COVID-19 Vaccination: One and Done!

So you wonder about getting vaccinated? Don't think the right one for you is out there? Do your research! Listen to the Doctors and the health care professionals. They will give you the basics of what, how, and where, and then you, dear reader, can do the rest yourself. (Hey, if I can, you can too.) 

I knew what I wanted to have put into my arm. The only thing was when I could get it! With vaccines (in general) in short supply, I knew I had to be careful so as not to a) Not get the vaccine I wanted, b) not wait forever, and c) not have to personally recreate the Paris-to-Dakar rally in order to find a location where A and B could successfully be completed. 

On Tuesday, March 9, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who in my honest opinion has handled the COVID-19 pandemic pretty well for not having any Federal help, until about 60 days ago (by the time you read this at least) was rumored to be extending the list of residents eligible for vaccination beginning the next day (Wed., March 10). So, earlier that morning, I was able to get on the website of one of the vaccine providers, Thrifty White Drug, the regional drug store chain. As I was perusing the morning reads of various news sources, I came across an advance copy of a graphic of what the Governor was going to say later that day. I would finally be able to get my vaccination shot, at last. Not quite as big a deal as my wife, whose shot was administered at the TCO Performance Center (a.k.a. 'the practice facility' for the Minnesota Vikings) but hey, any port in a storm, as it were. I'm not picky. Just want a vaccine, that's all. 

Looking at the list of locations, none of them had what I was looking for: The Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine who's major selling point (other than its just as good as the others) is that it's a one-and-done vaccine. No second trip to beautiful who-knows-where to get that booster shot. And, it won't goof with your messenger RNA (as both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are designed to do.) 

The next two questions were somewhat intertwined: When? and Where? Thrifty White Drug operates 94 locations in 5 Midwest and Western states, so I could have gone nearly anywhere. Why Thrifty White (as opposed to, say, Walmart, Sam's Club or even a Hy-Vee market)? Easy to find appointments, easy sign up, easy to find (mostly in small and medium size towns) and easy to get in and out of afterwards. Also, I knew the care would be better. Small town staffs are normally that way, as opposed to the rushed feeling of the larger markets.

So, which one did I choose? After all that, I wound up in beautiful Downtown Moose Lake, about 120 miles NNE of Minneapolis along I-35, en route to Duluth. They had the best mid-day times, the right vaccine, and the slots open. So, while waiting for Walz to make his pronouncement, away I went and signed up for a shot. 'Here's hoping nothing goes wrong,' I muttered to myself. 

Wednesday, March 10 dawned cloudy with a storm front moving in from SW to NE. We (wife and I) left about 3 hours ahead of the scheduled appointment time, taking a little longer than the 1 hour, 40 minutes normal running time for the 112-mile one-way trip. We arrived just about 45 minutes early. Kind of glad we did, too, as it rained all the way up north. But that's not the only weather concern we had as I went in (wife stayed in the car. Smart girl I married.) 

The line to check in for your COVID vaccination ran the entire length of the store! All four aisles, from the back (where the prescription counters are) to the front door and back again, and again... I was surprised at the number of people in this little pharmacy! After about 45 minutes, I finally checked in, and had been ready for the shot for so long that I almost felt like one of the locals by the time the nurse practitioner came out for me. 

'C'mon in,' she said. She didn't have to tell me twice. An efficient little operation; a machine which doles out the vaccine in pre-measured doses, ready for inoculation. Neat little device, that one. Injection done, card (pre-printed) issued, and out the door I went. 'There's no room in here to sit, so go back to your car and wait 15 minutes,' 

Hey, who am I to argue? So, back to the car to wait it out. By now, the storm front has caught up with us, and the shower from before has turned into an all-out deluge. On March 10th. In Moose Lake. Waited out the 15 minutes, then started back on the road (with a quick lunch stop at McDonald's). 

Of course, by the time we returned to the Cities, we had meteorological Armageddon going on; Snow on the far northwest side, thunderstorms where we were, and tornadoes (radar-specified) to the south, all within a 50-mile radius of our happy home. We were just happy to have made it there...and back. In one piece. Vaccinated. Finally. 

Bring on the rest of 2021. This couple is ready to go...

'Direct-Orient Revisited' : One Year Later

Greetings from the depths of my depression. The second attempt at this blog entry will be shorter than the first attempt. It had better be. This is not an easy piece to write. 

