apparently, both entities got thoroughly reamed eight years ago when a snow event of less than five inches crippled the airport for 5 days, and improvements were promised in the aftermath. Well, that apparently didn't happen.) The few BA staffers that could be found worked their butts off and tried their best, but it was painfully clear how thin they were stretched and how few of them were properly trained to take charge in the face of such a situation.

Central London Christmas decorations

You see all that snow? I don't either!

Festive-yet-empty frigid London near Piccadilly Circus at 9:30 p.m. on a Sunday night

So, now I'm about an hour from boarding. On the one hand I am obviously extremely relieved since there were two flights on two days that were cancelled and I had no idea this morning whether my re-booked flight would actually happen. But at the same time I'm disappointed: Today is Sabine's 60th birthday, and I had planned for a few things that would have required part of yesterday to prepare. Needless to say, there was none of the fulfillment of waking up and looking over and saying: Happy Birthday, young lady! But, in the grand scheme of things and with the wisdom of us who have traveled much over those past six decades, does it really matter? Probably not. Just getting there in one piece does, and all the rest is secondary.

The Pheasant, in Hillingdon, near Heathrow ...

... and a perfectly poured pint

So, I enjoyed the two pubs (The Clarendon and The Pheasant) that I got to go to, and I made the best of my entire forced stay. And then, in the lounge, things were happy once again!

Rock on!

Jürgen

What happens between international trips, you ask?

Simply put, lots.

I returned from Mexico on a Tuesday and was picked up by my good friend Andrew, who 18 months ago had given up a secure position as an engineer in the Permian Basin oil patch to get on his (Tandem Pro-supplied) Seven with the S&S couplers and traverse Europe and East Asia. Andrew had made landfall on the West Coast and was en route to his folks in Kansas (before going back to Bosnia to start a microbrewery cum coffee roastery), so he was bunking out in my place for a few days. It's easy to connect with someone who is currently living what others dream about but what I have experienced. We had two fullfilling evenings.

The Beemer is getting all festive

Early Thursday morning I cranked up the Beemer and headed south toward the Hillcountry to spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws. It was a great 24 hours with Mike and Candi and a bunch of folks I hadn't seen in a few years. We ate too much, drank even more, and played just the right amount of Yahtzee, an old Austin family tradition. I really need to make an effort to not only improve my Yahtzee game but also see my folks more often.

With Mark on the left, and my bro-in-law, Mike

Maybe that's the Yahtzee problem ...

Friday I was off to Buda to visit the folks with whom I had spent some time in Breckenridge early this year. Gwen and James had opened their house, and for several days I got to ride in the San Marcos/South Austin area. The highlight was probably the ride with Micki, James, and Kent around Zilker part and (way!) beyond. The weather cooperated, we didn't get lost, and I saw parts of our state capital that I didn't know yet. Thanks, folks!

With James at Two Wheel Brewing

James and Kent showed me around Zilker Park

Something like 1,273 bikes are part of this amazing sculpture

Back in Lubbock on Monday it was time to finally get settled back into my house. The weather was mostly nice (I got to ride several times in shorts and short sleeves), paperwork that needed to be taken care of was processed, and I got to reconnect with my neighbors. Janet had a few wine-slinging jobs, so when Saturday came around we had seven (partially emptied but mostly full) bottles for our post-Thanksgiving/pre-Christmas Kamado-smoked turkey. Joining us for this culinary highlight of the month were former neighbors Tom and Trish. They're always good for massive amounts of salad and desert.

Another perfect turkey in the making

I kept eating turkey for the rest of the week. Of course I tried to ride my bike, too, (201 miles in 9 days) to stave off adding even more  poundage, while Janet tried to sabotage these valiant efforts by continuing to sling wine at Marketstreet and bringing  home three-quarter full bottles. We shared many of them, and several meals. Here's to our tidy little neighborhood that encompasses Irene, Ted, Megan, Janet, and Kelly. No, Mr. Pope is not included.

And then it was Friday, December 8, and time for our annual WTCA bike club Christmas and Awards party. Since I'm in charge of our mileage competition I played a pivotal role, which, I hope, I fulfilled with the appropriate poise. My friends Smitty and Lori offered to give me ride to the place of celebration, so I was able to enjoy some vino without having to worry about the driving. Another great evening.

WTCA Christmas Party

And now it's Saturday night, I'm sitting in the Admiral's Club in DFW and have 30 minutes until boarding time for my flight to London. I've cashed in a few miles for a freebie Business Class flight to Munich. Tuesday is Sabine's 60th birthday, and with Jonathan off to New Zealand I figured this was as good of a time to visit her as any. I probably won't finish this post until the morning, in LHR, but you get the gist.

Bye Lubbock--will there be a lake when I get back?

Life between countries is fast-paced and exciting, to say the least. And oh, did I mention that I made reservations for another (bike) trip to Argentina in January?

Jürgen