May 2, 2013: First Trans-Atlantic Flight

My first trip to Europe! I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I did and I am not the same person I was before I left. By the end of this blog, you will know why.

It all comes down to fulfilling the bucket list. As I kept saying last year during all my NASCAR adventures; by starting to fulfill your list, you suddenly have all sorts of opportunities present themselves. This is how I was able to fulfill a my number one bucket list item of going to Greece. I'm a sucker for Greek mythology and ancient Greek history. From philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle to the birth of Democracy. It fascinates me! That probably explains my minor in history, huh?

So I started my first semester at Olivet last Fall and my first introduction to ILT (Intensive Learning Term) trips was an email announcing a trip to Athens, Greece and Rome, Italy for May 2013. By fulfilling my bucket list item of getting my BA and the other bucket list item of going to Olivet College (yes, I have wanted to go there since I was in high school), I suddenly find myself with an opportunity to go to Europe!

You bet your booty that I jumped on it. It was not cheap, but you only live once so why not?!

So I signed up for it in November 2012 and started the long wait to May 2013.

I did my research on the areas, I investigated how to survive the long flights, I purchased a pick-pocket proof purse, read blogs from other travelers, read the Federal sites on overseas travel; I was determined to be prepared for pretty much anything so I could enjoy my time and not face a massive culture shock. I must say, all my preparation paid off. Some call it being anal and not going with the flow, but I called it being travel smart since I did not know any one I was going with and I wanted to know that I could take care of myself if something happened.

So after months of all that preparation, the day finally arrived. Can I just tell all you young, independent adults who cringe at the constant worry that your parents show towards you that you should just enjoy it and face it, it will never stop!! And frankly, it was nice. My parents drove me down to Olivet to meet the rest of the group so I didn't have to leave my car on campus. My dad specifically took time off work to do this so I know they love me. I have never seen my father so worried about me. I'm 37-years old and he was, for lack of a better word, terrified. A little birdie told me he asked every day while I was gone if anyone had heard from me. I do understand why he would be worried; face it, we don't always see the positives on the news when it comes to Europe do we? Heck no, sometimes I think the media is told to give us only the bad so we don't leave the "comfort" of our own country. Think about that one for awhile!


I took the time at Detroit-Metro to try and figure out my classmates and my instructor. If I was going to be stuck with them for 11-days I thought it best if I learned about them right from the start. My instructor's name was Dustin. Yes, I admit it was weird to be 3-months older than him but face it, we're never too old to learn! I got over that shock fairly quick. My classmates I believed ranged in age from 19-26. Forgive me if I'm slightly off, but I think I'm right. Most were under 22-23 years of age. They were all fascinating individuals and they taught me quite a few things. I'm grateful I got to meet them since I think each one of us brought a unique perspective to the trip.

From left to right: Me, Brittany, Taylor, Jordan, Megan, Dustin, Chelsea, Eleri, Michelle and Liz.



Ok, get the picture in your mind right now. Nine, independent, totally different women on an 11-day trip with one male instructor. I'm impressed as hell that Dustin survived it.

Actually, I'm impressed as hell that WE survived it with very little, if any, drama. No hair-pulling or name calling only bouts of annoyance with each other, but that is minor. I get annoyed with my family if I have to spend too long with them. I chalk part of that up to Dustin's unbelievably fast paced itinerary for each day! But more on that later. I'm going to blog for each day, so be patient. I promise it will be worth the wait.





Four of our five flights to, around and from Europe were on the German airlines Lufthansa. Talk about a clean airline! I felt safe and secure from the moment I stepped onto the plane. For my flight from Detroit to Frankfurt, Germany we were on an Airbus A340-300 as seen in the picture I snapped above. This was my first time on such a large jet. Four engines, 10-exits, 375 passengers in a 2x4x2 seating arrangement. For this first flight I was sitting next to my classmate, Eleri in two seats by the window on the left side of the plane.



I'm inserting a big thank you to my friend Patti Watson. If it wasn't for her motivating me to exercise my butt would not have fit in the seats. LOL Certainly not a comfortable plane for anyone bigger than myself. Not a lot of leg room and the seats are just wide enough. So keep that in mind if you plan on traveling to Europe any time soon!

There were little touch screens on the seats in front of us so we could watch movies or TV shows. I watched The Hobbit twice. They also had this fantastic thing that shows you your altitude, a map of what you are flying over, time to destination and our air speed. I LOVED IT!

For this flight to Europe our cruising altitude was 36,000 feet, air speed was as low as 550mph to as high as 620mph and it showed how we flew up over Canada, Iceland, Greenland in this arch until we started down over Scotland and England and finally landed in Germany. Our flight only took 7.5 hours. I know, you're saying ONLY in a sarcastic, eye-rolling manner, right? Well, when you hear how long it was on our return flight you won't be doing that. This flight was a piece of cake compared to the last one!

So we finally board and get settled. I'm just fine. Excited yet doing a good job of keeping my emotions under control. I really didn't want to take a Xanax on this flight. Nothing like thinking how you are going to be stuck in a tin can for 7.5 hours flying over the ocean at night. It does wonders for your nerves so I didn't think about it.

They go through the pre-flight talk informing us of the exits, oxygen masks, flotation devices, etc in German and finally in English. The plane has everything marked in German AND in English. I found that fascinating.

The staff on board were obviously German. If I remember correctly they were all female except for one male. The pilots were male. I've always thought Germans to be a little rough around the edges and I still maintain that belief. They have a tendency to come across as rude or gruff, when really they are not. It's just who they are and partly the rough sounding language they speak. It's no different than American's coming across as arrogant. Yes, after this trip I am a firm believer that we are arrogant. We might not believe we are, but I'm telling you, we are. More on that later.

We take off and it's the smoothest takeoff ever. The plane is so big that it feels like we're floating in water. The little turbulence we did encounter at first was nothing more than a shimmy yet in a smaller plane it would have probably left me sick. I loved every moment of that flight, UNTIL they were done serving us dinner and turned off the cabin lights. All the windows had to be shut. Holy shit. Not cool. I spent a good half hour fighting off a panic attack simply because I am one of those people who need to have a window to look out. Ugh, that was difficult to overcome, yet I did.

Thank goodness they serve beer, wine and other spirits on the flights. It's all included in the cost of the plane fare so I certainly partook. In fact, I had a vodka and orange juice. Good thing about Europe.... they don't waste the drink with fillers. I had more vodka than orange juice, yet I never complained once. :)

I didn't sleep on the flight. We took off around 7:15pm on Thursday, May 2nd and landed in Germany 7.5 hours later which was around 8 or 9am Friday morning their time. Talk about time travel. Quite the shock to the system when you're traveling ahead in time by 6 hours. Doesn't help when Greece is another hour ahead of Germany.

We hoofed it across the Frankfurt airport, found our connecting flight to Athens, Greece and sat down to wait. It was fun to sit and people watch and more importantly to listen to the people. I heard quite a few English speakers as well as a few other countries.

Overall, my first overseas flight was very uneventful and fun. More fun was to come though. Shortly I'll take you through my first views of Athens. But for now, I think that gets the ball rolling. I'm sure I'll be adding more to each blog I post and eventually I'll have a novel worthy of your time. Some things stay in Europe, but for the most part, you'll be able to live vicariously through me as I tell you of the people, culture, historical sites, modern times and how this trip changed me.

I promise you that you won't regret reliving it with me. Just be patient, since this will take some time. We flew over 11,000 miles in 11-days and that doesn't count our daily (all-day) walks. You don't cover that many miles and not have stories to tell!