Traveling to Split, Croatia with a layover in Vienna, Austria
I can hardly believe I am off on a trip overseas. It's exciting and scary at the same time. Not knowing what to expect hangs over me as I board the huge jet and find my seat. The plane is full, but the seat next to me is empty, so I can at least stretch my legs a bit.
After takeoff, we were served a snack, and I observed that many of the European travelers were ordering wine for their drink, but not being charged. Since I was flying Austrian Airlines, I realized that the wine was part of the complimentary drink list since they cater to the Europeans. My meal 30 minutes later was delicious, and I watched a movie while I ate called "The Jones' ". The movie/TV listing of things to watch was very limited, and there were many independent films as well. Thankfully I had brought along some books, so that helped pass the time.
The time in Europe is six hours ahead, so I immediately changed my watch to 11:45pm. Now hopefully my body will connect with the new time and I can transition to the new time zone easily...
When the flight attendant came around again later, I asked for red wine, and she poured a huge cupful for me. It was very tasty! And it helped me to fall asleep, which I definitely needed to do since I would lose a full night by the time I landed in Vienna.
Around 6:30am Vienna time, breakfast was served: a hard roll with ham and swiss cheese, banana muffin, yogurt, coffee, and orange juice. Very nice and a good start for the day.
We landed around 8am and exited the plane, down steps, and onto a bus that brought us to the terminal. I got the very first stamp in my passport book! The next step was passing through customs, and since I had nothing to declare, I walked right through after answering questions about where I was coming from and where I was headed.
The airport was very large, and I immediately looked for a bathroom. Since most airports just have signs with symbols (no words like "restrooms"), I started looking for the usual man/woman symbols we have here in the states. All I kept seeing was a green symbol of a man running. This seemed logical at the time. A man running would definitely mean "restroom", right? But each time I headed to those doors, they said, "Alarm will sound". Since I didn't want to set off any alarms, I kept walking. Finally it dawned on me that "WC ---> " was the sign for water closet, better known as "the loo" or "bathroom". So I had a good chuckle at my own expense and headed to the first WC I came upon. It felt good to wash my face and freshen up for the day ahead.
I exchanged dollars to euros so that I could buy a sandwich and cup of coffee while waiting for my plane to board; I had about a 4 hour layover. My $200 converted to only 126 euros. Bummer! I decided to walk around and explore. There was such a variety of shops to look in. You name the designer, they had a shop here. Givenchy, Prada, Yves St Laurent, Gucci among many others. I purchased some chocolates from The Caviar House, but decided to wait on any other purchases---I had so much shopping ahead of me on this trip!
While I was eating my sandwich, I noticed a booth in the center of the eating area, large enough to hold two people. Just about the time I was about to ask someone what it was, two men went in, closed the door, and lit up cigarettes. They have these smoking booths all over the airport. I had never seen anything like it!
Eventually we boarded to Split. There were only about 12 passengers on the plane and the crew. I always enjoy the views from the plane:
Leaving Vienna-
Above the clouds--
It was a very quick flight (one hour), so we were up and then back down coming in over the beautiful coast and islands. The first thing I noticed from the air is that most of the buildings are white and have red-clay roofs. Stunning against the blue sea!
Went through customs and got my stamp (so exciting!), grabbed my bags off the conveyor, and through the doors to hear, "STEPHANIE!!" There was Suni, beautiful as ever, greeting me with a big hug. It was wonderful to see her after all these years.
She introduced me to our hosts, Nicole and Gordon (who live close by the villa where we are staying), then we piled the suitcases onto a cart and headed to their car. I just took in the sights as we traveled along, noticing fruit trees that I've never seen before: pomegranate!
They have the cutest little car, and it was interesting trying to fit the luggage and all four of us in...but we did it! We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, which is about the size of a 7-11. There we purchased bananas, European cookies, coffee, cream, eggs, water, and some ice cream bars. Imagine my shock to see the bill--212.40. Their currency is kunas, which converts to about 5 kunas to every dollar.
They drove us to the villa where we were staying, and I realized why they drive such cute little cars. The streets are so narrow, with rock walls on either side, that a larger car--or my van--would never make it through. The villa is on the top of the rock hillside overlooking the bay of the Baltic Sea--the view is stunning!
Once we hauled our suitcases up to the third floor and settled in, we exchanged gifts and looked at pictures.
We were later invited to eat dinner with a couple, Eckhardt and Suzi, who are staying in the lower floors of the villa. Eckhardt made seafood marinara, spaghetti, and salad. We also tasted a couple different red wines. Nicole and Gordon came over as well, and we enjoyed getting to know everyone.
Gordon grew up in Croatia, then moved to London, where he met Nicole. Nicole lived in Germany until a teenager, then moved to London. She and Gordon moved back to Croatia about 1-1/2 years ago with their now 8 yr old.
Eckhardt grew up in Germany, where he met Suzi, who had previously lived and worked in London.
After much laughter, we fell into bed, exhausted from our day of travel. Tomorrow we explore the closest town, Trigor!
