The Journey - 1st blog from Germany

So do you want the long version or the short. Short version is that it took me 6 days to get to Germany but I am finally here. For the long version continue on or else skip to the red writing.

So to begin my flight was scheduled to leave Sunday, 18th January at 8am. I was not able to get on the flight to Atlanta because it was full (I had a stand-by ticket). Little did I know that the valley had thousands of extra visitors for the NFC championship game, P.F. Chang's Rock and Roll marathon, and Barrett-Jackson car show. Not to mention people leaving AZ for the inauguration in D.C. I tried for a 1:30pm flight but it was overbooked so I definitely didn't get on the flight. So I then called my sister to pick me up and decided to try again. What's one more day eh? Monday came, no available flight. I then tried for a flight at 1am Tuesday. Yep, that one was full because so many other people had been bumped from previous flights the last 2 days they filled up the supposedly 'empty' red eye flight. Well, the next flight to Atlanta was 6 am so I decided instead of having Heather bring me back in just a few hours that I would wait. We did go to Denny's and had some delicious pancakes and then we slept in the car (or at least closed our eyes) until 4am. Luckily I did make that flight because it was time to get somewhere. I thought I was on my way. Yipee!!


I hadn't even mentioned yet that during my days in the airport, my luggage had traveled across the U.S. I guess just like me they wanted to go to New York. I don't know why my luggage got special treatment but I certainly wanted to know the secret. Needless to say the workers where supposed to NOT load my luggage UNTIL I boarded an airplane. Well, someone must have misread the bright green tag that read "stand-by baggage" and loaded it on the first flight I tried to get on. Then since my next flight was going to go to New York, they sent my luggage from Atlanta to New York. Yeah, it kind of made me nervous not able to see my luggage. And luckily I had packed some extra clothes in my carry-on. Now we continue on with the rest of the story...


So I finally made it to Atlanta. My flight landed about 15 minutes before the inauguration so I headed to my next gate even though my connecting flight was 5 hours away. I got there and pretty much the whole airport paused for the inauguration. It was kind of cool to be there in the South for the 'momentous' occasion of the first black-president. Anyways, after that I needed to check on my luggage because I didn't want to it to not make it to Frankfurt. Well, short story-I spent the next 2 hours trying to track down my luggage which had not been sent back to Atlanta from New York even though it had been requested 24 hours earlier. I then was not able to make the flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt because I could not leave the USA without them and they could not fly from New York to Frankfurt without me. Yep, once again I was left in an airport with no flight out. Luckily my cousins live in Atlanta so I spent the next 2 days with them. What's that? 2 days you say? Oh yeah! The next day we tried for a flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt once my luggage was in but that flight was cancelled due to mechanics. (Glad to know they DO check the planes right?) So yet again I was delayed another day. - side note again, thinking that I was definitely getting on this flight because there were a lot of open seats I had put my shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, and stuff in my checked luggage. - Thursday I spent the morning hanging out with my wife's cousin Kelli, who is awesome may I just say, and we went to a chinese restaurant. I'm thinking I should have eaten Chinese a few days earlier so I could have gotten a furtune cookie before this. But I did not just receive one fortune, I received four! At this point in time, I definitely was in need of 4+ fortunes! My favorite, which gave me hope, read "Keep up the good work. You will soon be rewarded." I took this as a good sign that my flight that was 2 hours away would get me to were I needed to go. And as luck would have it, I did!! Wahoo! Let me tell you it was so great to get in the air again.


