Travel atrocities

This is absurd from the Travel Insider...

Only in Canada? Let's hope so. Canada's Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from the airlines, therefore allowing to stand intact a lower court judgment that obliges airlines to give 'people of size' two seats on a plane.
Yes, airlines must now give - for free - a second seat to people who are too large to fit in a single seat.
Is this fair? And is it sensible? It is neither. Why should a for-profit airline be obliged to forego the revenue it could make selling a seat to a passenger, and instead give it for free to another passenger? An airline could normally sell two seats to two 150lb each passengers, but now has to give them both to one 300lb passenger.
How will the airline plan for this - what say it doesn't have spare seats available at checkin? Does that mean the overweight person will have to be denied boarding, or can they voluntarily relinquish their right to two seats?
Could an airline have an overweight person on either side of a block of three seats and have the two people 'share' the middle seat's extra space?
Have you ever noticed in some clothing stores that you pay extra for large sized clothing? Will that too become illegal?
And, is it sensible? There are no clear guidelines as to what the trigger point is for a person qualifying for a second free seat. Will we see sizing templates for people as well as luggage?
What say a person of average or even below average size finds themselves wedged into a middle seat with 200lb + passengers on either side? They're going to be very uncomfortable, too. Will airlines (in Canada) have to give them a second seat?
How about tall people with their knees wedged into the back of the seat in front of them? Will the airlines have to upgrade them to first class for free so as to give them more generous leg room?
This ruling opens a Pandora's Box of consequential entitlements. Shame on the Canadians for displaying too much political correctness and too little common sense.

Personal Improvement

My father gave me a book a few years ago called, "The Way of the Superior Man - A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work and Sexual Desire." I don't tend to read books like this - it's not my nature to try to understand why things work, why I do what I do, why my wife does what she does, etc. I just go...And if someone had asked me five years ago what personal issues I have or what I struggle with, the answer was a resounding, "Nothing. I am as issue free as they come" Now as I cope with becoming the best parent and husband I can be and having a wife who reads nothing but self-help books, taking a proactive approach to improving herself, I have come to grips that I do indeed have some "things" that guide why I do the things I do and prevent me from being the best I can be. So that, on top of the recommendation from my father, led me to really read and embrace this book.

It is a book that doesn't need to be read straight through - there are several sections and chapters that deal with things from intimacy with one's spouse to working with polarity and energy (whatever the hell that means). I initially read many of the chapters, have digested them over the past year and am now going back and rereading particular chapters that I have found interesting. And in the introduction to the book, the author, David Deida, writes something that I think about at least daily and actually relates to one of my first posts about finding one's passion. He writes:

"Your sexual essence is your sexual core. If you have more masculine sexual essence, you would, of course, enjoy staying home and playing with the kids, but deep down you are driven by a sense of mission. You may not know your mission, but unless you discover this deep purpose and live it fully, your life will feel empty at its core, even if your intimate relationship and family life are full of love."

While I think this statement is rather drastic, it hits home. I certainly do not feel empty at all, but do feel that that mission (or passion) has not been found and I understand what he means, as this leaves a feeling of incompleteness. I know alot of people in their 50's and 60's who feel their life didn't achieve what they wanted and they search to find a way to leave some sort of legacy, knowing the world is a better place because of their existence or somehow leaving an impact. That's not what this is...I want to wake up each morning and be excited about what I am doing, look forward to it and know that what I am doing is what I am here to do. I just haven't found that yet...And I wonder if most people ever do find this mission. I know so few people who are actually excited about what they do and seem completely fulfilled. But when you do meet these people, you know exactly who they are. You can usually feel the energy and sense the feeling of fulfillment and passion with which they approach life.

Up next....broaching those issues that I struggle with...if I am ready to put them on paper!

Finally snow!

