Pre-Flight:
Since I can't seem to get a decent connection to any local Wi-Fi networks, I'm going to write offline and post this as soon as I can get back on the interwebs.
Our journey to LAX began at around 3, when we were picked up by an airport shuttle service in a large, gaudily-painted van. Once the only-slightly-too-friendly driver had packed all of our people and bags into his vehicle, we careened off down the 2 freeway, flying along at what I can only assume was Warp Factor 3 in a car that was in no way designed for those kind of speeds. Combined with Wednesday afternoon LA traffic, this made for a somewhat terrifying ride, as our driver lurched into the smallest gaps possible, screeching to stops just inches from the bumpers in front of us.
The relieved ground-kissing that marked our arrival at the International Terminal was ruined somewhat when we discovered that my Grandpa's iPad had suddenly gone missing from the front of his bag...after about 10 minutes of searching and an hour of hopeless brainstorming, we came to the conclusion that an opportunistic passerby had seen the iPad's distinctive case sticking out of the bag and had decided to relieve us of the burden. A curse upon his head, I say, and may he be plagued by severe Athlete's foot henceforth!
(UPDATE: Actually it turned out the iPad fell out in our shuttle, so I guess I should call off the curse upon that guy's head.)
Aside from this unfortunate event, our journey to the airport was relatively smooth, with nearly no line at the security checkpoint due too the rather small size of the international terminal, and our extremely early arrival.
Left with nearly 3 hours to kill before our flight, we did what any sensible travelers would do: ordered drinks. At least my sisters and parents did, I got a bratwurst, 'cause that's how I roll. Plus I'm not entirely sure how booze would affect my slight airsickness, and don't want to test it before an 11-hour flight.
Now, I am diligently standing guard over our bags, charging my laptop and phone while vainly searching for a Wi-Fi connection. Hopefully this flight will have power outlets near the seats, so I don't have to rely on battery charge for the entire flight *gasp*!
That's it for now, probably boarding in about 30 minutes, will update again on the flight!
En Route
I'll start this off as honestly as possible: I don't like flying. I rarely do it, and I can honestly say that it hasn't ever really been what I would call a "pleasant experience".
There are two reasons for this dislike: the first is my slight fear of the general idea of flying. I won't go further into this, other than to assure you that this feeling is entirely irrational, and flying is actually really safe. I am quickly getting over this, which is a necessary thing since my job will require me to spend nearly 40 hours a month in the air.
The second reason should be much more obvious. However, if it isn't (which means you probably don't know me at all), here is a picture to illustrate the point:
As you can see, I am not at all built for airline travel. I actually found some interesting information on this a little while ago (in a Popular Science article on airline safety, as it happens): it appears that FAA design standards require that airlines make their seats safe and at least moderately comfortable for the 5th to 95th percentile of height (something like 5' 4" to 6' 3"). Unfortunately, at 6' 4", I am outside of this range. Therefore, getting into an airline seat is, for me, like climbing into one of those plastic toy cars that kids ride around in. It's not a whole lot of fun.
All in all, though, I must say that this flight was about as bearable as 11 hours crammed into a tiny seat could be. The in-flight entertainment system consisted of small monitors mounted to the seat headrests (with an unfortunately limited tilt range), which allowed each passenger to select their own movies or TV shows from a surprisingly up-to-date, if limited library. I watched The Rite, The Adjustment Bureau, Rango, and the beginning of The Eagle, and was pretty thoroughly entertained.
Take-off and landing were smooth, with very little turbulence in between except for during the final descent, which had the unfortunate passenger in front of me burying his head in a barf bag for about 10 minutes.
In Zurich
Well we finally made it here! And our immediate first action? SLEEP. Though my parents (with the aid of some Ambien) were able to rest pretty well the entire flight, my sisters and I were awake the entire time; so our first stop was the hotel for a nap, then up for food, then back to sleep. I'm finishing up this post in the lobby of our hotel, where I can connect to some free Internet, then it's sleep time for me too. Here are some pictures from our arrival and dinner, I don't have the energy to do more than add a few captions.
Since I can't seem to get a decent connection to any local Wi-Fi networks, I'm going to write offline and post this as soon as I can get back on the interwebs.
