Did I mention that one of my least favorite things in the world is arriving in a foreign (to me) city after dark? But then, I could have chosen to pay about 3x as much and flown Austrian Air to avoid that kind of hassle. Instead, I had booked on Brussels Air knowing that I was going to have a plane change in Brussels. That change had almost an hour allotted. We arrived at A76 and all I had to do was wander partway down the concourse to A64. Not difficult at all.
Now just imagine. It is now after 2030. I have landed safely and head to baggage claim. The crowd is small. After about 15 minutes, everyone but me has their luggage. Ok, schlepp to the Lufthansa&friends counter to fill out paperwork. I identify my luggage. HINT: If you have a smart phone, take a picture of your luggage. It makes it oh so simple to show them what it looks like and let the nice service person pick off the list which they think it is. He tells me not to worry, there are several more flights tonight and it should come. They will have it delivered to the hotel.
Go to CAT. Having just done the above, I just missed the train for city center and have to wait for the next one. Glad it is so easy to take the non-stop direct train and then walk across the street to the hotel.
It is now 2200 and I am wiped. Chocolate is more than enough for dinner. Guest services call at 2330. My luggage has arrived and it is on the way up with staff.
Take a breath. I have now made it to the 4th. Since I am at the hotel, it is easy to go downstair and pick up my registration materials for IMED2016 before attending this morning’s EpiCore workshop. There is coffee along with pastries and croissants. I now have breakfast and lunch on hand.
The meeting is being held by PROMED and other professional organizations under the One Health umbrella. I have a chance to hear about the planned changes, increased disease identification planned as well as chat with participants from across the spectrum (environmental, scientists, medical, veterinary). The evening reception is classic for it’s kind: wine, beer, juice. Trays of tiny and extremely fancy bites of things which the staff explains. 450+ people crammed into an open upstairs lobby. I never figured out the entry point for the food. Others obviously did for with rare exception the trays were empty when they reached me (and no, while onion chutney sounds wonderful, I certainly didn’t need the thinly sliced ham…..)
Looking at the attendee’s list, I should both enjoy the meeting as well as reconnecting with colleagues.
And chocolate. Since I am stopping in NYC on the way home, I think Maus might just be expecting chocolate….
