COPENHAGEN TO AMSTERDAM

Another short flight today, from Copenhagen to Amsterdam on KLM. By the way, for those planning on a European trip, keep in mind that they don't all use Euros. The exceptions are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and Denmark, where it is about 7 Danish Kroner to the U.S. dollar. Also keep in mind that Norway is not a member of the EU and it is nearly 11 Norwegian Kroner to the U.S. dollar. Sweden and Iceland use the Krona.

The airline lounge was okay, with hard liquor, wines and beers available in the morning. Neither our Munich nor Copenhagen hotel executive clubs, for example, offered any kind of spirits beyond wine and beer. We were the only one there for a long while.

As we approached Amsterdam, saw tulip fields.

One of the advantages of living in Scandinavia is the lack of severe natural disasters. Sure, a few hurricanes have managed to survive all the up to this far north causing some damage. Take tsunamis, for example. Only a 2% chance of a potentially-damaging tsunamis is predicted in Denmark in the next 50 years. Similarly, there is less than a 2% chance of earthquake damage in 50 years.

Compare this with Hawaii, where there is a 9% chance of a MEGA tsunami to hit in the next 50 years. What is a mega tsunami? Read this. Amazingly enough, in Honolulu there is a 2% chance of a potentially-damaging earthquake in the next 50 years, the same as Denmark.

Similarly, there is no threat from a volcanic eruption in Denmark. Europe does have Mount Etna and those volcanoes of Iceland, but the danger in Scandinavia from lava is miniscule. The same can be said for Oahu and Kauai But not the Big Island of Hawai, plus this threat remains for Maui. When it comes to eruptions, then, it depends on your location in Hawaii. Mauna Loa is the world's largest active volcano.

Thus, comparing Copenhagen with Honolulu, if you love cold weather, pick the former. If you instead want to live in Paradise, select Hawaii, especially when there isn't a major volcanic eruption, for the volcanic emission can carry all the way to Honolulu.

What about relative cost of living of Copenhagen vs Honolulu?

Consumer prices are 14.3% lower in Copenhagen.
Rent prices are 24.7% lower in Copenhagen.
Restaurant prices are 1.4% higher in Copenhagen.
Coke/Pepsi 0.33 liter bottle = $2.76 in Honolulu and $3.97 in Copenhagen.
One liter of gasoline costs $1.29 in Honolulu and $2.07 in Copenhagen.
Toyota Corolla costs 25,000 in Honolulu and $44,000 in Copenhagen.
Electricity is more expensive in Honolulu, and a typical mobile phone monthly plan costs $53.62 in Honolulu and $16.62 in Copenhagen.
Movie theater cost is higher in Copenhaen, but jeans cost haf as much in Honolulu.
The monthly average salary is about the same.

We were picked up at Schiphol Airport by a Tauck representative and taken to the Marriott Amsterdam, which doesn't look that ancient, but is supposed to be the first Marriott hotel in Europe, opening in 1975. Read about the story of Marriott. Our room view.

There are now 799 Marriott hotels in Europe, but the world portfolio has grown to 3400 properties in 68 countries. However, this article says 174 Marriott hotels across 24 countries in Europe, so one is wrong. However, this report goes on to say that we are now in the newly-renovated Amsterdam Marriott Hotel, celebrating 49 years on the continent. There is now the Midtown Grill, a New York style steakhouse, with a Cigar Club. It is the largest 5-star hotel in Amsterdam with 395 rooms.

Went for a walk, led by my Blue Bar Pigeon.

There was too much activity, with people, bicycles, motorbikes, cars and public transport modes. It is said that there are more bikes (881,000) than people (811,000) in this Amsterdam. We swiftly returned to the sanctity of the hotel. Our M Club evening cocktails and meal.

Well, in a couple of hours we board the Tauck Espirit for their tulip cruise to Brussels. More later as the tour unfolds. Here is a Tauck European river trip I took in October of 2015 from Budapest to Amsterdam, should you wish to view a somewhat similar.

Steps from Denmark to Amsterdam.

A NEXT COVID SUBVARIANT?

By now most know that the Omicron BA.5 subvariant has become the dominant infectious agent, now accounting for more than 80% of all COVID-19 cases. Very few are aware that a new one, BA.4.6, is sneaking in and steadily rising, now accounting for 13% of sequenced samples . However, as BA.4.6 has emerged from BA.4, while there is uncertainty, the scientific sense is that the latest bivalent booster targeting BA.4 and BA.5 should also be effective for this next threat. One concern is that Evusheld--the only monoclonal antibody authorized for COVID prevention in immunocompromised individuals--is not effective against BA.4.6. Here is a reference as to what this means. A series of two injections is involved. Evusheld was developed by British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, and is a t ixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab . More recently, Los Angeles County reported on subvariant BA.2.75.2 . which Tony Fauci termed suspicious and troublesome. This strain has also been spreading in

Part 3: OUR NEXT AROUND THE WORLD ODYSSEY

Before I get into my third, and final, part of this cruise series, let me start with some more newsworthy topics. Thursday was my pandemic day for years. Thus, every so often I return to bring you up to date on the latest developments. All these subvariants derived from that Omicron variant, and each quickly became dominant, with slightly different symptoms. One of these will shock you. There has been a significant decline in the lost of taste and smell. From two-thirds of early patients to now only 10-20% show these symptoms. JN.1, now the dominant subvariant, results in mostly mild symptoms. However, once JN.1 infects some, there seem to be longer-lasting symptoms. Clearly, the latest booster helps prevent contracting Covid. A competing subvariant, BA.2.86, also known as Pirola , a month ago made a run, but JN.1 prevailed. No variant in particular, but research has shown that some of you will begin to lose hair for several months. This is caused by stress more than anythi

HONOLULU TO SEATTLE

The story of the day is Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 at 145 MPH, with a track that has moved further south and the eye projected to make landfall just south of Sarasota. Good news for Tampa, which is 73 miles north. Milton will crash into Florida as a Category 4, and is huge, so a lot of problems can still be expected in Tampa Bay with storm surge. If the eye had crossed into the state just north of Tampa, the damage would have been catastrophic. Milton is a fast-moving storm, currently at 17 MPH, so as bad as the rainfall will be over Florida, again, a blessing. The eye will make landfall around 10PM EDT today, and will move into the Atlantic Ocean north of Palm Bay Thursday morning. My first trip to Seattle was in June of 1962 just after I graduated from Stanford University. Caught a bus. Was called the Century 21 Exposition . Also the Seattle World's Fair. 10 million joined me on a six-month run. My first. These are held every five years, and there have only been

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