I am very, very happy with the local beer.

Note to long-haired Americans traveling to Europe: bring your own conditioner. Seriously. In the US, it’s common to expect shampoo, body wash, and conditioner in every hotel room, so I typically don’t pack them (I am not very high maintenance and like to pack light, so I will happily use what’s provided in the room). You cannot expect to find conditioner in hotels throughout Europe; in fact, you can expect not to find it. Packing a small container of conditioner is very high on my priority list ever since I spent a very painful conference week, years ago, trying to comb my hair in the shower without it.

Do pack band-aids. I have already had to use two. Bare elbows and bare feet, when combined with heat, result in scraped skin. Ouch!

On the plane yesterday afternoon, I was silently cracking up as one of the flight attendants kept talking about “ground stuff.” I am sure he meant ground staff, as in ground crew (it had to do with some teens flying solo and being very upset about their luggage being left behind), and I swear he must have said “ground stuff” 15 times. I kept envisioning hamburger meat handling people’s luggage, and it cheered me up to no end.

On the same flight, I stared reading “Running with Scissors.” It was hilarious and terrifying, I could not put it down. So I stayed up till 3 am to finish it and,  just like that, I screwed up my flimsy post-jet-lag quasi-equilibrium, and have been groggy all day today.

I met up with my former PhD advisor and we had a great dinner. Great beer, great food, and great conversation. He is getting quite old, so it’s nice to be able to hang out while he still travels (admittedly, he has the travel stamina of a much younger person).

I Skyped with two of my students, it was very productive.

I miss my kids.