In Malta

Well, we've made it.

We had a delightful journey of flights to get to Malta. We were able to schedule an extra long round-about way of getting here... for no extra cost. Went from Frankfurt to Rome to Milan to Malta. Three flights. And Thomas was an angel. Very well behaved. An excellent flier. This was his first air journey on the outside (having previously flown, but been on the inside, and not really able to see what's going on.)

We flew on Alitalia. The flights themselves weren't bad - very comfortable and excellent service. However... (you knew that was coming) there were some snags. I'm glad we arrived at the airport super early. It took over an hour for our tickets to be processed - and we were the first in line. In process of the flight, our stroller was broken (not inoperable, but the activity tray and cupholder are presumably lying in a corner of an airport baggage area somewhere). And finally, when arriving in Malta... not all of our bags came with us. E's bag is nowhere to be found. We're discovering a whole new level of creative bureaucracy trying to resolve it.

There's an online bag tracker... neat tool. Let's me see from the hotel room that the bag is missing. I have FIVE phone numbers to call to check on progress. I'm glad Malta's no larger than it is... can't imagine how many numbers it'd be then.

And perhaps a more telling indicator? When we first filed the claim, we were handed a toiletry bag, "courtesy of Alitalia", that is stamped with their logo. Out of the way place like Malta, and they have a ready supply of these for folks who lose their luggage. Sigh. Not a good sign.

As for Malta, it's a quaint little island. The sea surrounding it is a brilliant blue.

How to describe it so far? Well... it reminds me a lot of India, but by the water. It's a small island, only about 14 x 24 km. The buildings, in fact most of the island, looks like it's "under renovation". The language here is diverse. There's no real "Maltese" language... just a fluid mix of English, Arabic, German, Italian, and French. The locals move in between the languages with ease, often in the same sentence. It is interesting to listen to.

It's very quiet and peaceful here... just perfect to escape to. I don't think I could get much farther from the rest of the world than here and still be connected to it...