On the road: Arrival in LA

After a 13-hour flight we land in LA. 
The family is getting used to long-distance flights.

My trick: don’t watch the clock, put all your handbags in the overhead compartments and only take out the stuff you really need – then you can use what little space you have for your legs. (I prefer aisle seats so I can get up without bothering people all the time.)
 

To get to the car rental office you have to take the shuttle bus of your particular car rental company. It’s a 10-minute ride, and the bus driver is very friendly – like all Americans – and helps us carry our luggage.

Germans – especially northern ones – are very critical of the supposedly superficial friendliness of the Americans – they claim the kindness is not genuine. I personally prefer an artificial politeness to the kind of genuine unfriendliness you’re likely to experience in Berlin. I frankly couldn’t care less whether the foundations of true friendship are being forged while I’m parking, shopping, waiting in line or handling other everyday errands.

We are staying with a friend in the Hollywood Hills. Navigating the narrow streets leading up to the house is difficult in our FULL SIZE SUV (this thing is just huge – more of a bus than a car, really). The cars might be getting bigger, but the streets remain the same…

more to come

best Mrs. Trip