Here I am, retired, with all the time in the world in order to travel and enjoy my retirement, and what happens? Americans (as of this date, anyways) can only travel to 27 countries, most of which are either tiny outposts at the ends of the Earth (Fiji, Vanuatu, the Maldives) or under such restrictions that it wouldn't be financially viable to travel there IN THE FIRST PLACE!

But one year ago, nobody (outside of governments) had ever heard of 'beautiful Downtown' Wuhan, China, or their 'wet market' poultry problems, or that the place was an incubator for the worst pandemic to plague the Earth in a decade. Throw in numerous non-believing (or mis-informed, or both) governments, perfectly good plans that could have mitigated the problem, thrown out simply because your political party didn't develop them; along with the changing diagnoses of the resulting virus confusing scientists and politicians alike, and the world has been thrown into a quagmire ever since. 

Whole countries (especially in Europe) shut down. No trains anywhere, no matter how short or long. Inter-continental air travel? After the first few days, virtually impossible. Borders between countries closed. No travel anywhere. Everyone home to stay for weeks, and weeks, and months, and...

Work from home. School online. No restaurants open (most of the spring at least). No entertainment of any kind. No assemblies of more than 4-6 people. 'Social Distancing.' 'Wear a Mask.' (Please still do wear a mask, OK?)

When this is all over and a properly researched, properly-studied vaccine is released and known to be effective, the fortunes of the travel industry will indeed begin to revert to something akin to what we all are used to. Until then, though, remember to wash your hands before and after touching anything. 

Since the end of our trip, relations have become strained between the USA and...virtually every country we travelled thru on our trip (although tourists are not affected immediately...well, somewhat).  But when the world began to shut down in mid-March, well, we had just begun to plan a Nashville trip for the last regular season Minnesota Wild road game. That trip was very quickly scrapped, as well as everything else for the next six months. Things went from bad to worse as March (and Easter Sunday) dragged on, and on, and on. No sports of any kind to end the mind-numbing boredom and the daily Coronavirus reports from the governments involved. 

As the spring dragged on, the train cancellations came in from around the world... VIA Rail Canada stopped their long-haul, non-Northern services (Northern services are guaranteed operation, by government edict). The privately-operated ROCKY MOUNTAINEER trains also ground to a halt as well.  The Australian operators of Great Southern Railway stopped the Indian-Pacific, Ghan, and the Overland;  Kiwi Rail (New Zealand) halted all non-commuter services on both islands (even though the total number of COVID-19 infections were in the hundreds, not thousands).

RZD Russian Railways first cut back, then restructured, their Trans-Siberian services; the new schedules added a full day onto Moscow-Vladivostok trains.  European Railways were reduced to extremely limited, near-regional services in most areas; no way would you be travelling from country to country (unless you were a health official en route to another overcrowded hospital). 

Amtrak reverted to a 'disaster' schedule in the Northeast Corridor (locomotive-hauled trains a few times per day, even in the NYC-Washington corridor 'spine').  On other corridors, most trains did not run at all or ran once per day (or less);  at one point in April, only one bus (substituting for a Horizon train set) and the Chicago -- St. Paul -- Seattle/Portland EMPIRE BUILDER were operating between Chicago and Milwaukee. Even in sunny Southern California, Los Angeles-San Diego service dwindled to just 3-4 trains each way each day (depending on the day of the week).  No one was riding; everyone feared the virus, and the fear grew nearly every day. 

Now, I wrote a book about my Paris-to-Istanbul adventure, completed merely days before the world started sliding down this slippery slope in a hand basket. Published it in February, first started promoting it to friends and acquaintances in April, and entered into an agreement with the European Rail Timetable folks to sell it outside the USA and Canada in June: alas, before I was able to get copies to the UK (where ERT is based), they shut down for 60 days in order to protect their business. 

So, here I am. I want to go somewhere. I have been telling people that when we (as a people) are able to travel, we should do so with a vengeance. Why? We owe it to ourselves to break the bonds of this cycle of disillusionment, despair and denial in our world. Doesn't have to be a real long trip; just somewhere you haven't been before. Somewhere which will make you forget the worst year in this century. Enjoy yourself; you've earned it! 

Just one thing before you go? 

Remember your shots. Please. 

Afterthoughts of a European trip

November in Minnesota. Cold, snow's on the horizon, and my favorite hockey team is well on its' way to tanking for the No. 2 draft pick in the 2020 draft. (Something will happen and they won't get the No. 1 pick. It's a Minnesota thing.) Hopefully, that is.


