Kenzie’s 100th fligh
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Flight 101 back to Portland.
Fairbanks for the Northern Lights and Cold Weather Fun!
Last weekend we made it up to Fairbanks to see the northern lights. We only saw them on the first night (which was sort of a relief since it takes the pressure off), but we had a great time doing all sorts of other things.
Kenzie and I try and do “1 minute of science” every day (we talk about some sort of science or engineering) and since it was -20 degrees we decided to try something special. We boiled a pot of water and then threw it out into the frozen air where it instantly turns from boiling to freezing and becomes SNOW! I think I was more excited about it than she was, but she’s good about humoring me.
We also visited the city of North Pole, Alaska and checked out the fire station (had to buy some North Pole Fire Department shirts and patches and Kenzie played on the fire engines), did lots of sledding and playing in the snow, and met a moose who was passing by the lodge.
The return flight from Fairbanks to Anchorage was Kenzie’s 100th flight and the pilots and flight attendants with Alaska Airlines were so cool. They all came out at the end of the flight and took a picture with her and her animals.
Since it was so cold Kenzie and I took the opportunity to do our “1 minute of science” by boiling a pot of water and then throwing it out in -15 weather. It immediately turns to snow!
Kenzie really liked the sledding!
Time to Go Home…
Time to go home…
After a week and a half and literally circling the world it’s time to get home and back to Jodi and Kenzie.
I checked out of my Airbnb and took the train to the airport. After checking in I enjoyed some lunch at the Swiss business class lounge and then boarded for my flight back to San Francisco.
Swiss business class was outstanding! Lay flat seats (basically converts to a bed), great food, and even an ice cream cart rolled down the aisle for desert after dinner.
After I landed in San Francisco I had a couple of hours between connections so I headed to the American Express Centurion lounge for a shower and some dinner. During dinner I met Lily who was sitting right next to me. She had just flown from Switzerland on my flight and in talking to her owners I realized she travels more than most people I know. She even has her own passport which her owner was happy to show me and let me take pictures of. So this is Lily, word traveler dog.
I was definitely ready to be home but this last week and a half has been an amazing trip. I’m very fortunate to be able to travel affordably using points and see so much of the world. On this trip I visited 4 countries (5 if you count the 2 minutes I was inside of North Korea), experienced several very different cultures, had great conversations with people who’s background as well as day to day life is completely different than mine, and checked quite a few items off of my bucket list. Overall a great success and a wonderful experience!
Now it’s time to start planning the next trip…
Mt. Rigi and Lucerne, Switzerland – Day 3
Day 3 was my last full day in Switzerland and I decided to head out for another day trip south.
I started by taking the train to Mt Rigi which is a mountain high up in the Swiss Alps and well above the snowline. I took a conventional train most of the way, but then transferred to a small cog style rail car for the steep ascent up the mountain. The grade is so steep that in addition to the 2 normal rails the train rides on, there is a “cog” or gear which meshes with a 3rd rail to keep the train from slipping as it climbs (there is a picture that shows how the cog system works).
After Mt. Rigi I took another train to Lucerne. Lucerne was a classic European old town with lots of winding streets and little shops to check out. I found the Victorinox outlet store here (they make the classic “Swiss Army” knife) and picked up a couple of souvenirs here. I bought Kenzie her first knife and had it engraved with her name, as well as a couple of other neat finds.
On the train back I ended up in what was apparently the “kids car” on the train. It was a double decker rail car, and the whole top level was seating for families and a kids play area. I only got 1 picture of a small part of it (didn’t want to be that weird guy taking pictures of other peoples kids) but there were a bunch of different play structures. How cool to play on the slide while watching the Swiss Alps go by!
Switzerland and Vaduz, Liechtenstein – Day 2
Day 2 I decided to venture out and see some other parts of Switzerland. The tiny country of Leichtenstein is only about an hour and a half away on the train and the ride there through the Swiss Alps was beautiful. There was something about the Swiss Alps that are very different than any other mountain range I’ve ever seen. They are extremely steep and really pretty at this time of the year with some snow on them.
Leichtenstein was very cute and well worth the trip if only to get another stamp in the passport book. The king of Leichtenstein lives up on a hill overlooking Vaduz. People here were incredibly friendly and chatty and seemed genuinely happy to have a tourist visit their little country.
Zurich, Switzerland – Day 1
The flight to Switzerland on Swiss air was an overnight flight but I managed to get a pretty good nights sleep so when I arrived in Zurich I was ready to go out and see some sights.
I rented an Airbnb for this leg of the journey and it was teriffic. Right on the river in Old Town Zurich and a tram stop out front that went direct to the train station to make day trips around the country easier.
My first day in Switzerland I spent just getting the lay of the land and checking out Old Town Zurich. Being in Switzerland I had to try out the local cheese fondue…it was AMAZING!
Beijing China – Day 3, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City
Day 3 was a lot of walking (more than 14 miles) while visiting Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was interesting to see how citizens we’re regularly required to present their government issued ID to police and have it scanned so they could be tracked as they walked around different parts of the city. Every few blocks people would just line up and walk through a checkpoint as police scanned a little portable credit card reader looking thing. Since I was obviously not a local (I stuck out like a sore thumb walking around Beijing) they just waived me through without any checks. On the first day while driving to the Great Wall I also noticed what looked like red light cameras flashing at us along all of the roads. I asked the guide about this and he said it was not red light or speed cameras, but rather just a system that tracked all vehicles as they travel around the city. He commented very sincerely that it was a good thing and that it was for the safety of everyone. A very different perspective on privacy than we would have in the United States.
It was a great day of sightseeing, followed by a very early morning wake up to head to the airport and board my plane for Switzerland.
Beijing China – Day 2
Day 2 was a lot of walking around and included the Temple of Heaven, lots of little side streets and markets, and finding interesting food.
Many of the restaurants had these TV screens so that you could watch the activity in the kitchen, I assume so you can be sure things are being prepared in a clean environment? 
The Temple of Heavan
While in Beijing I had to try Peking duck. After asking for a suggestions from a few people this was consistently said to be the best choice.
After dinner I took a walk through the open air food market. It was amazing to see what people eat! You can’t see it from the photo obviously, but the little scorpions were still alive and squirming.
Beijing China – Day 1, The Great Wall
Through some reviews on the Internet I found a guide named Simon Xiao and arranged to have him pick me up from the airport and go directly to the Great Wall so that I’d be able to get some sightseeing in on the first day. Simon was fantastic and was a great guide. Not only with information about the Great Wall, but general China how to information to make the trip a bit easier. Thanks Simon!
This was definitely one of those things that you just have to see with your own eyes to appreciate the magnitude of it. Seeing the size of this wall, and knowing how far it extends was just incredible. Thinking about the manpower required to build this, and all by hand without modern equipment, just boggles the mind. As I walked around it and looked down at my feet, I was thinking that every single foot of it probably amounted to several peoples entire lifetimes worth of work.
Simon told me that the lettering on the side of the hill say “Loyalty to Chairman Mao”
