I Have Arrived

It did take me almost 23 hours, door to door, but I made it into my hotel just a little while ago. I got off to an auspicious start with a 2 hour delay out of Denver. At the time, I figured it was no big deal, since I was just compressing my 5 hour layover in Frankfurt to 3 hours. Better to be in an airport I know for an extra two hours than in one that I don't. So, the flight finally took off. I was seated next to a very nice German woman who was in the States for a conference on nuclear waste management. We chatted for a little while until the beverage service started. Then I popped an Ambien with a glass of wine, ate dinner, and fell asleep half way through my after dinner beer. Fortunately, I woke up just in time for breakfast, about 5 hours later. That is when I discovered that my flight from Frankfurt to Stockholm had been delayed by an hour. So, back to a 4 hour layover. I managed to kill that pretty easily and finished my first book of the trip. The boarding process was a nightmare. Instead of the orderly process that we're all used to with boarding groups, etc. we were told to board all rows at once. Three lines of people swarming onto the plane en masse created a nice snarl. So, it wasn't too surprising when the captain came on to announce that because boarding had taken so long we had missed our window for takeoff and would need to sit on the tarmac for 45 minutes. Just what I wanted! :-)

But, on the plus side, I am here in my hotel, so, I am off to bed. I'll post some pictures soon, once I have time to take them! :-)