Still thinking back to my European trip two months ago. What could have been done better? What should have not been attempted at all? What, had I known then what I know now, could I have done to change how the trip turned out?


Some trains we rode en route from Paris to Istanbul were great (Thello (Paris-Venice),  the Trieste-Ljubljana EMU, the Sofia-Istanbul Express); some trains were good (Venice-Trieste, Belgrade-Nis); and some were either so-so (Nis-Sofia 'Balkan') or just plain flat-out bad (Ljubljana-Belgrade 'Sweatbox' train #315, where the floor heat could not be shut off on a nine-hour overnight trip).


And, after we departed Istanbul by plane, the problems of dragging as much baggage as we did indeed multiplied as the remainder of the trip played itself out.  Not knowing the EU's standard for assistance of 48 hours' notice applied to railways as well as airlines, got me especially into trouble several times. Add the lack of opportunity for food and (especially) water east of Ljubljana, and you had a real recipe for potential disaster. (Being from North America, I am used to the '24-hour' rule and the request on demand rules that North American carriers operate under.)


I thought I could handle the amount of baggage (one suitcase and a duffle bag) for the 20 days I was away from home; alas, that much baggage just got me into trouble, especially on the last five days of the trip, when I based myself out of Paris to ride what turned out to be one day trip (with the other one cancelled at the last minute, and the third one I force re-routed off the original routing to a more direct train, missing another connection en route).


My 25 pounds (13 kilos) of baggage departing Minnesota wound up to 40 pounds (21 Kilos) upon my return; and that was with sending back folders (I made a folder for each train I was to ride), and some dirty clothing (needed more room for stuff) twice (with my nephew-in-law and my wife as they separately went back to the West).


What else is there? Language barriers get frustrating. You are so happy to ask for a Diet Coke...and get the real thing, not the sugar-free Coke that is sold across Europe. A cup of coffee is a real cup of coffee, not one the size of a side of salad dressing. You hear the instructions for travel, and you can actually UNDERSTAND them. You don't have to switch the language on your iPhone Google Translate every so often. Issues like that come up all too often as one traverses 'the Old Country', whatever one that is.


And then...there's Serbia. A country and rail system to be more pitied than criticized. Commuters for Belgrade riding trains so full of graffiti, they can't even see out the windows. Belgrade's apparatchik riding a train which was so bad even the engineer (Driver) couldn't see clearly. Turpentine and a squeegee would have been very helpful here. But with their entire system being rebuilt, either by the Russians or the Chinese, the money doesn't get down to the commuter level much. The Serbs, operate a General Motors G26 661-series diesel (which the Yugoslavs bought shortly after the death of Marshal Tito) to pull their thru passenger train from Nis to Dimitrovgrad over Serbia's eastern territory.


When the former Yugoslavian Railways was disbanded, the freight side of the railroad took virtually all the locomotives, leaving the passenger side with a few elderly locos and little else. Serbia's government purchased a number of Stadler 'Flirt' EMU trainsets for their electrified lines; a decision needs to be made regarding their diesel-hauled services. It's a system in disarray, at best; at worst, it's bordering on near-chaos, operating in spite of itself, in my opinion.


As opposed to Serbia, their neighbors to the east, Bulgaria, really have their act together in comparison. BDZ (Bulgarian State Railways) trains were clean, most of the stuff worked, and the trains ran basically on time. The fact that unlike the Serbs, Bulgaria has embraced the EU concept (as has most of their neighbors) and is even now benefitting from reduced interference and greater commerce. Serbia? Not an EU member. No plans to join. The bad apple in the European apple orchard, as it were. Their railways are in desperate need of rebuilding, and they are doing that, albeit really slowly.


Other parts of the former Yugoslavia (namely, Croatia and Slovenia) seem to have their acts together; granted, they weren't bombed by NATO, like Serbia was. Good lesson to the rest of the world: take heed when the combined nations of NATO are stepping in against you. Anyways...


Looking back at the trip almost 90 days later, I'm glad I did it now. Before politics of the world and time's inexorable march combine to make this trip even tougher than it was in the summer. Onto Winter...sadly...

Of writer's block, European thoughts, and nightmares (real and imagined)

Hello, folks. I gotta get more readers here.