After takeoff, we were served a snack, and I observed that many of the European travelers were ordering wine for their drink, but not being charged. Since I was flying Austrian Airlines, I realized that the wine was part of the complimentary drink list since they cater to the Europeans. My meal 30 minutes later was delicious, and I watched a movie while I ate called "The Jones' ". The movie/TV listing of things to watch was very limited, and there were many independent films as well. Thankfully I had brought along some books, so that helped pass the time.
The time in Europe is six hours ahead, so I immediately changed my watch to 11:45pm. Now hopefully my body will connect with the new time and I can transition to the new time zone easily...
When the flight attendant came around again later, I asked for red wine, and she poured a huge cupful for me. It was very tasty! And it helped me to fall asleep, which I definitely needed to do since I would lose a full night by the time I landed in Vienna.
Around 6:30am Vienna time, breakfast was served: a hard roll with ham and swiss cheese, banana muffin, yogurt, coffee, and orange juice. Very nice and a good start for the day.
We landed around 8am and exited the plane, down steps, and onto a bus that brought us to the terminal. I got the very first stamp in my passport book! The next step was passing through customs, and since I had nothing to declare, I walked right through after answering questions about where I was coming from and where I was headed.
The airport was very large, and I immediately looked for a bathroom. Since most airports just have signs with symbols (no words like "restrooms"), I started looking for the usual man/woman symbols we have here in the states. All I kept seeing was a green symbol of a man running. This seemed logical at the time. A man running would definitely mean "restroom", right? But each time I headed to those doors, they said, "Alarm will sound". Since I didn't want to set off any alarms, I kept walking. Finally it dawned on me that "WC ---> " was the sign for water closet, better known as "the loo" or "bathroom". So I had a good chuckle at my own expense and headed to the first WC I came upon. It felt good to wash my face and freshen up for the day ahead.
I exchanged dollars to euros so that I could buy a sandwich and cup of coffee while waiting for my plane to board; I had about a 4 hour layover. My $200 converted to only 126 euros. Bummer! I decided to walk around and explore. There was such a variety of shops to look in. You name the designer, they had a shop here. Givenchy, Prada, Yves St Laurent, Gucci among many others. I purchased some chocolates from The Caviar House, but decided to wait on any other purchases---I had so much shopping ahead of me on this trip!
While I was eating my sandwich, I noticed a booth in the center of the eating area, large enough to hold two people. Just about the time I was about to ask someone what it was, two men went in, closed the door, and lit up cigarettes. They have these smoking booths all over the airport. I had never seen anything like it!
Eventually we boarded to Split. There were only about 12 passengers on the plane and the crew. I always enjoy the views from the plane:
Leaving Vienna-
Above the clouds--
It was a very quick flight (one hour), so we were up and then back down coming in over the beautiful coast and islands. The first thing I noticed from the air is that most of the buildings are white and have red-clay roofs. Stunning against the blue sea!
Went through customs and got my stamp (so exciting!), grabbed my bags off the conveyor, and through the doors to hear, "STEPHANIE!!" There was Suni, beautiful as ever, greeting me with a big hug. It was wonderful to see her after all these years.
She introduced me to our hosts, Nicole and Gordon (who live close by the villa where we are staying), then we piled the suitcases onto a cart and headed to their car. I just took in the sights as we traveled along, noticing fruit trees that I've never seen before: pomegranate!
They have the cutest little car, and it was interesting trying to fit the luggage and all four of us in...but we did it! We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, which is about the size of a 7-11. There we purchased bananas, European cookies, coffee, cream, eggs, water, and some ice cream bars. Imagine my shock to see the bill--212.40. Their currency is kunas, which converts to about 5 kunas to every dollar.They drove us to the villa where we were staying, and I realized why they drive such cute little cars. The streets are so narrow, with rock walls on either side, that a larger car--or my van--would never make it through. The villa is on the top of the rock hillside overlooking the bay of the Baltic Sea--the view is stunning!
Once we hauled our suitcases up to the third floor and settled in, we exchanged gifts and looked at pictures.
We were later invited to eat dinner with a couple, Eckhardt and Suzi, who are staying in the lower floors of the villa. Eckhardt made seafood marinara, spaghetti, and salad. We also tasted a couple different red wines. Nicole and Gordon came over as well, and we enjoyed getting to know everyone.
Gordon grew up in Croatia, then moved to London, where he met Nicole. Nicole lived in Germany until a teenager, then moved to London. She and Gordon moved back to Croatia about 1-1/2 years ago with their now 8 yr old.
Eckhardt grew up in Germany, where he met Suzi, who had previously lived and worked in London.
After much laughter, we fell into bed, exhausted from our day of travel. Tomorrow we explore the closest town, Trigor!
2 comments:
What a great post - written so well it was like traveling along with you. And, of course, I could hear your "voice" in your writing. Can hardly wait to hear and see more.
Sweet dreams, my friend. Hope you catch up on your sleep and new time zone very quickly!
Love you! YBFA&F
Yay! I love vicarious adventure.
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