Justin and I arrived at the Dallas airport driven via taxi by a kind driver (who smelled overwhelmingly like onions) at about 9:30 AM. Our flight was not scheduled until 2:25 PM so he and I were all too happy to walk at a leisurely pace through the surprisingly calm airport, filled with other sauntering and smiling individuals going about their business. We located our gate and took up residence there with our modest amount of carry on luggage. "Modest" due to Justin's insistence, not my marvelous amount of restraint I will admit.
After we had sat a little while and wrapped up last minute phone calls from home and sipped at some smoothies we decided to have lunch at a nearby restaurant located in our terminal. Justin seemed happy with his Chipotle burger and I forced myself to eat soup and salad. I was not very relaxed and thus not very hungry. I am a terrible traveler by air and I dreaded what was to come. As a safeguard, Justin and I had agreed that I should buy sleeping pills in case the flight got to be too stressful or long. They rattled reassuringly in my purse as we pulled our luggage back to the gate. It was just after 1 PM and we could see our plane out a nearby window. We chattered excitedly and took pictures of it.
After we had sat a little while and wrapped up last minute phone calls from home and sipped at some smoothies we decided to have lunch at a nearby restaurant located in our terminal. Justin seemed happy with his Chipotle burger and I forced myself to eat soup and salad. I was not very relaxed and thus not very hungry. I am a terrible traveler by air and I dreaded what was to come. As a safeguard, Justin and I had agreed that I should buy sleeping pills in case the flight got to be too stressful or long. They rattled reassuringly in my purse as we pulled our luggage back to the gate. It was just after 1 PM and we could see our plane out a nearby window. We chattered excitedly and took pictures of it.
We chattered also about the heavy rains last night and the presence of dark clouds looming overhead. 2:25 came and went and we were told that our original plane had a maintenance issue and needed to be replaced. I heaved a sigh of relief Justin's way and we watched as the ground crew took the first plane away.
With a revised boarding time of 3:15PM, we had time to sit awhile and chat some more. Justin was in very high spirits and kept happily reminding me of our plans to travel. I made me happy to see him so animated. I swallowed my gloomies and allowed his infectious enthusiasm to catch on. In our celebratory mood, we had sipped on two glasses of wine earlier that day, one with lunch, and one in the local winery also located near our gate some time after lunch. By the time the plane was ready for boarding at about 4PM, Justin and I trudged to our seats accompanied by feelings of fatigue and one splitting headache apiece.
The weather worsened and we sat on the plane for one additional hour while the pilot waited for a safe gap in the storm in which to take off. Justin graciously allowed me the window seat and I sighed with resignation as the plane gathered speed and began its' ascent. Due to the 100% humidity in the area, the wing was awash in water; my pulse quickened and my eyes darted about with fear finally settling on Justin's calm assuring ones.
I will pause and allow Justin to take over from here, he seems anxious to do so at this moment...I want to assert now before he adds any artistic license to this part of our tale that I was totally calm and mature during the flight. ...hahaha! Who am I kidding?
Justin here. Let me just say, Sharay did very well and remained very collected despite her fear of flying...until we left the ground. When the plane rotated, the high humidity in the air condensed over the wings, shrouding them in "clouds". It was enough to send Sharay over the edge. She threw her face into my shoulder and kicked her feet like a child throwing a temper tantrum every time the plane shuddered from turbulence. Over her sobs, I (without letting her see me laugh, I found her little kicks hilarious) I tried to comfort her and reassure that everything was fine. Thankfully, the plane shortly made it through the rainclouds and the flight smoothed. From then on, the flight went well and our only problems were sore backsides and trying to find a comfortable position to sleep.
Ten hours later we finally landed at Frankfurt International Airport. Happily, Sharay never had to crush my hand in a death grip and seemed genuinely happy to be in Europe. Of course, she might have just been happy to be off the plane, but I can't fault her there.
