Touching Down in Scotland

All the bratwurst finally caught up to me as I woke up with a horrible bellyache on our final day in Germany. I did not even have enough strength to take one final walk through the woods with Chantal and the children.

There were plenty of tears from our hosts and my wife as we said our “goodbyes” and head off to the airport in Düsseldorf for the next leg of our journey. The airport in Düsseldorf was far from busy. It is a nice tidy, little place from all appearances. Our flight to Heathrow like the airport itself was almost deserted. We had plenty of seats to choose from, so Scarlett sat with me on one side of the aisle. We made origami animals and it was peaceful without the sibling rivalry.

The drive was tense. Divorce was contemplated!

Heathrow was a zoo compared to Düsseldorf. I had an errand to run for my father, but figured that I would wait until I off-loaded all our carry-ons. No such luck with security measures firmly in place, I left the family at a checkpoint and went on a mission to find Canadian rye in a land filled with whiskies. I was thwarted at the first duty free shop and sent to another. The clerk at that store sent me back to where I started. Finally I was sent to a store called Whiskies of the World and found what I was looking for, making me a hero in my father’s eyes.

All the running around was just the beginning of our Heathrow adventure. I went back to the checkpoint to find my family gone. After a slight panic, I decided that my wife must have decided to go through security. There was no way she would have returned to the mayhem of stores and restaurants with two kids and all of our carry-ons in two. The departure lounge area was far quieter once I rejoined my family.

By now, the children were famished, so we decided to grab a bite at a coffee shop. However, just as we started to drag our belongings towards the shop there was an announcement about our departure gate being switched. I think we eventually trekked into another county, we could have used a Sherpa or two. Needless to say, the whining from the two kids was hitting its stride.

Our flight into Glasgow was relatively quick and painless once the kids polished off some Pringles. However, they were back to their wicked ways as we waited for our luggage and rental car.

Once we picked up the car, I was stuck as the solitary driver since it was in my name and we did not want the added expense of an “extra driver”. I requested that my Dad book an economy car. Some how in his mind that turned out to be a Mercedes Benz. Shocking!

Driving of course turned out to be an adventure. I was deathly afraid that I would drive on the wrong side of the road and cause some kind of pile up. I was actually okay with the exception of all the roundabouts. Naturally, we ended up going in the completely wrong direction for a good 20 minutes as my wife and I argued the merits of this, that and the other thing. I think Rory turned to Scarlett at some point and said, “just try not to listen.”

Once we were turned around, everything was fine except for the fact that I was often a little too far left for Chantal’s liking. Isn’t that what those warning grooves in the road are for? Any time one of the children spoke up, they were sternly told to “go to sleep, mommy and daddy are concentrating.”

After another mishap on a roundabout, we eventually made it our opulent abode for the next week. More on that later!