Saturday, December 14, 2024

Bavaria Christmas Markets: Wrap up

 So I took a day off to recover from the trip back.  I don't know what possessed me to book a flight with 2 layovers...no 2 INTERNATIONAL layovers.  Coming from the EU I had to go through customs at Heathrow and again when I landed in Chicago.  Ugh.

What made it worse was the delays.  First, I got to Munich airport a full 4 hours early.  However, they didn't start manning the check-in desk until 3 hours before the flight...and then only one desk and there were a lot of priority check ins.  So the rest of us didn't start getting checked in until 2 hours before boarding.  We still had to go through security and passport control.  I didn't get much of a chance to do any duty free shopping in Munich.

Then, we were a bit late to London.  Luckily, security had upgraded in the last two weeks and we went through much faster.  I had also checked the bulk of my luggage, so that made things faster too.  Still, not much time for Duty-Free and no Crunchies to be found.  So, I grabbed a few more Malteasers.

I decided to take full advantage of my perks in premium economy and got a beer instead of my regular water


It was good.  A good amount of hoppy with citrus notes.  Not too heavy, so perfect for a flight.  Of course, the same snack was back from the flight from the U.S.


Our cute little gingerbread men.  This time I didn't stack them so you can really see how cute they are.

The flight was uneventful.  I didn't sleep and watched 3 and a half movies.  I would have watched 4 if my movie screen hadn't frozen up after the first pre-arrival pilot announcement. 

We were late leaving Heathrow, which means that we were late arriving in Chicago. I originally had a 2 hour layover, which was shortened to an hour and a half.  Customs wasn't too bad, but it took them forever to unload the luggage.  By the time I got it, it was too late to re-check at the usual place for connecting flights, I had to go up to arrivals and check it there.  Then, through security...and change my terminal.   I was several gates away when I heard the announcement for last call for boarding on my flight.   I was already hustling...so I had to run.  You know I can't run...

I barely made the gate, luckily my seat was closer to the front of the plane and on the aisle.  I got settled and waited for the sweat to dry.  I actually napped on the 2 hour flight.

I got to Austin, picked up my luggage, and went to the Uber pick up.  Found out that my ride was reserved at the wrong terminal...no idea how I did that.  I was tired, my legs hurt from the rushing around and I ended up getting turned around with the Uber pickup.  I finally found my ride, and got home.  I didn't bother to unpack, but I showered and got to sleep at almost 3am. 

I slept almost 12 hours.  I woke up in pain.  My right calf was sore from the constant cramping and, all of a sudden, my right thigh started to randomly spasm.  I figured that it was from a combination of overuse and dehydration.  I set out to rehydrate.  I actually didn't eat much yesterday.

I feel much better today.  Got up relatively early and have been unpacking and going through my photos.  Finally wrapping this up.  Hope you enjoyed!





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