Just got back from Ireland last night, and the pics will be edited and uploaded in due time. It was a fun 4 days and even though it can be pricey, we'd recommend Dublin to everybody (it's a compact enough city where you can comfortably see all the sights in 3 days without exerting yourself), and we got to spend some all-too-brief time with our friends from Portland.
But... the holiday ended with a deafening thud. The Dublin airport showed itself to be an overcrowded and chaotic facility that clearly hasn't kept pace with the explosive growth and popularity of the city. The connecting Frankfurt airport was its usual rabbit warren of bureaucracy, long lines and even longer distances between gates (we easily had to do a half-mile jog to get onto our homeward flight in time). And we received some disheartening news whilst in Frankfurt to top things off: The apartment flooded. Again. For the second time in 6 weeks. But this time there was nobody there to bail the water.
We came home looking much like Batman's Chief O'Hara in the picture. Standing water everywhere, our nice oriental wool carpets destroyed, living & dining room furniture ruined or severely damaged, and some of our electronics took the hit too. We spent the better part of the early AM trying to clean up, and I'm taking a break from wet-vacuuming right now. B has been working the phones with her company's HR/relocation team, the insurance company, our building super and the actual property owners (all of whom are engaging in a game of finger pointing and responsibility-dodging). Due to the vagaries of the German laws and the contracts and agreements we did (and did not) sign, it is entirely conceivable that the costs of reparing all of this damage-- ALL OF IT will come out of our pocket, but it's too early to tell, and this process will no doubt drag on for a long, long time.
Um, could we go back to Ireland? It was nice there.
Stay tuned...
1 comment:
I suppose they do speak some certain form of English there in Ireland, much to the ire of the English, I imagine. A respite from the Germanish for a week. Sorry to hear of the flooding. I have my own story on that front. The best of it culminating with a 400lb, heavy-breathing and easily frustrated roto-rooter guy. But that's another story.
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