The friendly skies

Lest anyone think our trip to Vanuatu is nothing but a boondoggle, this is what we have to look forward to in terms of getting there:

Friday morning: Train from Basel to Zurich
Friday afternoon: Overnight flight from Zurich to Singapore
Saturday: Fly all day Singapore to Brisbane, Australia
Saturday night: Stay overnight in Brisbane
Sunday: Fly from Brisbane to Vanuatu
Monday-Wednesday: Give presentations (2 days of flying for 3 days of meetings--ugh!) while Gretchen tries to find where Survivor: Vanuatu was filmed (we're staying on the same island)
Thursday: Fly Vanuatu to Sydney
Thursday night: Stay overnight in Sydney (visit friends Jen and Jonathan and their new baby Quentin!)
Friday: Fly Sydney to Singapore, then another flight to Langkawi

At this point we stop complaining and enjoy a week of what we hope will be sheer bliss, followed by...

Friday: Fly Langkawi to Singapore
Friday-Saturday: Spend the weekend visiting with our friends Tracey, Sean, and their kids (who just moved to Singapore).
Sunday: Red-eye flight from Singapore to Zurich
Monday morning: Train from Zurich to Basel

So, that's 8 flights and 2 train rides in 2 weeks--but it should be a great adventure and we're really looking forward to it. Things will probably be even slower than usual around here, though...