DEPARTURE DAY!
Yikes! You will never believe it! Northwest Airlines just called and they cancelled our flight to Amsterdam! I argued and made a real fuss when the employee said, "You can leave tomorrow." That would mean we would miss the entire Lucia! This is the whole reason we are starting our trip so far in advance of Christmas! No way, find a way to get us there today!
We were offered a flight to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Stockholm that would land at 4:40 PM. We would miss Karli's Lucia most likely but could attend the one on Sat. night. The only trouble with this flight is that we'd have to be at the airport in 2 hours! I tell the NW Airline person to send me an email with the itinerary so we'd know flight numbers, times, etc.
We put our packing and organizing in fast gear. We woke up Bren to get him started on getting his stuff together for his month stay with a friend. (Funny. He opted to fore go the trip and be in town to see his girlfriend and to be with Bubba, his dog) We called Richard and told him of our new plans. Arvid decided to "start" packing! We are running around in a frenzy!
Almost ready, I checked the email. Hmmmmmmm. Now we are going to L.A. to Amsterdam to Stockholm. Good news... we have an extra hour til we leave. Whew. Still, we have an extra stop and it adds 5 hours onto our trip, but we ARE getting there!
PDX to LAX Alaska Air
LAX to AMS KLM
AMS to ARN NW
We land at Alanda at 4:40 PM Swedish time.
AT THE AIRPORT
They have a difficult time finding our reservation, but finally check us through and give us the boarding passes. The security line was very long and we got up to the front with our shoes in hand ready to load our carry-ons onto the belt. They close the line and take us to another security area. We are the only people in this line. Evidently, for some reason, our names are on a list to have additional security checks. They have us take off anything and everything we can. They go through our bags thoroughly. Then we go through the "puffer". After about 20 minutes, we are free! Onto our gate.
Yikes! You will never believe it! Northwest Airlines just called and they cancelled our flight to Amsterdam! I argued and made a real fuss when the employee said, "You can leave tomorrow." That would mean we would miss the entire Lucia! This is the whole reason we are starting our trip so far in advance of Christmas! No way, find a way to get us there today!
We were offered a flight to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Stockholm that would land at 4:40 PM. We would miss Karli's Lucia most likely but could attend the one on Sat. night. The only trouble with this flight is that we'd have to be at the airport in 2 hours! I tell the NW Airline person to send me an email with the itinerary so we'd know flight numbers, times, etc.
We put our packing and organizing in fast gear. We woke up Bren to get him started on getting his stuff together for his month stay with a friend. (Funny. He opted to fore go the trip and be in town to see his girlfriend and to be with Bubba, his dog) We called Richard and told him of our new plans. Arvid decided to "start" packing! We are running around in a frenzy!
Almost ready, I checked the email. Hmmmmmmm. Now we are going to L.A. to Amsterdam to Stockholm. Good news... we have an extra hour til we leave. Whew. Still, we have an extra stop and it adds 5 hours onto our trip, but we ARE getting there!
PDX to LAX Alaska Air
LAX to AMS KLM
AMS to ARN NW
We land at Alanda at 4:40 PM Swedish time.
AT THE AIRPORT
They have a difficult time finding our reservation, but finally check us through and give us the boarding passes. The security line was very long and we got up to the front with our shoes in hand ready to load our carry-ons onto the belt. They close the line and take us to another security area. We are the only people in this line. Evidently, for some reason, our names are on a list to have additional security checks. They have us take off anything and everything we can. They go through our bags thoroughly. Then we go through the "puffer". After about 20 minutes, we are free! Onto our gate.
ON THE AIRPLANE
The flight is short and on a tiny plane. I am in the middle of a 3 seat row, Arvid at the window. The man on the aisle is a "Blackberry-a-holic".
At Los Angeles we walk to the terminal for KLM. We stop for a bite at Wolfgang Puck. Space is at a premium so we invite a couple to share our table. They are from Winnipeg and going to New Zealand. Great conversation, so-so food.
We board the plane and sit in our seats. Suddenly a man comes up and says we are in his seats. We compare boarding passes and sure enough, all 4 of us have the same seats. The attendant tells us to give up our seats and stand in the aisle. Yeah, this is fun. She gets on the microphone and tells us they have over-booked the plane. "Is there anyone who will give up their seat and fly later or tomorrow?" It takes a while, but 2 people volunteer. We are promptly ushered to our new seats. Another plea by the attendant gets people to move around so we can sit together. Whew!
We watch Miss Pettigrew for a Day. Fun. It is difficult to hear however, there are screaming babies to my left. Oh, now I understand why the two young guys chose to give up their seats... Uneventful flight and little sleep but we land on time.
Amsterdam is filled with shops with cheese and tulips.
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Board the plane to Stockholm. Ah, much better. We know we are getting to Sweden now, no more over-bookings or cancelled flights. One hour and 35 minutes later we are in Stockholm!
Wait, it's so dark and it's only 4:20? What's that falling from the sky? It's snowing. brrrrrrrrr, cold too.
Wait, it's so dark and it's only 4:20? What's that falling from the sky? It's snowing. brrrrrrrrr, cold too.
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