The next morning, I put Lauryn on the train to Frankfurt.
I had booked her a room at the airport Sheraton and faxed my
written permission to use my credit card. She would fly out
the next morning. I would too, but from Brussels.
Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Towers
1 888 525 5144
+49 69 69770
FAX 69 69772 351 Attn: Fr. Kunz
140 USD / person-night.
Alternative Hotel
Hotel am Berg
Grethenweg 23
60598 Frankfurt
Frankfurt Sued
U1, 2, or 3 from Hbf
+49 69 61 20 21
70 DM / person-night
First, I had to get back to Entschede. It's easy to find the Autobahn in the direction Bremen and Osnabrueck, but it's also the first Saturday of the school holidays in this part of Germany. The Autobahn is jam-packed in both lanes all the way to Osnabrueck and we do about 50mph when we move.
At Osnabrueck, I switch to the A1 in the direction Amsterdam and the way is free. No one is going in this direction except some Dutch eager to get home. There's a big border crossing station and I call Rik from the last German telephone booth. It's a short way to the Entschede exit and eventually I find my way to his house, though I have to go to the train station and look at the map to do so.
Rik and I figured I put 1500km on the 88 tire since Lindau, almost all on Autobahns, fast roads, and city traffic. It looks hardly worn. Well, that estimate (and I'm too lazy to work out the exact number from a detailed examination of maps and gas reciepts) means the entire trip has been something close to 4,750km, especially given my backtracking from being lost so often.
My plan was to take a 7am train to Rotterdam in the morning, switch to a 9:26 French Thalys train that would take me directly to the airport. But Rik informs me of two things that change my mind.
One is that contrary to the advice of the usually trustworthy Deutsche Bahn web site, the earliest train out of Entschede on Sundays is the 8am train. Second, even though in theory I should be ok to catch the 10:26 Thalys and still get to the airport with an hour to spare, the tracks to Rotterdam are going to be closed at 11am in order to excavate WW II bombs, which are dug up here all the time, though they do much less damage these days than the fireworks factory explosion in Entschede last year. Rik and I would like to go to his university motorcycle meeting tonight but he suggests and I agree that perhaps I should take the next train to Rotterdam tonight to be sure I don't miss my plane.
We already gotten the motorcycle and packs and gifts sorted out, so he orders pizza and supplies beer. We eat and go off in his MZ (Rik says "It's still an MZ; they became MuZ in 1991 and reverted back to MZ two or three years ago.") sidecar, with my new baggage in the sidecar. What a great way to leave.
The Rotterdam train station also has some very strange people acting very weird in public. But across the street is a Westin. I'm tired and check in. What luxury! I never appreciated an American-style hotel so much before. I've sleeping on tiny little beds, and occasionally floors, for a month. And the service is fantastic, especially at breakfast.
The Westin
Weena 686
3012 CN, Rotterdam
The Netherlands
+31 10 430 2000
FAX 10 430 2001
In the morning, I catch the train to the airport. In true Belgium train fashion, this morning only it does not actually go to the airport and I must change trains at Brussels Nord. But I actually get to the airport with more than 2 hours to spare. The flight back to Chicago ORD is mostly fine and I make some more friends on the plane. I had just mentioned to a nun on the train that I didn't know Brussels because I didn't know anyone there and now I do.
There's huge mess at ORD and my plane outbound is delayed for 3 1/2 hours. But eventually I found my way home and now I just have to clean up. Next year, Lauryn wants to do Italy. It's just a day ride from Augsburg too!
