Have you ever been to Iceland? (Or Jet-Lagged Musings)

Technically, yes. Practically, no. I took Iceland Air to get back to Rotterdam at the end of this lovely break in Maine. It was quite interesting actually, because instead of flying through Zurich or Frankfurt as I have before, I was able to book a flight through Iceland that saved me some time. When we flew home in December, it took 1 hour to get to Zurich from Amsterdam and then 7 hours and 45 minutes to get from Zurich to Boston. This time I flew from Boston to Reykjavik... 4.5 hours, and then from Reykjavik to Amsterdam in 3 hours. Pretty sweet!

Two complaints. For the longer leg we were on a 737, which is one of the smaller planes with three seats on each side of a single aisle. I am used to flying on much larger aircrafts for the longer part of the trip, so it was rather claustrophobic for me. I am not usually afraid to fly, but I was pretty nervous before we took off. Once I settled in, though, it was fine. Second complaint- you have to pay for everything- food, headphones, booze. Swiss Air provided us with meals, snacks, and free drinks... not so much on Iceland Air. I didn't have any headphones so I bought some but skipped the food. I couldn't imagine paying extra for airplane food. For the price of my flight, though, I really can't complain about much. The flights were smooth and on time and I felt pretty safe flying into Iceland at 6:30 on a Saturday morning.

It's good to be back! One more day to relax and rest up before work on Monday. Next time I take Iceland Air I'm definitely going to take advantage of their stop-overs. You can book a stop over for a day or two there for no extra cost on your ticket, so I would really like to visit Iceland! Maybe in the summer when the weather is a bit nicer and there is more light. The name is deceptive, though. Iceland is really quite temperate and rather green. There was no snow there, and there was snow here in the Netherlands when we landed. Go figure.

Where is the music?

One of the best things about being home has been playing music. I left my upright bass with my parents, so I've been able to take it out and jam with a bunch of fine Portland musicians. It has been great! So, my question is, where is the music in the Netherlands? I find it very difficult to believe that no one plays. Just because there isn't a bar-music culture does not mean that there are no musicians. How can I get hooked up? I want to play!!!

We've been to a few clubs in Rotterdam, including Dizzy's and the Doelen Cafe to hear some music and for Bob to play in some jazz sessions, but I still feel like there is more going on than we know about. Ah, to network in a foreign country. Any ideas? I would love to figure it out. It's my New Year's resolution! Oh, that and join a choir. Working on that as well.