So this is my first blog after arriving in Europe. I am currently sitting at the DIS Center in Copenhagen, Denmark while Alex is off at a meeting with one of his professors. I have been here for a few days and I have really enjoyed myself. I will definitely write more about what I have done in Copenhagen, but I have to recap my flight(s) over here.
I had to drive to Chicago in order to catch my flight because most of my flight options would have taken me there any way and this way I wouldn't have to worry with any connections. The drive there wasn't too bad. My parents got frustrated with each other because they were trying to take directions from both the GPS and the Map Quest directions my mom had printed off. I finally just said they had to pick one to listen to. As we were driving, there was a police car that passed us that was followed by three or four big, black SUVs with very dark windows, then a van/truck of some sort, and another police car. We were convinced that it was Barack Obama on his way to the airport since he had been in Chicago for the weekend. I have to say, it was pretty cool.
Once we got to the airport, a little more frustration arose in the car because we were having major troubles figuring out where to park. Once we did it was better, but those ten minutes were not enjoyable. It took forever to check in because there were two different groups of Asians that were over the weight limit and were trying to repack right there. Both of them had bought a large supply of items, such as lotion and vitamins, that are more expensive in Asia. It was very frustrating having to stand there and wait on them. Plus it didn't help that there were only three lines open that then decreased to two, but had the option of having around fifteen to twenty people working. Stupid airlines! Once I got up there, it took about five minutes to check in and my bags were 32 and 42 pounds respectively.
Saying good-bye was not pleasant. I realized that after a while we were just going to have to get it over with. There was no point in sitting there any longer so after a teary good-bye, I went up the escalator and never looked back.
My flight wasn't full and I regret not switching seats. I could have gotten a roomier seat with more leg room had I just moved across the isle, but I decided I could manage. I was poorly mistaken. I was extremely sore during the flight after my first attempt at sleeping. My knees have never hurt so much. The upside was that I got to watch The Secret Lives of Bees, part of The Dutchess, and Nights in Rodanthe. The flight was pleasant and besides the lack of leg room there really wasn't much to complain about.
I arrived in Frankfurt at 5:45am. I had to go through customs and the guy ended up asking me a lot of questions. He asked me where my final destination was (I said Frankfurt), how long was I going to be there (1 day, then I am going to Copenhagen), and what was in Copenhagen (a friend). When he was done asking he just smiled and said Cheers!
Then I had to go and rangle my luggage. I was lucky enough to have a cart so I didn't have to try to lug them around on my own, but I had a very hard time finding an elevator. Once I found one, I just sat around until about 9 to check in for my next flight. I did discover a sex shop in the airport that had a woman seductively eating a strawberry on the outside and then a sheet covering the door. When I saw two older men walk in I was a little grossed out.
Sadly I had to pay 110 Euros because my bags were overweight. This I knew going in and I knew I couldn't avoid because I had all of my things with me. I just had to suck it up and pay it and I'm going to have to pay it again when I go to Berlin. The flight there was extremely horrific. The flight wasn't full, which was nice, but it wasn't the smoothest. As we were ascending, all of a sudden the plane got really quiet and it sounded like the engines just shut off. We then felt like we were falling, people were talking and sounded nervous, I was waiting for the air masks to drop down and screaming in my head "Oh my god I am going to die and I'm going to die alone!" Luckily, about a minute or two later things went back to normal and we just continued on.
Once I got to Copenhagen I had to get my luggage again and then figure out how to get on the train. I had to get to the central station and that was easy enough to buy my ticket and find the platform. Unfortunately the trains weren't labeled that well so I wasn't sure if I was getting on the right train. Trying to get on the train was extremely difficult with my bags and no one was about to help me. I looked like a complete fool as they fell down and I didn't know how to get the automatic doors open to the seating compartments. I just stayed close to the door and asked someone if I was on the right train. Getting off the train was another ordeal because my bags fell again and then I almost tripped over one and I was trying to avoid the three people that were just standing there on the platform looking at me. It was horrible.
Then I sat in the McDonald's for about an hour and a half, listening to old 90s music and writing in my journal. I didn't eat anything because it was actually really expensive. I did see that instead of fries, you can get carrots as your side. They also had things called Chili Cheese Poppers and some kind of chicken sandwich with cheese. I was also amazed by how busy it constantly was. It was never empty and the line was always to the door.
I finally got picked up by Adam, one of Alex's friends, and he walked me to DIS. Once Alex was done with class, I would say my trip really began!
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