After passing through customs and picking up our luggage, we waited for our bus in a holding area where one of the Army civilians kept us entertained with rudimentary lessons in German. Once on the bus, we watched the Autobahn pass by (and the fast German cars passing us by).
Before long, our exhaustion and jet lag caught up with us and we slept fitfully until our designated dinner stop at a German restaurant with authentic local food. Just kidding, we actually stopped at McDonald's...but it was a little different, so that was cool...I guess.
Anyway, we returned to the bus for the final leg of our journey. Fortunately, we left the Autobahn before long, allowing us to catch our first real views of the Bavarian countryside with its forested, rolling hills interspersed with tiny villages and orderly plots of farmland. We kept saying how it looks like the Shire in Lord of the Rings. It will be so amazing to have a place to live here.
Finally, by 7 PM we reached the base and signed into the hotel. Too tired to go anywhere, we ordered a pizza from a local restaurant. It was kind of bland, but we were too tired to care. After forcing ourselves to eat a reasonable amount, we showered and crawled into bed where sleep happily took us.
With a revised boarding time of 3:15PM, we had time to sit awhile and chat some more. Justin was in very high spirits and kept happily reminding me of our plans to travel. I made me happy to see him so animated. I swallowed my gloomies and allowed his infectious enthusiasm to catch on. In our celebratory mood, we had sipped on two glasses of wine earlier that day, one with lunch, and one in the local winery also located near our gate some time after lunch. By the time the plane was ready for boarding at about 4PM, Justin and I trudged to our seats accompanied by feelings of fatigue and one splitting headache apiece.
The weather worsened and we sat on the plane for one additional hour while the pilot waited for a safe gap in the storm in which to take off. Justin graciously allowed me the window seat and I sighed with resignation as the plane gathered speed and began its' ascent. Due to the 100% humidity in the area, the wing was awash in water; my pulse quickened and my eyes darted about with fear finally settling on Justin's calm assuring ones.
I will pause and allow Justin to take over from here, he seems anxious to do so at this moment...I want to assert now before he adds any artistic license to this part of our tale that I was totally calm and mature during the flight. ...hahaha! Who am I kidding?
Justin here. Let me just say, Sharay did very well and remained very collected despite her fear of flying...until we left the ground. When the plane rotated, the high humidity in the air condensed over the wings, shrouding them in "clouds". It was enough to send Sharay over the edge. She threw her face into my shoulder and kicked her feet like a child throwing a temper tantrum every time the plane shuddered from turbulence. Over her sobs, I (without letting her see me laugh, I found her little kicks hilarious) I tried to comfort her and reassure that everything was fine. Thankfully, the plane shortly made it through the rainclouds and the flight smoothed. From then on, the flight went well and our only problems were sore backsides and trying to find a comfortable position to sleep.
Ten hours later we finally landed at Frankfurt International Airport. Happily, Sharay never had to crush my hand in a death grip and seemed genuinely happy to be in Europe. Of course, she might have just been happy to be off the plane, but I can't fault her there.
After passing through customs and picking up our luggage, we waited for our bus in a holding area where one of the Army civilians kept us entertained with rudimentary lessons in German. Once on the bus, we watched the Autobahn pass by (and the fast German cars passing us by).
Before long, our exhaustion and jet lag caught up with us and we slept fitfully until our designated dinner stop at a German restaurant with authentic local food. Just kidding, we actually stopped at McDonald's...but it was a little different, so that was cool...I guess.
Anyway, we returned to the bus for the final leg of our journey. Fortunately, we left the Autobahn before long, allowing us to catch our first real views of the Bavarian countryside with its forested, rolling hills interspersed with tiny villages and orderly plots of farmland. We kept saying how it looks like the Shire in Lord of the Rings. It will be so amazing to have a place to live here.
Finally, by 7 PM we reached the base and signed into the hotel. Too tired to go anywhere, we ordered a pizza from a local restaurant. It was kind of bland, but we were too tired to care. After forcing ourselves to eat a reasonable amount, we showered and crawled into bed where sleep happily took us.
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