Back

I’m back on Island soil again. Man was it ever a long travel day yesterday: I left Berlin at 8:00 a.m. local time and arrived in Charlottetown at 11:30 p.m. local time. I think this means it took me almost 24 hours to get home. It sure felt like it.

Berlin’s Tegel Airport was great: no check-in wait, one security line per gate, good coffee. The flight to Zurich on Swiss was on time and everyone received chocolate before take-off. Transfer in Zurich was a little hectic as I had to change terminals and find a secret transfer desk to get an onward boarding pass for the flight to Montreal; I figured it all out, though, and boarded with what ended up being plenty of time to spare.

Despite sitting beside a man who insisted on full recline of his seat for most of the flight, and a seat-back video system designed with a 1970s sensibility, the 8 hour flight west was actually rather pleasant: food was good, flight attendants very efficient and kind. We arrived in Montreal a little early and I was out, through customs and in the Air Canada lounge for a 5 hour layover in about 30 minutes.

By the time I was on the plane to Charlottetown at 8:00 p.m. — it was the milk-run on the Dash 8 that takes an hour longer — I was nearing complete catatonia. I managed to keep my eyes open, though — barely — and was out the door in Charlottetown and in a cab home in about 10 minutes.

Needless to say, I fell immediately to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I didn’t wake at all until 6:30 a.m. when [[Oliver]] came in to welcome me home and tell me about the new Backyardigans DVD he’d bought. We three got up and came here to Café Diem for breakfast. Which is not quite like Europe, but is a pretty good approximation. Especially now that they have a uber seating on the balcony.

It’s good to be home.