This is my first blog post - so thank you for stopping by to see what I have to say!
I arrived in Hannover, Germany yesterday with my one way ticket in hand, how crazy right!? This is an incredible opportunity for me to see what the giant world has to offer. I am fortunate enough to accompany my boyfriend (Blake) as his job takes us overseas.
The whole process of getting over here has been somewhat of a mess, with dates changing, visa issues, insurance questions and so on, but here we finally are! Blake is arriving today, which is when we will get our car and drive to Braunschweig. Braunschweig is where we will call home for the next year!
I look forward to studying German and learning a new culture, as well as traveling, eating great food, drinking good beer, and writing on this blog!
How on EARTH did I pack my whole life up you ask?
It was tough, honestly. I had to pick and choose whatever would fit into 2 suitcases and a carry on and just hope for the best. My big winter coats and boots are being shipped, but the rest had to be crammed into my luggage; and if it didn't fit, well then it didn't get to come. But I think that is all part of the experience, who cares if I wear the same outfit everyday when I can go to Prague for the weekend.
As I prepared to leave for my first ever 8+ hour flight, I had to really think hard about what I would need in this time period.
Here are my airplane essentials:
Essential #1: Clorox wipes. You better believe that my whole seat, arm rest, lap tray, window, etc. got thoroughly wiped down. Planes kind of DISGUST me.
Essential #2: Evian Mineral Water Spray. This little product is great to freshen and moisturize your dry tired airplane skin. You can find it here. At just 1.7oz it is perfect for your carry-on. I applied this a couple of times on my flight. It helped me to feel refreshed and moisturized after hours of being in the air.
Essential #3: My Oils! My sister made me up some oil blends to apply throughout my journey. These made me feel calm and relaxed.
Essential #4: My Lululemon Vinyasa Scarf. This scarf is so versatile! It can be a scarf (obvi). Un-button it and you have a decent blanket. Snap it back up and make it into a shawl/sweater. Ball it up and sleep on it. You name it, this scarf can do it! You can find a similar one here. I especially was loving this when 4 hours in to my flight the cabin became extra cold!
Pre Boarding and Flight to Detroit:
I arrived at DCA 2 hours prior to my scheduled departure. I checked my luggage, went through security and found my gate with ease. My flight was scheduled to leave at 5:35pm, but I experienced a couple of delays prior to boarding. We boarded and were told there would only be a 10 minute delay to our arrival time, because we could make up time in the air. I was concerned because I only had 50 minutes to make my connection in Detroit. After we boarded, there was a fuel leveling issue with the plane and that extended our departure time an additional hour. At this point, I knew there was NO way I was going to make my connection. I panicked for a brief moment before realizing, who cares? It'll all work out! Delta was kind enough to pre book me on the next flight out of DTW to AMS because they knew I was going to miss my original flight. Upon arrival in Detroit, I went to the Delta help desk and scanned my boarding pass, that is where they printed out my new information and on to that gate I went. I only had 10 minutes before my new flight was boarding, so I had to hustle.
Flight to Amsterdam:
Boarding my flight to Amsterdam, I knew it was going to be a bigger plane than I had ever been on before. But honestly, it still seemed kind of small! It was definitely an older plane and was not as nice as others I had been on. The seats were small, the bathrooms were small, the legroom was small (and I am SHORT, so I really feel bad for tall folks), it just wasn't what I was expecting. I knew that it wasn't going to get any bigger though, so I got myself situated and prepared for take off.
I put my headphones in and right away began the movie How to Be Single - it was funny, but kind of dumb; still a good way to pass time. Soon after we took off they came around with dinner and drink options. For dinner we had the choice of hot chicken, cold chicken salad, and vegetarian lasagna. I took my chances with the hot chicken. It was gross! Like painfully awful! It came with these weird mashed potatoes, which had random bits of corn in it. They gave you a small dinner salad, a roll with butter, cheese and crackers, and a brownie. It was a random bunch of things and I wish I had remembered to snap a photo. My first encounter with airplane dinner was not good. I picked at it, and went back to my movie. Usually Delta only offers free beer and wine in addition to coffee, tea, soft drinks and water. But today they were also offering spirits. I helped myself to a couple of cocktails and dozed off for a few hours.
When I woke up it was SO bright out! I was shocked, and most certainly not ready to be awake. But I wasn't able to fall back asleep. So I watched another movie, Joy - it was much better than my first movie choice, and who doesn't love a JLaw Bradley Cooper movie. They came around with yogurt, muffins, cheese and cookies for breakfast, and we were in Amsterdam before I knew it. Amsterdam and Germany are 6 hours ahead from the US. So we landed at 10:50 am local time, which was 4:50 am to me. My first thought was coffee, please someone give me coffee!
Passport Control:
Stepping off the plane in Amsterdam, I full expected to be shuffled directly into customs or passport control. But it just spits you out in a terminal, and if you have a connecting flight you follow the signs to your terminal, or you go towards the signs that say baggage. I had one more flight, so I followed the signs to the B gates, and THEN I was greeted with passport control.
The line was fairly short, about 10 minutes or so and it was just passengers from my plane. I stepped up, handed over my passport and ticket, he asked me a few questions, and then off I went. It was much easier than I had anticipated. I found my gate after a very LONG walk - Amsterdam airport is absolutely HUGE, but everything is clearly labeled so I had no troubles. I waited for about an hour before boarding my last flight!
Arriving in Hannover:
After a quick 50 minute flight from Amsterdam to Hannover, I was in GERMANY! I stepped off the plane, and walked to baggage claim. I collected my bags, and exited the airport. Yes it was as easy as it sounds, and I was shocked! I was standing there at the exit thinking there is no way this was that easy, but it was! I followed the signs to my hotel, which was connected to the airport by a covered walkway and I checked in! I had some troubles trying to get the elevator to work, who knew that is where I would struggle! A very nice hotel worker assisted me and I found my room. I changed into some pajamas and I took a nap! It was about 3pm local time when I arrived, and I was exhausted. I woke a little after 5pm. I showered and prepared myself to go find dinner!
Tune in tomorrow to read all about my first meals in Germany!
Guten Tag
P.S. Posts from this point forward will include more pictures, I promise!
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