When we arrived over here in August, we were told that it had not snowed in Frankfurt in two years! This was quite devastating for my wife who loves the snow and whose middle name is actually Snow. We are up in the mountains a little bit from Frankfurt and usually the temp falls 5-10 degress upon coming home from work. I don't know the typical snow fall here in Kelkheim. However, we awoke the morning after arriving home from our trip to find about 1-2 inches of snow had fallen! Rebecca and the kids were overjoyed. I, on the otherhand...not quite so much.

Southern Trip

Just back from a driving tour of southern Germany, some of Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein. My mom, aunt and uncle came over for 9 days and leave today...:( It will be tough to see them go but my father is now planning on coming for 4 weeks (some work, some play) beginning Dec. 23.

There was alot of driving on the trip and the kids were fantastic. About 20 hours in 5 days, some through blinding snow storms but most through the most gorgeous scenery in the world. Both Rebecca and my uncle had not traveled in the area so the goal was primarily to give them a good flavor. We initially drove to Lucerne, Swtizerland, a gorgeous old town on a lake with old covered bridges crossing the lake. The next day we drove to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, home of the largest mountain in Germany at about 10,000 feet. We took a train up the inside of the mountain to the first plateau at 9,000 feet and a cable car to the top. The view was gorgeous (pics to follow soon). We then took a cable car to the bottom.

The next day we went to Castle Neuschwanstein, an unbelievable castle that Walt Disney modeled his castle in Disney World after. Kate was in heaven! We then drove to Salzburg, Austria for two nights. A wonderful city with great walking through the old town and stores. An incredible christmas market was set up that was quite fun to walk through. On our drive home we stopped in Rothenburg, considered by many to be the most charming medieval town in Germany. Fun to walk around and shop.

A great trip and fun to spend time with everybody. They will be sorely missed (especially over the holidays).

Castles

Ever since Kate went to Disney in February (and EuroDisney in October) she has been obsessed with princesses. So what better place to take her than a country that has hundreds of castles, some in ruins and some upkept? Most weekends, we make at least one trip to a local castle. There are 5 within 15 minutes of our house. Each week we venture a bit further. Here are a few pics from the castles near us. However, I am getting quite tired of fielding the question of "Where are all the prince, princesses, kings and queens?" I fight the urge to just say, "THEY ARE DEAD. THEY EXIST NO MORE." However, that might be a little scarring...

Speaking of scaring, our neighbors had a kitchen fire the other night and right as Rebecca and the kids got home, the fire department arrived, many trucks, many hoses. The kids were a bit intimidated, but now Kate woke up 3 times last night screaming and a sweaty mess from dreams about fires. Just wonderful...

Odd names

I drove up to a city called Grevenbroich yesterday to spend the day at a new client to attend some meetings. Most Germans would have taken the train system as it is economical and easy to use. But I haven't done so yet and didn't want to do it early on a morning when I HAD to be there for a 10 am meeting. So I drove, which resulted in my windshield getting cracked by a damn rock. But that is not the story here. As I approached Köln (Cologne to Americans), I passed a bus (see picture above). It just made me laugh...It is indeed a true bus company and has been around for many years...

Halloween

Halloween is not a holiday in Germany, though over the past 10 years or so, Germans have come to embrace it. However, the concept of going door to door trick-or-treating is still new and not common. A few kids come to the door, some locals and some expats, but more of the Germans tend to attend parties or haunted houses. As Rebecca is a member of the American Women's Club, we had a list of American households that were giving out candy and drove around to them. 8 houses in an hour and a half was rather tough with the kids getting in and out of the car.

However, Kate's school offers something called Trunk or Treat. People drive their cars into the big school parking lot, all park facing the same direction and open their trunks and decorate them. Kids then go in their costumes from trunk to trunk and people give out candy. And it is amazing how well people decorate their trunks. Smoke machines, coffins, crazy stuff. I had a blast and the kids did too. It is entirely light out so you can see the costumes and nothing is too scary. There is a parade at the end with all the kids and prizes given out for best costumes, scariest, etc. A fantastic idea and a great work around to not being able to go door to door. See some good pics below!