July 21, 2014. Finally! We arose at 3:30 AM to start our day, bleary eyed, but excited.
4 PM Bags packed and weighed. Last minute house and yard chores complete. If it's not ready, it's not going to be ready. It's time.
Susan Baker picked us up to take us to the airport. It was delightful to have a special friend share our excitement and launch us on our journey.
While packing the car, as Tom picked up our largest bag the handle broke. Urg! That added a bit of stress to the pre-trip jitters. Gratefully there was a side handle also, so it was just an inconvenience.
5:00 PM Checked in. They gave us tickets in spite of the discovery that Tom's name was misspelled on one of the itineraries. In this age of tight security, that one caused some grief. Whew! The bags were under the weight limit. Relief!
6:15 PM. Departure on the "Glaxo" American flight to Heathrow in London for the 7 hour/40 minute flight that would take us 3,880 miles. We'd already put in a 15 hour day after a short night's sleep, so we were ready for supper and sleep. Well, almost ready. The views were stunning!
Folks soon settled in for the night. Tom found a clear row for sleeping. It sounds good, but he was in the back, there was always a light shining overhead, and the crew chatted during the night, so he never got comfortable. Ann contorted into our two seats trying to see how many letters of the alphabet she could make with her body. Gratefully, we had smooth sailing and got a little sleep.
5:30 AM Wake-up call. Breakfast.
This must be England!
7 AM Arrival.
We joined the sea of humanity shuffling through Heathrow. With a few hours to burn, we were in no hurry. Ann grew fascinated with the shapes incorporated in the structure of the building and fixtures.
Name that monster.
Heathrow is always crowded. We joined the mass of people waiting in line for security. The lady just in front of us was wearing lovely circular earrings. Ann complimented her and pointed out that there were many similar shapes in the decorations. We began to chat and she mentioned that she was from Uganda. The man in front of her overheard the conversation and jumped in to share that he, too, was from Uganda. Just in front of him was a youth group returning from a mission trip in Uganda. Suddenly waiting in line for security was fun!
Welcome to England!
The upper level of Heathrow is a shopping mall well stocked with very expensive merchandise.
...for shoppers of all ages.
It's on sale!
We decided to bulk up before departing for Oslo.
This looks like the place!
Interesting menu
Of course, we had to have a traditional English breakfast.
Not sure what this was, but it was interesting.
As the time drew near to board our next flight, we checked the schedule and headed for the terminal. Thankfully, we had decided to go a little early. When we arrived at the boarding area our flight had disappeared from the schedule. AWK! Now what?
Tom found an airport employee who happened to be on break. He radioed for help and found that our flight would be leaving from another terminal. While they were finding our flight, Ann met another traveler, a very sweet techy of Middle Eastern heritage who walked with a limp, searching for the same flight. To make sure we made our flight, our hero took the "shortcut" through the bowels of the airport and deposited the three of us in the correct terminal. Our very long trek hauling all our stuff at least worked off some of our traditional English calories, but it was painful to watch our companion try to keep up with the fast moving employee.
11:20 AM Departure on British Airways for the 734 mile/2 hour trip to Oslo
~2 PM NORWAY!!!
Oslo. Note the opera house designed by the same architect
who designed the Centennial campus Hunt Library
at North Carolina State University.
We made it! Cleared customs. (Ann only got yelled at once...for standing in line less than 3 feet from the person in front of her.) Retrieved bags. All present and accounted for. Whew!
Next challenge? Purchase a train ticket to downtown Oslo and find the correct loading ramp.
Success! Let the Norwegian adventure begin!!!
These are just a sampling of the photos we took on our flights and in the airport. Visit our photo site if you'd like to see all the photos: All Flight Photos
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