It’s the day before the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Tomorrow morning at 6:40 am, I’m boarding a plane that will take me to Pisa, Italy. I wonder if it’s more or less safe to fly on 9/11 than on another date…

By the way, this is not a trip for fun: In Germany it’s customary for students in their last year of the Gymnasium to take a study trip to another European country, and I’m going to chaperone them, together with another colleague who planned the trip. We’re flying to and from Pisa, but are going to stay in a smaller town on the coast, Viareggio, and are going to do some day trips from there by train. We are going to visit Florence (Firenze) and Lucca, and possibly other towns.

Thirteen years ago, I went on a study trip to Tuscany (Toscana) myself, and I’m looking very much forward to seeing some of the sights and cities again that I visited then. I’m sure that this trip is going to be somewhat stressful – after all, we have to look after a good two dozen students -, but I hope that it’s also going to be fun and exciting.

I’ll be back on Saturday afternoon.