Anyways... still trying to finalize the book about the Paris-to-Istanbul trip. But I feel I should put more in about what went on. But, for some reason, I can't. I don't have enough pictures to back what I say up; the Paris section is sorely lacking (in my humble opinion). Also, there were sections when I shot lots of pictures, then there were some where I have next to no pictures at all.


But I didn't go to Europe to look thru a lens (or thru an iPhone) for three weeks: I went to see Europe first hand, with real experiences with the everyday folks. I did get plenty of that; some good, some bad, most at least a little interesting. But some things were quite obvious to me:


Most Europeans were healthier than two of the three Americans who did this trip. The nephew-in-law, only 24 years old, was far and away the healthiest of us all. Even though I was warned by a number of people that I needed to walk more, I was ill prepared for how much walking was involved in just the day-to-day of living and getting around. I got more than a few crazy looks in a few cities when I asked for assistance.


Food is not a problem in Western Europe, and gets kind of dicey in Eastern Europe. In the former Yugoslavia, even the basic (bottled water) is a hit-and-miss proposition; readily available in some locations, and nearly impossible to obtain in others. As the world shrinks, and transport options allow for ordinary people to travel to places one would never dream of 20-30 years ago, the basics of life need to be addressed. People need to eat, sleep, and travel from place to place comfortably and easily.


But trying to obtain those items in certain locales?  Good luck with that. You could be a commuter in Belgrade, Serbia, for years and never find a bottle of water to enjoy on the trip home. 


More thoughts as I get them sorted out. But it will be a while for that, as you can imagine...

Catching Up with Myself...

It's been a while since I've actually taken time to blog on here, folks. I've been busy travelling, recovering from that travel, watching my favorite sports team (NHL Minnesota Wild) start to tank the 2019-20 season, and trying to enjoy a wet, soggy fall in Minnesota. Besides, I'm writing a book.


A book? Yes, about our recent Paris-to-Istanbul trip. Lots of things went right. Lots went wrong (Including me in a few instances). Lots just went. But I've managed a 60-page book without photos (so I'm looking at a 72-page book) which I should publish late this year or early next year (depending how fast I get around to it). Like the trip itself, it's dot every 'I', cross every 'T', you know the drill by now.


I guess intercontinental travel took more out of me than I realized. I still cannot bring myself to fly anywhere nearly two months after the start of that journey. There are places that I'd like to go to at this time of year; but the fact that fall is Minnesota's best season, in my opinion, and the local football teams are doing relatively well, means why would I want to leave? Besides, I've a book inside me. Really feel the need to get that out.


And, its somewhat trying to find the time to do that, amongst just living and doing the things you do every day. Although the fact I am retired leaves me my days basically free, I still have my chores to do, and trying to keep up gets hard when you can't move as well as you should. I had friends tell me I should have moved more before the Europe trip; of course, they were right. Did I listen to them? Not for a minute. I just thought there would be assistance everywhere, similar to what it is in the US and Canada. Not so in the European Union. It's 48 hours advance notice for any assistance, anywhere in the EU. Even the somewhat forgiving SNCF (French National Railways) requires 36 hours notice to get a wheelchair (I was that bad by the end of this trip).


Now, how bad did it get? I delayed not one but TWO trains trying to get assistance in Milan. I missed FOUR trains in 3 days in Paris by oversleeping. I came home exhausted, worn out, but with memories that will last a lifetime (or so). The average European is much healthier that the average American, I deduced after being amongst Europeans for three weeks. Most that I came across in my travels were nothing short of pleasant. A few (a certain SNCF employee in Boulogne comes to mind) were outstanding and unbelievably pleasant. (Bonjour, Nina.)


Of course, there was one exception to the rule, and we were more than happy to traverse this country and not look back at it: Europe's poor cousin. The last European country to get bombed.


Serbia. We had nothing but problems in the largest of the Balkan countries; but a lot of the problems stemmed for the fact that they are still trying to get over a disastrous war in the 1990's, while the former Yugoslavia was breaking up under Slobodan Milosevic. A hot inbound train to Belgrade, the most disjointed major terminal I've ever seen (my wife and nephew-in-law almost got lost going to buy tickets at Belgrade Centar, the new Belgrade terminal, opened in 2018); a three-car local train which turned into the Shopper's Special; and finally, a train which had to wait an hour for the diesel locomotive to show up...from where we were going to...and a leisurely 25MPH (40 KPH) speed to boot.


