Finally Relaxing...

So, I told you how the trip started in Vijayawada right? Well it never really got better from there! (Sorry if this doesnt make sense or read very nicely... I haven't really slept much in the last 48 hours...)

First of all, we walked out of the nap and shower lounge in Hyderabad and noticed right away that our flight was delayed 3 hours... no good for our 2 hour layover in Dubai... Well, the 3 hour layover turned into 6 hours, and before it was over turned into 7 hours... our 4:20am flight not taking off until 11:30!

The first flight, once we were on it, was pretty uneventful... but once we landed we switched once again back into go mode and sought out the best possible solution to our prediciment... just our luck, we were able to get through the line at the counter in time to get 2 of the last 3 seats on the last flight to Paris for the day, which left about 45 min later... so we booked it through the little security checkpoint and walked briskly (its just impolite to run, pushing people over as you go... thats onlý reserved for those really close calls...haha) to our gate. Got there just in time!

The 7 hour flight (wow, 7 seems to be popping up a lot on this trip... 7 hr taxi ride, 7 hr delay, 7 hr flight... seems as if although it seemed like a journey from hell it was pretty blessed... 777... and both flights were on Boeing 777´s! wow, eerie...) was an interesting one. I thought I was going to luck out and have the people on either side of me not show up, but they did, and it turned out to be a mother and two kids, the third seat was in the row in front of us, so not only did I give up my middle seat to them, but I moved rows too! Then, I was supposed to have the window seat, but the guy supposed to be sitting in the middle looked up and said, my knee is hurting me, I cant sit in the middle... grr, but I bit my lip and sat down between two grown men... the only positive out of this situation was that the flight attendant watched it all go down and gave me pretty good treatment after that!

I did have an interesting conversation with the Iraqi-French gentleman sitting next to me... he was born in Iraq and served in the military during the battle against Kuwait before heading to France to study... now he is a professor there and was returning from Iraq where he was visiting his family. Had an interesting conversation about the conflict in Iraq, as well as how important communication is between people of different cultures, countries, and religions. It was a very good discussion!

Got to the airport in Paris around 8:40... 7hrs (imagine that) later than planned, so Matt and I both missed our connections. My rail pass wasn't refundable or transferable, so I had to pay for another reservation, and I just hung out in the station all night until catching the metro into the city at 5:30 in the morning... I'm pretty sure they chose the music in the waiting room (and the volume it was played at) to discourage people from spending large amounts of time there; it was American music, and from what I heard, right out of the charts of VH1's most awesomely bad songs ever... made me miss home, a lot, or not....

So anyways, after a long, boring, uncomfortable, and unrestful time at the station, I hopped on the RER (45 min) at 5:30am to Gare du Nord (Paris north Station) and then walked in the rain, which was actually a refreshing time for me, to Gare de L' Est (Paris East Station) where I would catch my 7:04 ICE (German operated, they tag team the route with the French TGV line) train to Mannheim.

Once again I really enjoyed my rail experience, especially with French and German trains, seem to be at a higher standard. Got into Mannheim around 10:15, and then caught a regional train at 10:44 to Alsheim, which was really just a platform with an automated kiosk. Arrived there at 11:36 and walked into town to use the payphone, which didnt give me change by the way...grr... And Heike came to pick me up in time for lunch!

Already my time here with the Detweillers has been fantastic! A very relaxing atmosphere, they live on a combination farm, ranch, and winery, all of the brothers specialize in one of those so it works out I guess! Lunch was great, roast pork, potatoes, and spargel (white asparagus)! Then I've toured the grounds, the buildings, and been able to relax and check email! Looking forward to a relaxing evening here, it'll be a good place to process thoughts of India.

Well, I think Lucas wants the computer, so I'm off for now! Thanks for the prayers, looking forward to seeing friends in Haarlem soon!

Blessings,
John