A) How to feel poor? Hand $100 to the sharply dressed Dutch lady at the ABN Amro counter, and get €55 back - how the mighty have fallen! Self is also reeling from sticker shock: a dozen tulips (quite lovely, in the deepest blue) some €20. Don't they grow these things here by the millions?!

B) Europe Airport Modern: is there an architectural school by this name? While American airports are quite heterogeneous in the details of their style, European airports, admittedly in far fewer transits, seem to be more stylistically alike: in the layout of shopping areas and moving walkways, as well as a more sleeker signage. Oh, and the Yanks should import these super comfortable lounge chairs (in which I am lounging, here at Schipol) right away - seating sucks in most US airports.

C) Glaring in its absence here, is that ubiquitous marker of an country where the state (like Nazi Germany) has gotten to playing mind games with its citizenry, false warnings: "The Department of Homeland Security advises that the current threat level is Orange"

What kind of threat? Threat from whom? How scared should we be? That dude is wearing a t-shirt with Arabic on it. He is making me nervous. Holy cow, someone arrest him quick!

Reading Kafka on planes makes one notice these things.

D) Amateur statistics: Eye scans the passing throng, and detects a missing element: what happened to the morbidly obese in Europe?! Didn't they know WW-II is long over, and they can eat all they want. I miss me some obese folks.

Dante, Kafka, Hesse and he Will wander about in the lands Of Visigoths and Romans* for The next three weeks, in which There will be much drinking, much eating, and perhaps more reading

• some documentary evidence Of which may surface here.

• in Asterix's formulation