It's all in the book folks... stay tuned. But right now, it's my bedtime. Good night.

'Suppose we should have told him it's a WC in Europe?'

Ah, yes. The joys of international travel, with a newbie to it along. This will be an adventure.

Between the three of us, besides English, I speak a little (tres petit) French; my wife can understand more German than she can speak; and the nephew-in-law took Spanish in high school, and did decently. Unfortunately, in some of the countries which we will traverse, we will encounter Italian, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian (with Cyrillic characters, just like mother Russia) and at the far east end, Istanbul and its' 15 million, Turkish-speaking inhabitants.

And to think, the late Congressman from Minnesota's Iron Range, Jim Oberstar, spoke EIGHT languages fluently. I admire people who apply themselves like that. Unfortunately, my life never worked that way. I'm lucky some days that I can put three coherent sentences together. But at least I'll admit it. And speak the local language, like 'I need three tickets on the train to...'

And, of course, I get a notice from the US Embassy in Ankara, reminding all that the Embassy and all other consular functions (including the Consulate office in Istanbul) are closed the entire time we are there for Turkish Victory Day (August 30) and US Labor Day (September 2).

And then, there's other, more personal details we have to get straight. Like what we, in the US call a toilet. In the UK it's a WC (water closet). In Spain? El Bano. In France, it's Le WC. I'm thinking it's a real good idea that all three of us have iPhones along. We will be wearing out translator apps quickly, especially in the Balkans.

We had a sit-down dinner last week and hashed out a lot of the little things, especially about Paris (I discussed that in the last post). Over BLT sandwiches, I'm afraid we kinda put the fear of God in the poor boy; he doesn't totally realize what he's getting into. Yet. Soon, though, he'll figure it out. He'll have to. Besides, he'll only be there a week.

Hopefully, we'll provide the best experience possible. The real fun of the week he's with us, we will be seeing Europe thru his eyes. All the history, the architecture, the societies that have developed, how the conflicts over the centuries have dramatically shaped the map of Europe, and the fortunes of mankind. All this from a train window. Or two. Or, maybe, eight.

What Obi-Wan Kenobi said to young Luke Skywalker in the original STAR WARS will hold true for our young charge on this trip: 'You've just taken your first step into a larger world.'

Planning the trip: Dotting 'I' 's, crossing 'T' 's...

For many international travelers, this is old hat. Making sure your travel insurance is in order (you better have it; your USA-based health insurance won't work well in, say, Serbia). Having the right currency, for the location(s) you'll be visiting. Visa for that far-away place? Check, times 3. Be sure the cell phone plan you have at home, can carry you thru the wilds of beautiful Downtown wherever. Obtaining new clothes, so that if you want to go out on the road, you aren't an embarrassment to yourself, your country, your religion (if you are so inclined), whatever.

And then, there's the information you need. The one piece of info you want is in one language, and that language? It's not yours. You have to use various interpretation websites (there are several), or you know enough of the language (one way or another) to interpret the info that is there and available. (Mind you, they'll come up to you later, and ask: "Where did you find THAT?" You will also have to sort out three different versions of the same info, to produce the correct info for your needs and desires.)

Our trip planning continues in earnest, as we are now under four weeks before departure day. The day that it all comes together. That the dream (well, at least mine) is realized. Or, that everything absolutely goes to hell, in the biggest fireball in the history of passenger transportation.

(Hey! I write; you decide.)

As we go on, I am like a newlywed; something old (my camera, which we unearthed in my disastrously messy den); something new (new suitcase, replacing my 15-year-old Samsonite); something borrowed (a copy of Lonely Planet's Best of France, courtesy of one of my wife's co-workers), and something blue (blue will be my predominant color on this trip).  Hopefully this will bring good luck for all of us. I believe that luck favors those who properly plan, a fact that has borne itself out over many years of travel.

As the days dwindle relatively quickly, I try to make sure that everything is set well in advance, so as to leave nothing to chance, in the final week before departure. Get everything ordered so that nothing comes in the last few days before departure. This will be a very tightly weighted trip, as once we leave home we basically have to carry-on everything, for up to three weeks. Staying close to the starting weight, will be key to any hope for a good experience. You really don't need to take everything you have ever owned when you go on vacation, especially a trip when you will be 'on the run' for most of the first week. I just hope I can communicate that to everyone else.

Time to go to Walgreens, to hit up the travel-size health and beauty supplies...See you later...