Day 11 - Solingen, Germany to Dusseldorf, Germany to Copenhagen, Denmark to Chicago, IL

I know you've heard plenty about our early starts during this tour but today we began earlier than any other day. We needed to leave our hotel at 5:00 am in order to catch our first flight at 7:20 am. That meant that most of our alarms were going off about four hours after arriving at the hotel.

Everyone was on time and we loaded our Swedish EKS coach for the very last time. We proceeded to Dusseldorf, Germany airport where we said goodbye to our excellent coach driver, Bo. He met us on our arrival in Bergen, Norway and chauffeured us every kilometer of the tour. He was a real help and benefit to us as a driver but also as a friend and adviser.

After saying goodbye to Bo we checked in at the Lufthansa desk for our flight to Copenhagen, Denmark. There were a couple of glitches at check in but nothing too serious. One bandsman was mysteriously missing from the system. They were He able to take care of it but was warned his luggage would not likely make it. A couple of others were only checked in to Copenhagen. They were able to finally straighten that out in Copenhagen.

Frankly, given the size of the aircraft to Copenhagen it won't be surprising if some our bags arrive later. But they may have caught up with us in Copenhagen during our six plus hour layover. If luggage is going to be delayed it's always better to happen when going home. As long we get all of our stuff by commissioning next weekend we'll probably be OK.

During the extended layover most grabbed breakfast and/or lunch. Some took good long naps. A few ventured into the city for a short visit and others shopped in the numerous shops at the airport. Most were anxious for the departure that means returning to spouses, children, parents and other loved ones.

Our flight from Copenhagen to Chicago, O'Hare departed pretty close to schedule. It seems that everyone has their own theory on how to best deal with the anticipated jet lag. Some think that going this direction that you should try to sleep as much as possible. Others, including me, think you try to stay awake as much as possible. Admittedly, given the shortness of our night staying awake is easier said than done unless you are one of those who can't sleep on a plane under any circumstance.

We arrived at O'Hare pretty much on time and to the best of my knowledge all of the equipment has made it. I'll have to check with the quartermaster tomorrow to verify that.

It was a blessing to travel so far in so short a period of time without serious issues. But, it's always great to be home.
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