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TRAVEL JOURNAL PHOTOS Trip
favorites Rock am Ring Cities |
Postscript I am now home in South Haven. When my grandmother heard the news, she told my uncle, "Now that he's home, I hope he STAYS home... and gets a job!" Today is the first day of trying to catch up with lots of people: in person, by phone, by e-mail. I received about 200 e-mails during my trip. I owe people the sincere replies I never had a chance to write. However, I accidentally lost a couple messages when clearing the 20 pieces of spam that arrived some days. I spoke with the place in Lansing that does my film. It may take them two days to do my 48 rolls of Velvia and Provia. (This is in addition to the 33 rolls I shot and already developed for Rolling Stone and the hostel in Berlin.) On yesterday's Kuwait Airways flight home, among the turbans and veils, I sat next to a cool Dutch backpacker named Pim. He's spending the next 90 days exploring the US westward from Chicago. If you want to host him during his trip, write him at [address omitted]. After his trip, he'll return to studying economics in Italy. It was raining heavily the day of my flight and not the best time to wait outside for public transit. My Dutch friend Jeroem kindly drove me to Schipol Airport. On the way, he told me how to prounounce Schipol correctly. However, I don't think I'll be able to do it. Not ever. The "sch" sound in Dutch sounds like you're clearing your throat. Jeroen and his girlfriend Jennifer put me up during my first and last days of my 50 within Europe. They even convinced me to try eel sushi. To them and the cast of thousands who killed me with their unending hospitality and made this trip truly memorable: take a bow! One last travel thought I want to share: security has eased up a bit at the airports since I preivously flew to Amsterdam back in January. However, that isn't true everywhere. When I strolled past the American Embassy in Berlin and the American Consulate in Munich, the security outside looked almost exactly like photographs from 30 years ago of Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall respectively. David McCreery |
