Lounging around

On our way to Paris, we transited in the beer capital of Europe. I was expecting an abundance of beer. I wasn't entirely disappointed, for I there was a bar which served German beer, and a shop which sold all manner of Münchner paraphenalia, including traditional German biersteinen.

A vending machine in the men's toilet sold the hope or fantasy of a mile high experience, or perhaps just a way to while away a few hours in the transit lounge.

"Travel Pussy – die künstliche vagina"

Then there was the "Private Shop" in the transit lounge, a "beauty shop" in the domestic depatures terminal owned by the same chain. Of course, these may or may not give an insight into the Germanic psyche, or they could be just a sign of my failing memory. I was in Munich back in 1996, and I am pretty certain these things would have attracted my attention back then.

Another curiosity I saw, Camel and Winston (R.J. Reynolds) had commissioned 'smoke lounges' at its transit lounge. I had never seen this before, probably because I have not been in Europe for a few years. This may be a sign of a supply side measures to boost the tobacco industry since the widespread banning of smoking. The concept fits in well with my libertarian principles. Although I despise cigarette smoke, there was little odour from the noxious fumes from these hermetically sealed chambers.

Scary typhoon

Tropical cyclones were much scarier when I was a child – feeling the strong winds battering and shaking windows, seeing the unsecurely fixed objects flying through the air in those days. Thanks to regulations and better building, these are almost a thing of the past, and I actually feel a lot safer.

Although Typhoon Molave threatened Hong Kong on 19 July, it wasn't the strong winds or possible physical damage which frightened me. The prospect of having to delay our holidays, on the other hand, was alarming. We had visitors in town in the form of the human swine flu. School has been out since 12 June because of it, and kids have been going wild with cabin fever, so our long anticipated European holiday was much needed on that front.

It was touch and go: Typhoon Molave set on collision course with Hong Kong. The Observatory predicted it would be on top of the city at 2 a.m. Our flight was scheduled for 23:40. We checked in in good time, and it was nail-biting until the moment LH731 took off. I'm glad to be escaping these 30°+ temperatures.