Emeryville travelogue

I’m once again writing a travelogue early in the morning in a shady Californian hotel room, jetlagged and drowsy. Fortunately, I was able to get a full night’s sleep waking up only once (at two :).

Check-in and security check were hassle-free, as usual in Helsinki. Maybe other airports should check how things are done here in the north. Helsinki-Vantaa airport has been again selected as the best airport in the world in it’s class (based on the size) and the second best in the Europe on all classes. The prize is based on the customer satisfaction survey.

I spent a few minutes shopping, found one book about art and kitcsh and something to nibble on the plane. The rest of the time was spent in the Internet — full wlan coverage on the whole airport is a nice thing indeed.

The flying itself was okay. Either I’m getting used to the airline’s bad service or they are improving it little by little. The first leg was easy, as it takes only two and half hours from Helsinki to Frankfurt and the plane was only half-full (I’m optimist, you see — the internal engineer in me would say that the plane was twice too big).

I was amazed to found out that the middle seat is wider than the aisle and window seats. Fortunately my side of the row was empty, so I could select the best seat and spread my stuff around me.

Frankfurt airport is always an experience, albeit not a pleasant one. I had to queue for ten minutes for the transit desk to find out the gate for my connecting flight. I had almost three hours to spend, so I decided to hunt a fast-food joint.

In Europe, there are virtually no McDonald’s or Burger King in the departure area; London Heathrow terminal 1 is an exception. The airports are extremely keen to keep them out to keep the restaurant prices up and suck all the money a poor traveller may have. Airlines are in the conspiracy as they serve lousy food…

Ahem, getting back to the subject. I exited the international area and walked towards the railway station — these usually have at least one fast-food restaurant. After asking advice and trying to understand the heavy accent and every second word in German, I got the picture and find a McDonald’s at the floor zero between the airport and the railway station.

After a delicious meal (yeah, right) I walked back to the departure area. The signs in the airport are not the clearest ones, so I almost lost my hope to find the departure hall C in the departure hall B. Luckily I just decided to walk straight and there it was.

Security control was quite efficient this time. Not that fast as in Helsinki, but still ok. This time I wasn’t asked to remove shoes. Most of Americans in front of me took them off without being asked. You seem to learn to obey in the land of the free.

My stash of gadgets did not cause any troubles, either. The laptop had to be removed from the bag — I don’t understand this either. Are they using old machines to x-ray the bags, having incompetent staff or is this just a custom? I haven’t ever requested to remove anything from the bags in Finland.

The terminal C is a real dump. One shop and couple bars. Nothing else. I ventured to the gate and being one and half hour early, continued to read Herzog by Saul Bellow (excellent read by the way).

Suddenly, everybody was asked to leave the gate to check the passports. I grabbed my belongings and went at the end of the newly formed queue. After queuing ten minutes, my passport was checked and as it didn’t have a magic sticker at the back, I was asked to go to another queue to answer a few questions.

So, I queued in the next (or should I say the previous?) queue and with right answers (yes, I have packed it by myself; yes, it has been with me all the time; no, nobody gave anything; and so forth) I won the sticker. On to the next queue, to get a boarding pass. I had one, but maybe it was void? This took ages, the clerk was so slow in his motions that I started to get frustrated. Finally, he gave the boarding pass to the family in front of me and I could get mine.

After the next queue, I was asked that whether I bought something from the airport (hello, do they sell something dangerous?) and the sticker was checked.

I had ensured that I have a good seat in the plane. It was located at the back where there are only two seats on the sides. The seat next to me was empty, but unfortunately the guy on the other side of the aisle sat there. Next time I’ll be more careful to spread my stuff, if the seat appears to be vacant.

I spent most of the time reading. I finished Herzog and read two other books. I had worked like a dog during the weekend and Monday to get everything ready, so there were no computer business to do. And the United airplane didn’t have wLAN, so I really couldn’t handle my emails (spent an hour today with them already).

The first meal was decent and the second one a real disaster. White bread that tasted sweet with processed turkey sausage. One bite was enough.

The plane was on time in SFO. The immigration formalities were fast and I found my suitcase without problems. Then BART to MacArthur station in East Bay and taxi to the hotel.

The hotel is a disappointment; my room is facing the parking lot and a busy highway. There is only one window, so the noise is distracting. I tried to change the room, but hotel was fully booked. Have to try again today.

I visited Emeryville, a highway junction with 7,000 people and found a couple big shopping centers and a Taco Bell joint for quick eat before crashing to the bed. I also lost my keycard during the journey and all kinds of black thoughts raced through my brains on my way back to the hotel: someone has went to the room and nicked everything that I have with me. Fortunately that wasn’t the case and the new key didn’t cost anything (I haven’t seen the bill yet, though).

I was so tired that I slept instantly and woke once. I spent half an hour awake and then continued to sleep for three hours, to wake up at five. After that I’ve spent my time reading my emails and writing this travelogue.

Now, it’s time for a hot shower.