Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - Getting Home for Thanksgiving in Germany

Remember the old comedy with Steve Martin and John Candy, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. That's a little bit of what my last trip to Moscow and back was like.

The Trip to Moscow
It began with a beep on my mobile phone during church. Since we were attending a district conference, it was pretty easy for me to step out and listen to my voice mail in which an agent from the airlines indicated that my flight from Stuttgart to Holland was canceled and the trip to Moscow was also questionable due to an oncoming snow storm. Fortunately, I was able to take an earlier flight via Paris to Moscow; but I had to leave church immediately in order to catch the train to the airport. (And at least the train ride was without incident).

Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport is one of Europe's largest airports, but has no train shuttle between the terminals (or halls). Imagine going from Atlanta's (Hartfield's) atrium to terminal E without the automated train. Ironically, in order to go from Terminal D to Terminal E, I had to walk over the local train station (for trains going into the city). However, the police had cordoned off the connecting corredors. The only way around the blockade was to go out on the street and walk around it.

Once on the plane, we waited at the gate for 1.5 hours until they asked us to deboard. Apparently one passenger was not allowed on the plane and they had to find his/her luggage. It was 4:30 am before I arrived at the school in Moscow.

The Trip Back to Germany
My flight was at 9:15. Even though we left the school at 6:15 am, it took us 2.5 hours to get to the airport. Long story made short, a new driver thought he knew how to beat the traffic -- we didn't. Missed my original flight to Paris (and the connection to Stuttgart) and had to buy a replacement ticket. After all, I had to get home for Thanksgiving. The rest of the trip, however, went without incident.

Thanksgiving at ETS-Kniebis
Our family was invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with the faculty and staff of the European Theological Seminary in Kniebis (bei Freudenstadt), Germany. It was a great meal and time together with some American colleagues. However, by the time a picture was taken, our kids were outside playing in the snow (which was about 18 inches deep at the school, located on top of a mountain in the Black Forrest).