| << Sweden, day 19 | 2005 > June | Back in the USSA >> |
Day 20: Return ::
Woke up at 7:45 am in rural southern Sweden. Showered, packed clothes etc., got to the studio around 8:45. Managed to get a last dose of Scandinavian salmon into my stomach, and all my stuff and a few things Justin is sending back with me into his duffel bag and my cases by 9:15. Got to the main Malmö train station around 10:45. Justin helped me lug the 140-lb. keyboard case, giant duffel bag and much-lighter utility case onto an 11:00 train to Copenhagen airport; he then took off for his slightly later train to somewhere else in Sweden.
At the Copenhagen airport around 11:30, the transition I’d been dreading—getting the luggage from the train to the SAS checkin counter, alone—went OK though my back was not happy. Got dinged $110 for excess baggage (could have been $220, so I was cheerful about it). Justin has never been charged. I want to know his secret.
Had some time to kill before 2 pm flight. Just sat in the airport for awhile, utterly drained. No interest in duty-free Danish schnapps or cookies or even cigarettes (while in Sweden I’d cut down so much that I didn’t finish the carton I’d bought in the US 3 weeks earlier). All I could think of was that it would just be more stuff to carry. Flight delayed almost an hour—someone had checked luggage and then failed to get on the plane, so the airline had had to pull all the bags off and put them on again. Silly bad thoughts about my luggage.
Slept much of the way to Reykjavik. Afraid that because of the delay, the connection would be terribly short and I’d have to rush, and that gear wouldn’t make the connection. Ended up with 50 minute layover, which seemed fine.
While in line to board, I thought I heard my name paged to the flight’s checkin counter. When I got there, they gave me a new seat assignment, moved from row 41 to row 6. Could it be ... yes, apparently the flight was full and I’d gotten moved to business class. I wonder how they picked me—having paid extra to change the flight and for excess baggage? I didn’t have the energy to ask (and didn’t want to look the gift horse in the mouth).
Ate and drank a lot, slept a bit more, and by the time we landed at SFO, had finished a 500-page novel.
Duffel bag and utility case arrived on the baggage carousel. No sign of the giant keyboard; filled out lost baggage form after waiting around for 45 minutes. Called V who’d rented a van to transport the keyboard; she already had it so she just picked me up and took me home. Fortunately the van rental was very cheap ($40 including gas and insurance) and the airline will theoretically deliver the keyboard to me tomorrow or Friday. Too tired and glad not to have to move it at all to be worried about the keyboard.
Better sleep before my body realizes it is 8 am in Sweden, time to be awake.
| << Sweden, day 19 | 2005 > June | Back in the USSA >> |