We're here! Specifically, in Brussels. We have a few hours until the first meeting, which is nice - time to decompress, sleep (if possible), etc. The flight was uneventful, but I looked out the window as we were coming in and had the thought: that's Europe. Wow. International air travel is kinda amazing when you think about it; last night the sun set for me over DC, and this morning it rose over Brussels, a short night's sleep later.

My schedule the next 23 days will be kinda nutty. There are 15 of us traveling together, from all over the US. So far it seems like a great crew - really interesting mix of backgrounds, geography, etc. We will be together in Brussels, then split up and travel somewhat separately for three stops, then group back together in Paris. It's 5/city in the three middle areas, but not always the same 5 - so I'll be w/ almost no one the entire time, but will get a chance to know many of the group at least for a few cities. My itinerary is one of the more aggressive in terms of number of cities visited/days. My cities look like this: Brussels - Copenhagen - Ankara - Istanbul - Krakow - Warsaw - Paris. Copenhagen's the longest stay, at around 5 days, I think. The Turkish and Polish cities are ~2 days/city, which seems crazy, but should offer tremendous contrast. I'm particularly excited, for that reason, about the Copenhagen - Ankara trip; the two, from my imaginings, seem about as far apart as possible in nearly all ways. I'll see soon!

Off to find some Euros and a bakery for some breakfast.