Squeeze the Juice!: Travel Day

This morning I woke up at 7am. Now, it's about 1 in the afternoon Colorado time - 32 hours later. I've slept for a total of about five hours, and been lost for three. I had one plane transfer, two bus rides, three pieces of luggage, and have made four new friends. I'm just happy my bags didn't get lost!

Only 3 bags for a full semester. Be impressed. ;)

To start out my day, I double and triple-checked that I had absolutely everything I needed on the packing list while my family started to take down our Christmas decorations. We all drove out to the airport at 1:30 after driving by my grandparent's apartment so that I could say goodbye. I got to my gate in Concourse A (Not C, where I usually fly with Southwest), and there I sat for about two hours as I was so early for my flight.

Plane before boarding at DIA

We boarded the plane a little late, but ended up making it right on time to London. I sat next to a couple who were going on a two week vacation to visit such excellent destinations as Prague and Vienna! Also, during the boarding process, I noticed someone who I thought looked familiar. Sitting one row ahead of me on the aisle across from where I sat in my window seat was a friend of mine who I had seen only occasionally since 5th grade - it had been at least three or four years. After our dinner was served, I decided, like half the plane, that it was time to use the restroom. Since the line was several people long in the back, I discretely slipped over to the other aisle to see if I was right about the familiar face, and I was! We chatted a little, and decided that while we were abroad (him for his second semester at Oxford University), that we would try to make plans to travel to see one another.

Good morning, Ireland - around hour 7 of flight

After the plane landed, I took a train, then another bus to get to my next flight. While I was sitting and waiting to board, I heard three guys behind me talking in English about living in apartments and speaking shaky German, and that sounded just like what IES students would be talking about! When I asked, not only were they from my program, but also another girl who was sitting next to me! None of us sat together on the plane, but after we disembarked in Vienna, we traveled together through customs to baggage claim where we exchanged what money we had, and got the items we checked - all except one suitcase that one of the guys was missing.
I then took another bus to the Schwedenplatz U-bahn (underground) station where I proceeded to walk to St. Stephen's Cathedral.

First view of St. Stephen's

Horse-drawn carriages!

I don't know how or why I got so flustered and turned around, but I couldn't find any of the names of the streets that I was looking for! I spent three hours trying to read my map and ask people for directions. I finally ended up going to a currency exchange booth and asking one of the employees how to get to where I was going - Pension Aviano Hotel. Keep in mind, this walk was supposed to take me just under a half an hour. I finally found the right street, but then had to lug my bags up four flights of stairs to find the hotel check-in.

I have never been more grateful to finally be in a hotel room. I was exhausted! I called my parents to let them know I was fine, and then called one of the directors of my program, to plan a time to meet tomorrow morning. Then, I crashed.
Currently I'm waiting for pictures to load with getting ready for bed, and enjoying the beauty of my room and the views outside. I can't see the street, but for the past two or three hours, there has been a clarinetist and a saxophone player playing classical and jazz music - maybe two blocks away. Now that it's 10:00, though, everything's quiet, and I'm ready for a good night's sleep.