Allergy sufferers unite!

The trade-off for the nice spring-like weather is that I'm sniffly with a low grade headache all day. Fellow bloggers, I see your lovely photos of your early sprouting flowers, but I could deal with a little less of that and a little more of the cold, white, heavy, white stuff instead. ;-)

However, during my recent travel for planning for Innsbruck, I came across Kuetai, which is in the Innsbruck region. It is selling itself as a summer destination for allergy sufferers, due to its high altitude, thereby offering an escape from pollen in these months. Here is their English page on the topic, where they beckon me to come for 'an allergy vacation.'

Let the summer holiday planning commence...

jet lag plus-->better than traditional jet lag

So I'm sitting on the plane back to DE, at about two hours from CGN enjoying my exit row in cattle class, and I start sneezing. The guy behind me starts to sneeze also. I have no reason as to why this would be, and the first thought that comes into my head is that I am catching a cold from the cold air due to the exit door. I then banished that German thought immediately and pondered if it was the recycled air, and something had worked its way in, like perfume.

However, my nose starts to run watery, and it's excessive. Fortunately I insist on putting every napkin given to me during the trip in my pocket so I used them in lieu of tissues. On the flip side, I end of cursing the wadded up unused napkins in my bag every time I go somewhere thinking, why do I bring these things along? I sit there thinking--there is no way this is my June allergies invading-we're above the clouds using stale plane air.

Upon arriving at CGN and waiting for the bag, all was fine. I go out and find the car and head out with the window down and I'm beginning to get stuffed up. I try my tried and true test to see if something is a Germany flower allergy for me--I put on the AC with the windows up. Sure enough it stops.

I get up to the tiny town of B. and get out of the car and it gets worse again. After a brief three hour nap (yes, it's my secret weapon to get through the day, with the caveat being to make it no more than three hours), I wake up and it's worse.

You.have.got.to.be.f'ing.kidding.me.

I get wicked allergies in DE each year around June, but I think because I've been away this has just hit me like a ton of bricks. So my next move was to dump the stash of US drugs from the closet that are lovingly squirreled away for such the occasion. And then to mutter some choice expletives and I realized that a few of them 'may cause drowsiness'. I'm currently treading water in the sea of drowsiness, so I really don't need anymore help in that area.

I'm currently partaking in 'Tylenol Severe Allergy' as its sunshiny yellow box does not contain anything about drowsy. It's a new one in my line-up, so we'll see if it will be a returning one.