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Trip Start
Jun 30, 2008
1
21
Trip End
Jul 21, 2008
Holt,
Michigan,
United States
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
They had a nice spread for breakfast. We sat with a couple (Pat and Jay) who were on the ship with us. It was the same people we sat with at the "Captain's Dinner" at the end of the voyage. And again he asked me when I was starting my own business. I laughed it off and he went into how it was the best thing he'd ever done and working for the man only makes him richer, etc, etc.
Since the Radisson was right at the airport, it was a quick walk to the ticket counter. I got checked in without any problems and was even checked in all the way to LAN. Other people were only checked in to ORD and had to get rechecked in for the last leg to LAN. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of the ticket problems for today. When I went to board the plane bound for Stockholm, the ticket agent kept saying "No, no, no" and "Do you have any other documents?". The fake e-tkts strike again. It took a while and there were a lot of phone calls, but it finally got straightened out. She wrote an e-tkt number on my fake boarding pass and was satisfied. The number she wrote was the exact same as what was given to me on the paper tickets... 2 others were in my predicament, but once she figured out my problem the others were taken care of in short order. Other than that the flight to Stockholm was uneventful.
We had a really short layover in Stockholm. We had to get our passports stamped saying we were leaving the EU only then could we proceed to the gate. At the gate, before they would even let you into the gate area, you had to show your ticket and passport. Then when I boarded they didn't bother to look at the ticket as I entered the jetway. I've never seen it like that before.
The flight to ORD was about 8 hours on an A330. I got an aisle seat this time, so I could get up and move around more easily. I watched 3 movies in the personal entertainment system ("Run Fat Boy Run", "The Spiderwick Chronicles", and "Drillbit Taylor") and read for a bit. I couldn't fall asleep unfortunately. The flight was otherwise uneventful.
At ORD we went through customs. The customs agent stamped my passport saying I was admitted into the US. I'd never seen that before either. We got our bags and since we had nothing to declare walked right through. It was a little confusing as to what to do next. We had our baggage and I was checked in. There was a United agent telling people to put their baggage on a conveyor. It seemed weird since some of us weren't checked in yet, but it was easier than hauling the luggage across 3 terminals. It was unclear where to go to get checked in, too. Some people were told Terminal 1 and others were told Terminal 2. After stopping at Terminal 2, the correct answer was Terminal 1. Once that debacle was resolved, we went through security and on to the gate.
We had a 6 hour layover in ORD. It was painful, really. The Stockholm and Oslo airports are really nice - ORD is not. We camped out in a little waiting area for the requisite time. We talked, read, looked at pictures, and watched DVDs to pass the time. Finally it was getting on time to board the plane to LAN. However, it was delayed. It was in a part of the airport that serviced smaller planes, so there were a lot of gates all in one smallish area. So, it was hot and smelly and chaotic.
After a delay of 20 minutes we finally got to board. Unfortunately, the axillary power unit of the aircraft (CRJ-200) was broken and so there was no AC. It was about 80 degrees out and miserable in the airplane as we waited to depart. The pilots promised that the AC would be on again once we were airborne. We finally took off. The AC system sure did blow, but not cold air so much. Thankfully, the flight was only 30 minutes long. So, that's right we waited 6 hours for a 30 minute flight.
We landed in LAN and deplaned. Sarah was waiting for me at the end of the concourse! I was soooo glad to see her! All our baggage turned up. I was wondering if it would considering where we last saw it in ORD. We said our goodbyes and drove home.