The flight over here was fine and wonderful. First class was an exciting experience!! Definitely paid off all the hectic stuff I had been through the last few days. Even though I was able to lay down all the way, on a full stomach I really didn't sleep much. I wasn't really tired because it was 2pm to me but I think I got enough rest that it helped me push through the next 24+ hours of having to stay awake to beat jetlag. I got to watch new release movies for free, first course was hummus stuff and it didn't look appetizing so I didn't touch it, soup, and spinach salad. The soup was pretty spicy. The first bite I was coughing because it was so spicy. Hopefully no one saw my reaction because they probably thought I didn't like it but I did. I didn't have anyone next to me so that was nice too. For the 'main' course I ate sun-dried tomatoes w/ravioli. It was delicious! But I was pretty full so I only ate half of it. Then came dessert-oh wait, it never came!! Mark and Mike (my cousins who are pilots) told me to definitely try the ice cream sundae so I was going to go for it. I didn't want the fruit and the lady took my order for the sundae but she never gave me any!! I kept waiting and saw that no one was eating it either so I didn't think of it much until they stopped walking the aisles. I was bummed! Oh well, less calories right?!


Next was customs after landing. When I was going threw customs, the guy checking my passport kind of gave me a hard time since I didn't have a visa. So that definitely scares me for my return because one dude on base said that you have to leave the EU (Europe) area in order for it to count not part of your 90 days. So hope that I can reenter the U.S. with no prob cause Italy is not going to solve my problem like I thought it would. Going to the UK might though, we will just have to wait and see. (If not then NAU is in trouble because they advised me not to get a visa eventhough I am going to be over 90 days!)

My bags were the first on the baggage claim carousel so that was a relief to stop worrying about whether they were there or not. I also think everything arrived safely. I was afraid that some of my clothes had fallen out when my luggage ripped but it all looks good. --Whao! I forgot to add this to the list but when my luggage returned from New York, my brand-new luggage had ripped all along the top seam on one of my pieces. Luckily the airline had extras on hand to replace it.

My next problem was finding the train station!! Seriously I had to go up a floor, walk 100 feet, catch shuttle, go back down, walk 100 feet, go up, go down, get ticket, go down, and then get on the train. Let me say that with stairs/escalators or whatever it is not fun with all the luggage I had. My last down to the train only was escalator and I couldn't take the luggage cart so this indian guy who also had lots of luggage, just grabbed my carryon (which had me laptop bag tied on) and just sent it down the escalator. Well, needless to say I am glad my laptop is still in one piece because from it 'falling' down the escalator I was afraid it might have broke. All I'll say is that they need elevators and little lift door things (like what they have an handicap vans) to lift people with heavy luggage onto the train. My shoulder is a little out today. I think from lifting my bags hundreds of times. I had to get on and off 3 trains, 1 bus, and then 2 cars yesterday. (The 2 cars were Mr. Young, who picked me up at the station, and then Ms. Deatherage when we came home.) There were a lot of gentlemen who helped me (which I was nervous about) but I am glad they were nice, honest people who helped me and didn't rob me cause they just smiled at me while they grabbed my luggage. It was just scary when people kept reaching for my luggage to help because I just wasn't sure what they were going to do. :)

I was able to meet some of the teachers at the school once I FINALLY arrived at Ansbach. The teachers are really nice. I will have to re-introduce myself to them on Monday because when I met them yesterday I looked horrid!! I have proof because its on my base id!! So much for dates! I will now be know as the ugly-traveling-student-teacher on base! Oh, yeah, I had to get my id asap I guess. It was raining/snowing when I got here and after standing at bus/train stations over and over my hair did its wacky curly thing. And I didn't have makeup on AND I hadn't brushed my teeth for 48 hours because I had put my hygeine stuff in my big luggage once it got back from New York not expecting the flight to be cancelled. AND I had worn my black undershirt for 4 days without washing it but it was the only thing I had AND I was lacking in sleep! (I know TMI right but there was nothing I could do with no luggage for 5 days!) After I got ready today I went down stairs and Ms. Deatherage's reply was "WOW, You really do look different!" In my head I said Yeah tried telling you that yesterday but just smiled. It was wonderful to feel and look like a normal human being.

Well, that is the beginning adventure(s) and I have more because I did get to see a cute medieval-ish town today. I'll prepare the post tonight or tomorrow so look for more. Don't worry it will be more pics and less 'talk'.