Travel Day!!

Monday/Tuesday

Our day started at 5:30am (after being up until 3:30). We got the girls up at 6:30, got breakfast, cleaned up, packed the car, and left a little after 8am. Cliff’s mom lives on the way to the airport, so she offered to take us. We left Leo (our dog) at her apartment, picked up Grandma, and continued to the airport.

Viv-ism for the morning: “It’s finally here. And yet. . .it is still so far away!”

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, made it through security without body scanner or pat down or luggage search. We did, however, gamble that we would be in Terminal C when we were actually at the very far end of Terminal E. About a mile and a half later, we were at our gate.

Our first flight was to Newark – about 3 hours. We were on a 767 which is a big plane with 2 aisles. The girls and I were in the three seats between the 2 aisles and right behind a bulkhead (extra leg room!). Cliff was across the aisle from me. I think we all partook of the in-flight entertainment. Bulkhead was great except we had to put all our bags up above (less convenient). Worth it, though!

Once in Newark, Cliff took us to the Continental President’s Club to await our flight to Munich. Weather in Newark was about 28 degrees with snow on the ground. Viv was excited to see the snow. NYC skyline was dark gray against a lighter gray sky. Still cool!

The flight to Munich was also on a 767 but it was an older model and not quite as comfortable as the other. We had bulkhead seats again, but Cliff was a row ahead due to a slightly different alignment of the rows. Our plan was to stay awake through the dinner service and then sleep as much as possible until breakfast service. We had problems immediately when Vivian’s in-flight entertainment system didn’t work properly. Rather than switch seats, I just let her use mine.

Next problem arose when the girls “weren’t sleepy” after dinner. I let Cliff handle it, because I was really tired. I draped my coat over me, flipped the hood over my face, and went to sleep (sort of). I think I actually slept a couple of hours and dozed another 2 or so.

About 2 hours from landing, Vivian was miserably tired but could not get comfortable. The tray tables on bulkhead seats are in the armrests, and we couldn’t put the armrests up like on other rows. So I used part of my coat to give her some padding, and we flipped an arm of the coat over her eyes to block the light. She was asleep fairly quickly. I sat and watched the map as we closed in on the British Isles.

Emma, on the other hand, did not sleep at all. She determined before we even got on a plane that she would not be able to sleep. And she didn’t. After late nights at D-Now over the weekend, she was running really ragged.

Viv-ism upon landing: “I’m finally on another continent!”

Weather in Munich was about 34 degrees, gray, and wet. We tried to get into the President’s Club equivalent, but because it was not Continental it would cost us 80 bucks to get the girls in. We decided to “rough it” at the gate. Cliff and I stretched out and slept some more. The girls chose to play Nintendo DS. I’m not sure how Emma managed, but she stayed awake (by choice).

The flight to Kiev was on Lufthansa. It was a big change for us. We carried our bags down 3 flights of stairs, got on a tram, and rode out to the plane. We boarded the back of the plane up a flight of stairs. All instructions were given in German first and then English (thank you European Union!) and then Russian. Not sure what the make of the plane was, but it was a typical older short-haul model with 6 seats on a row and one aisle down the middle. As soon as we sat down, Vivian pronounced the seats much more comfortable than the other planes. Within minutes of take-off she was asleep. Cliff and Emma were sitting behind Vivian and me. Emma was asleep before the plane left the ground. Everyone slept but me. I dozed and may have slept some. As we left the ground, my eyes got teary with anticipation of reaching Kiev.