Flight home for Xmas (15/12/03):

My flight back home to Michigan went quite smoothly. I simply took a cab from my flat to Glasgow International Airport, boarded a KLM flight, and after an hour flying over parts of England, Scotland, and the North Sea, I was in Schiphol (pronounced "skipple") Airport in Amsterdam.  During my flight to the Netherlands, I had a window seat and sitting next to me was an elderly Scottish man, who surprisingly enough, was on his way to Mt. Pleasant!  It was a moment of funny coincidence when I told him that I've spend the past three years at CMU!  Despite the short flight, the short leg of my journey afforded awesome sights and photo opportunities. 

Though it is the largest airport in mainland Europe, it was very easy to get from where I arrived to my boarding gate for my Northwest flight to Detroit.  Schiphol Airport is a very nice airport to go through.  It has lots of shops and restaurants, is easy to move around in, is not crowded, and knowing English will get you around easily, for most Dutch know the language fluently.  The aerial view over Holland was incredible...the country looks beautiful with lots of farmland, canals, etc.  I'm definitely going to have to spend some time over there...longer than the two hour layover going to/from Detroit.

My flight to Detroit at first looked like it was not going to be too pleasant.  Although I got a window seat as requested, I wasn't thrilled with who I was sitting next to.  Sitting next to me was a woman that looked a few years older than me, and by how she dressed, appeared to be from southeast Europe.  In addition to not speaking a word of English (and me facing the prospect of spending eight hours next to someone I couldn't talk to if I felt social), she was heavily pregnant.  When physicians warn against flying during advanced pregnancy, (or so I hear) they do so for good reason...on takeoff, I thought the woman was on the verge of a medical emergency.  Luckily, nothing bad happened and after we got to cruising altitude, she took advantage of the many open seats on the flight to move to where the rest of her family were seated (must have been a family trip to the states for the holidays).  To my extreme, yet silent joy...I could enjoy the open seat and dramatically-increased legroom.  The rest of the flight was non-eventful, but felt extremely long because I kept looking at the GPS-type map on the TV screen in front of my seat.

As we landed, I looked out the window to see bleak, grey, wintry-hell Michigan in December....joy.  At least I got to see my cat when I got home. :P

	Looking out my window at Glasgow Int'l before takeoff.		Nice shot of Scotland,  clouds, and beyond.
	Preparing to takeoff for home.		View over Scotland.
	The single reason why my eight hour-long flight felt like it was at least twice as long.		Another view. Note the windmills atop the hill.
	View out my window before leaving Amsterdam.		More Scotland.
	Tanker.  When you read of the North Sea being a big oil-producing area and shipping corridor, they don't kid.  I swear every time I looked out the window, I saw either an oil rig or a tanker...sometimes more than one!		Even more Scotland.
	Clouds' shadows upon North Sea.		Scotland part 5.
	North Sea oil rig.		Over North Sea and almost in space!
	North sea shortly before arriving in Amsterdam.  I have no idea what's it the water.  If anyone can help ID that, I'd appreciate it!		Clouds over Canada...Sounds like a potential Outkast hit!
	North sea.

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