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18:00 CET: Where I wasn’t & Where I went…

I knew far in advance that Thursday at 18:00 CET that I would be in route to the States.

The scene itself? Not so exciting

View from seat 7C, 2 hours before landing.

This is what it looks like from seat 7C on a Continental 757-200. Immediately ahead of me: infinite leg-room, as row 7 is an exit row and, depending upon the airport in question, quite possibly the boarding door. Ahead and to the right is a galley. Behind the curtain, business class with its fancy catering and lie-flat seats.

This wasn’t actually the seat I expected to sit in, nor was it the seat I checked-in to, when I checked in on-line, but I woke up Thursday morning (more like Wednesday night) and realized that there’d been an unplanned equipment change from a 767-200 when I looked at the status of the inbound flight.

This realized, I knew that my original seat was rendered as… uh… either bad or non-existent, depending how you view it, so I changed seats online to this seat.

For me it was a huge upgrade – the 757 has actual electric sockets that I can use with my computer, while the 767 has an electrical outlet that needs a special adapter—one I do not own. This mattered because I had some work to do and didn’t want my laptop battery to be completely fried by the time I got to the States.

However, for the woman in the row behind me, it was a different story: Business class only had 16 seats, a lot fewer than the 767, and so she’d been downgraded. Not sure what the entire compensation package involved, other than to say that she got three seats in a row, together, all to herself. I’m assuming some amount of cash was also involved.

Ikea, by I-25Friday at 18:00 CET, I was in Denver, with my family, visiting, of all places, Ikea.

The main reason for the visit was that I was in town and my mother, who doesn’t like to drive distances, was curious to see what Ikea was actually like. Accompanying us was my brother who doesn’t drive – and since Ikea is located fairly far south in Denver (in Centennial) and he lives in Congress Park, it is difficult for him to get out there.

Ikea Centennial is enormous – much larger than the Ikea Templehof/Schöneberg that I visit in Berlin: Two levels of underground parking, an incredibly large show-room floor, plus equally enormous other parts.

Welcome to Ikea

My mother and I each had a cinnamon roll; all three of us had cups of coffee. Amazingly, coffee is free before 11:00, and so our two cinnamon rolls cost a grand total of $1.07, including tax.

Mom was impressed by Ikea – she wasn’t actually sure what she’d expected, but it exceeded what she’d thought it would be like. She ended up buying an Octopus clothes hanger and a package of Swedish Meatballs – exactly what was on her list. She might return once she has moved house.

Union Station Print

This is Denver's Union Station, and I like the print a lot. But I cannot take it home... it's too big.

1 comment to 18:00 CET: Where I wasn’t & Where I went…

  • Prashanth

    The next time I go to an Ikea, I will be wearing sneakers and jog through. In my last two visits, I actually walked more than I purchased (which was not from the Ikea main product line anyway)!