Denmark Trip - Day 1 - Vancover, WA to Amsterdam

Monday June 20, 2022 - Vancouver, WA
Woke at 5 AM. Finished packing and trying to memorize where things were (especially money and passport). Tried checking in to Delta airline again but the website still wouldn’t let me finish. So, it appeared we'd have to wait until we got to the airport. Our neighbor, Mohsen came by to wish us a good trip. We also got a phone call from my sister Susan yesterday wishing us a nice trip. Others including Blaine, Elaine, Stephen, Nancy, and Susan texted bon voyage. I did last minute Google search to check mask and COVID-19 test requirements. The search showed as of April 18, 2022. masks were no longer required on airplanes after a federal judge voided a mandate issued by CDC. Also, as of June 12, 2022, CDC no longer required negative COVID-19 tests for people traveling to U.S. from a foreign country. However, to be safe, we were still planning to take and wear N95 masks in airports and on the plane. We were both fully vaccinated; Carol with a Johnson & Johnson shot and two Moderna boosters; me with two Moderna shots and two Moderna boosters. 

Our Lyft ride arrived 10 minutes early (8:40 AM). The driver was an older, friendly guy who drove a Hyundai Ionic hybrid car. He said he had done over 11,000 Lyft rides and had seen just about everything. While driving, he told us a story about a veteran he took to the hospital who gave him the wrong address. When they arrived at the address, and discovered it was wrong, the vet asked him to take him to the right address. But, since he took the vet to the address he requested, he told the vet he’d have to rebook another ride. The vet got really upset but with the drivers help, he was able to rebook a ride and get to the right address. Ironically, while telling us the story, the driver almost missed the exit to the airport and if we didn’t say something, it would have added at least 20 minutes to our ride. He said he wasn’t used to driving to the airport from Vancouver. But, that seemed really strange considering, according to him, he’d driven over 11,000 trips! 😮 

We made it to the airport around 9 AM and were happy to see there wasn’t a long check in line. We checked two bags; one big bag holding three quilts Carol made and another big, pink Samsonite bag, that was jammed full of stuff (mac & cheese, tortillas, refried beans, canned food, rocks & gifts). We were concerned the Samsonite bag might be over the 50-pound limit and we’d have to take stuff out. However, when I put it on the scale, it weighed 48 pounds (2 pounds below the limit 😎). Check-in went OK with no surprises, but I became a little concerned when the Delta guy asked if we had all our paperwork. I asked him what that might be, and he just shrugged and said he wasn’t sure. 

We went through security without issues. The TSA guys were mostly friendly. I had to remove my shoes, belt, empty my pockets, etc. and put everything in a box for scanning. I forgot to take some mints out of my small change pocket and after going through the whole-body scanner, the TSA guy asked me to step aside and empty my change pocket so he could inspect the contents. So, the guy stood there watching as I pulled mints out of my pocket one-by-one for him to inspect before patting me down. PDX airport was going through some major construction, so we ended up having to take a detour to get to our gate which was a long walk to the end of Concourse D. 

Thankfully, we had plenty of time and when we finally reached the gate, we were able to find a nice place to sit with soothing ambient sound and a light show in sync to the sound. 

There were also some interesting murals with Chinese zodiac figures by Shohei Takasaki on the nearby walls which made the more pleasant. We boarded on time (1:15 PM). The plane was a British Airbus that had a ridiculously narrow aisle that forced us to crabwalk sideways with our carry-on luggage. I’m pretty sure we both hit several seated passengers in the head with our day packs trying to get to our seats. 

We took off at 1:40 PM and had some nice views of Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Rainier. 

There were 96 movies available to watch on the back of the seat headrest in front of me, but most were older movies I’d already seen. I decided to watch Interstellar with Matthew McConaughey and later watched Inglorious Bastards with Brad Pitt. Both movies were OK. 

At around 4 PM, flight attendants served a meal. Carol had the four-cheese pasta which was not bad (Carol said she’d order it again). I had the chicken, mashed potatoes, beans, and pasta salad with vino which was OK. It was sad to see how much trash waste there was (plastic dishes, cups, etc.). On the plus side though, the utensils (fork, knife, spoon) were made out of wood and kind of cool, so we saved them from the trash. Cutting chicken with a wooden knife was a challenge and I was thankful my chicken didn’t end up in my lap. Dessert was a lemon blondie which was good. 

After the meal, I decided to watch Interstellar. Earlier, the flight attendant handed out earbuds which I was hoping I wouldn’t need since I brought some Bose headphones. I wasn’t sure they would work on the airplane and was happy to find out they did. Interstellar with Matthew McConaughey, Michael Kane, Ann Hathaway, Matt Damon started out good but got a little confusing. The theme was earth was dying and Matthew was recruited to find a new place for humans to go by traveling through a worm hole. Long story short, the humans survive. I finished Interstellar around 7:30 PM PT and decided to use the bathroom. Much to my surprise, Carol did too! I then started to watch the Quintin Tarantino film, Inglorious Bastards. The movie took place during WWII. Brad Pitt leads a group of French underground who want to assassinate Hitler by luring him to a theater where they planned to kill him and his military staff. The movie was OK. I usually like Brad Pitt but his acting in this movie seemed a bit over the top.

Things I Learned On This Day (#TILOTD) –

• Masks and negative COVID-19 tests were no longer required on international flights.
• Don’t leave mints in your pocket when going through airport security
• British Airbus planes have freaking narrow aisles