On the Plane

　　I got on board All Nippon Airway NH0209 at Narita International Airport at about noon. The runway was jammed and the plane took off after about 20 minutes' delay. After the flight changed from ascending to cruising, a variety of drinks were delivered and I chose a small bottle of white wine. I could see Inawashiro Lake in the distance, which is well known as the symbol of the birthplace of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, a medical researcher in the Meiji period. Soon after the drinks,  lunch was served. I chose the breaded chicken cutlet with cheese. The dessert was a vanilla ice cream from H?agen-Dazs. It's a feeling of supreme luxury to eat ice cream at an altitude of 10,000 meters. Even Napoleon couldn't do it! By the way, I have assumed that H?agen-Dazs is from Germany, judging from "?" of the brand name of H?agen-Dazs, but it originated from the U.S.A. I was surprised to know that.
　　When I was wondering what I should do until the arrival, like watching movies, reading guidebooks or learning German conversation and so on, the plane abruptly swerved to the right over the Sea of Japan. I didn't know why, but I was disappointed because I had expected to see Vladivostok and Harbin from the air. I remembered that there is a Russian navy base in Vladivostok.

(Vocabulary)
breaded veal cutlet  子牛のカツレツ
swerve  (ぶつからないように) (道などで)〈人・車などが〉急にわきに寄る［それる］
Vladivostok　ウラジオストク
Harbin ハルビン〔中国・黒竜江省。冬は-40℃にもなる。哈爾浜は満州語「網を干す場所」。〕

出発は２０分遅れ。滑走路混雑。寝てしまい気がついたら日光上空。猪苗代湖が見える。野口英世のふるさとだ。まずワインが出てきた。嬉しい。料理はチキンチーズカツレツを選んだ。そしてデザートがアイスクリーム。こんなサービス初めて。高度一万メートルでアイスクリームなんて秀吉でも経験していないだろうなあ(^^;) ハーゲンダッツはその文字からしてドイツなどヨーロッパだと思っていたらアメリカの会社だった。驚いた。飛行機が大きく右に舵を切った。ウラジオストクには軍港があるから上は飛べないのだろうか？