Traveling

I am speaking at Devoxx Morocco in October, the first time I’ll travel to Africa. When I spoke at Devoxx UK earlier this spring, my wife came with, but she’s not coming to Morocco: our daughter is due to deliver (her first girl after three boys), plus just a bit uncomfortable not knowing what to expect in Morocco. Perhaps next year, assuming a successful and uneventful trip for me.

My modus operandi on work-related trips is to add some personal travel – I’m already overseas, so what the fuck. I’m a history nut, especially post-French Revolution European history, and have always to drive through northewest Poland, formerly West Prussia.

While researching flight options I discovered that a single ticket was dramatically more expensive than individual tickets: a single ticket from home (St. Paul, MN) to Agadir, Morocco (conference) and back was over twice as expensive on a single ticket. Even Google Travel, the universally-acknowledged leader in finding the best options, didn’t suggest separate tickets.

In the end, I have five separate tickets – one round-trip to Europe and four tickets to get me to/from Morocco and to Berlin – saving me roughly 50% over what a single ticket would be.

Travel Is A Many-Splendored Thing

So what follows is the planned travel over 12 days in October. I’ll be shocked if everything goes according to plan …

Leg 1: MSP (Minneapolis/Saint Paul Airport) to CDG (Paris Charles de Gaulle)

MSP is my hometown airport and the starting point for this trip. Until roughly ten years ago getting to Paris required connecting through Cincinnati, New York City, or Reykjavik. Fortunately, Delta and (seasonly) Air France now flies non-stop, likely making this the least stressful part of the entire trip. Added bonus: MSP is only 20 minutes from my house.

Leg 2: CDG to ORY (Paris Orly)

Orly has more and better options than CDG for flights to Morocco and is the only option without spending a night in Paris; as much as enjoy Paris, my timelines are tight and Casablanca seemed more appealing (at least this time). Plus my wife said I can’t spend time in Paris without her!

My flight into CDG arrives early morning, the flight leaves ORL late afternoon, which gives me approximately 8 hours to clear immigrations and customs and make my way to ORL. I’d prefer taking the RER B, but any delays arriving at CDG may require taking a cab.

Leg 3: ORL to CMN (Casablanca Mohammed V Airport)

The flight to CMN itself should be easy, the real question is Royal Air Maroc: I have never flown them and have no idea how comfortable the flight will be. Perhaps larger concern is sleep: did I sleep on the flight from MSP (unlikely) or nap getting to ORY (likely). Regardless, it’s going to be a long day.

Ground transportation is already arranged, hopefully gets me to the hotel and into bed quickly and easily. I’ll have one full day on the ground, already have my ticket to the Grand Mosque as multiple people said it’s a must-do.

Leg 4: CMN to AGA (Agadir–Al Massira Airport)

The conference is in Agadir, so a quick hop from CMN to AGA.

Ground transport from airport to hotel has been arranged by the conference, so again hoping for uneventful transfer.

Leg 5: AGA to ORY

After three nights in Agadir, speaking and attending the conference, it’s back to Paris. The flight time surprises me, as the two flights getting me to Agadir only totaled four hours.

Leg 6: ORY to CDG

The plans have me arriving in ORY late evening and departing CDG extremely early the following morning, so I will be spending one night at a cheap-ish airport hotel. The turnaround time between flights is minimal so won’t waste time/energy navigating pubic transportation, definitely cabbing it between airports.

Leg 7: CDG to BER (Berlin Brandenburg Airport)

Lack of sleep aside, hopefully a quick and uneventful flight to Berlin. I’m somewhat excited to be flying into BER, the new Berlin airport; my previous flights were in/out of TLX (Berlin Tegel Airport). However, any exploration will happen when I’m leaving.

[And when your travel takes you to Berlin, definitely visit Templehof: the old runways and grounds are now a public park – or at least were on my previous visit – it’s surreal to walk on what was a working runway. The terminal building itself is gorgeous, tours are given but I’ve not had the opportunity.]

Leg 8: BER to Poznań

Previously German Posen, Poznań became Polish after Stalin pushed the Poland borders west to the Oder River. I’ll drive right from the airport to Poznań and cram whatever I can into one afternoon and evening, as I’m only staying one night there.

Leg 9: Poznań to Gdańsk

Leg 10: Gdańsk to Świnoujście to Peenemünde to BER

The last day on the ground is probably way too optimistic, but I’ll try. Ideally I’ll drive along the Baltic Sea coast which likely requires local roads through smaller, rural towns. Peenemünde is the stretch goal: it’s where the V2 rockets were launched during WWII, and its technical museum appears interesting. Perhaps I can get on the road early enough to pull this day off.

I need to drop off the rental car by end-of-day and check into my hotel room at the airport. If exhaustion hasn’t overtaken me yet, I’ll head into central Berlin for a bit …. not promising anything, however.

Leg 11: BER to AMS (Amsterdam Airport Schipol)

Unfortunately, no airlines flies direct from BER to MSP, so instead a quick hop to AMS, one of my favorite airports. Fortunately, the flight is an afternoon flight, so I should be able to get some decent sleep.

Leg 12: AMS to MSP

After a reasonable layover, I’ll hop onto the final, end-of-trip flight, non-stop from AMS to MSP, from where my wife will ferry me home and tuck me into bed.

Reflection

It could be a wonderful trip; it could be a disaster. I wasn’t hopefully after the earthquake, but the conference coordinator said that things were basically back to normal after a few days; in fact, the International Monetary Fund is (surprisingly) still holding their annual meeting in Marrakesh the same week as Devoxx Morocco.

Wish me luck!