Our journey to LAX began at around 3, when we were picked up by an airport shuttle service in a large, gaudily-painted van. Once the only-slightly-too-friendly driver had packed all of our people and bags into his vehicle, we careened off down the 2 freeway, flying along at what I can only assume was Warp Factor 3 in a car that was in no way designed for those kind of speeds. Combined with Wednesday afternoon LA traffic, this made for a somewhat terrifying ride, as our driver lurched into the smallest gaps possible, screeching to stops just inches from the bumpers in front of us.
The relieved ground-kissing that marked our arrival at the International Terminal was ruined somewhat when we discovered that my Grandpa's iPad had suddenly gone missing from the front of his bag...after about 10 minutes of searching and an hour of hopeless brainstorming, we came to the conclusion that an opportunistic passerby had seen the iPad's distinctive case sticking out of the bag and had decided to relieve us of the burden. A curse upon his head, I say, and may he be plagued by severe Athlete's foot henceforth!
(UPDATE: Actually it turned out the iPad fell out in our shuttle, so I guess I should call off the curse upon that guy's head.)
Aside from this unfortunate event, our journey to the airport was relatively smooth, with nearly no line at the security checkpoint due too the rather small size of the international terminal, and our extremely early arrival.
Left with nearly 3 hours to kill before our flight, we did what any sensible travelers would do: ordered drinks. At least my sisters and parents did, I got a bratwurst, 'cause that's how I roll. Plus I'm not entirely sure how booze would affect my slight airsickness, and don't want to test it before an 11-hour flight.
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| Jess, hitting the bar like a seasoned traveler. |
That's it for now, probably boarding in about 30 minutes, will update again on the flight!
En Route
I'll start this off as honestly as possible: I don't like flying. I rarely do it, and I can honestly say that it hasn't ever really been what I would call a "pleasant experience".
There are two reasons for this dislike: the first is my slight fear of the general idea of flying. I won't go further into this, other than to assure you that this feeling is entirely irrational, and flying is actually really safe. I am quickly getting over this, which is a necessary thing since my job will require me to spend nearly 40 hours a month in the air.
The second reason should be much more obvious. However, if it isn't (which means you probably don't know me at all), here is a picture to illustrate the point:
As you can see, I am not at all built for airline travel. I actually found some interesting information on this a little while ago (in a Popular Science article on airline safety, as it happens): it appears that FAA design standards require that airlines make their seats safe and at least moderately comfortable for the 5th to 95th percentile of height (something like 5' 4" to 6' 3"). Unfortunately, at 6' 4", I am outside of this range. Therefore, getting into an airline seat is, for me, like climbing into one of those plastic toy cars that kids ride around in. It's not a whole lot of fun.
All in all, though, I must say that this flight was about as bearable as 11 hours crammed into a tiny seat could be. The in-flight entertainment system consisted of small monitors mounted to the seat headrests (with an unfortunately limited tilt range), which allowed each passenger to select their own movies or TV shows from a surprisingly up-to-date, if limited library. I watched The Rite, The Adjustment Bureau, Rango, and the beginning of The Eagle, and was pretty thoroughly entertained.
Take-off and landing were smooth, with very little turbulence in between except for during the final descent, which had the unfortunate passenger in front of me burying his head in a barf bag for about 10 minutes.
In Zurich
Well we finally made it here! And our immediate first action? SLEEP. Though my parents (with the aid of some Ambien) were able to rest pretty well the entire flight, my sisters and I were awake the entire time; so our first stop was the hotel for a nap, then up for food, then back to sleep. I'm finishing up this post in the lobby of our hotel, where I can connect to some free Internet, then it's sleep time for me too. Here are some pictures from our arrival and dinner, I don't have the energy to do more than add a few captions.
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| In the Zurich Flughafen...simple but tasteful architecture. |
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| Dad is in vacation mode. Hence the shirt. |
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| Swiss food court! |
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| TexMex, in Switzerland? Oh rry? |
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| An unfortunately necessary purchase. Rosetta Stone didn't prepare me for the onslaught of German I sustained as soon as I stepped off the plane. Also, this tiny thing cost 14 Euros?!? |
Well, that's about it for Day 1. We're hopping the 9AM (Zurich time) train to Munich tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have some cool German things to update you with on the next leg of our trip.
Til then, Auf Wedersehen!
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