My world trip has officially started, but it hasn’t quite registered yet.
The journey to Canada was very comfortable. I had expected to be very stressed, but everything worked out so well and smoothly that I was totally relaxed.
I had finished packing my bags the day before my big trip; all I had left to do in the morning was pack up a few last things in my apartment. I left the house at 9 am local time in Munich to catch the train to the airport. My mom accompanied my on this part of my journey.
Thanks to having checked in for my flights online the night before, I did not have to stand in line at the airport and had my luggage dropped off within a few minutes of arriving there.
My mom and I sat outside for the next hour or so to make the most of the beautiful weather. I soaked in the warm sunlight and enjoyed the breeze on my skin (it was so warm that I didn’t need a jacket).
Finally, it was time to say goodbye. A few tears were shed and I made my way through security, heart torn between anticipation and a pinch of sadness.
I made my way to the gate (which included an underground shuttle train) where I spent the last minutes before boarding just doing nothing. The passengers boarded at the normal time, but the flight was 40 minutes delayed. I had a window seat, so at least I could watch the goings-on outside the plane.
The 3-hour flight to Lisbon was really smooth. After the snacks were served, I slept for a bit, and the flight was over before it really began.
Thanks to the delay, I only had 2-ish hours in Lisbon in-between flights. I walked around the terminal for a while, just stretching my legs in preparation for the 8-hour flight that was about to come. I found an outlet underneath a window where I charged my phone and had an excellent view of my plane. The window sill had the perfect height to work at my laptop while standing up, so I went through the pictures I had taken during the flight and also those from the weekend before in Munich to upload them to my hard drive so that I could edit them during the flight, should I get bored.
I had a window seat on this flight as well, not that there’s a whole lot to see for most of the flight, but it’s still nicer than sitting at the aisle. The second flight was even smoother than the first. After dinner, the lights in the cabin were turned off and I slept for a while (and by “sleep” I mean “snooze”). I had downloaded a few books I’d been intending to read for a while now, but after half an hour of reading, I was so tired that I gave up.
The plane had been up in the air for over 5 hours before I saw land for the first time after leaving Europe behind us. Even though we were chasing the sunset at 850 km/h, we couldn’t keep up and it was already dark outside. It was still nice to see a few cities illuminated along the coast of Canada.
We arrived in Toronto half an hour early, but since there was no gate available, we ended up being right on time. The time from the landing to arriving at the gate I spent talking to the girl next to me. We had some light conversation and exchanged our information before saying goodbye and getting off the plane.
Getting through border control, picking up my luggage and passing customs went without any problems. But trying to figure out how to get from the Airport to Eddy, my host in Toronto, was no easy feat. I had no cash on my, my credit card didn’t work properly and the ticket machine for public transport didn’t work. After trying to find a solution that wouldn’t cost me 5-fold of the bus, I gave up and got myself an uber. The ride was still relatively cheap, but I’m still annoyed with myself for not being prepared adequately.
When I finally made it to Eddie’s place, he welcomed me with open arms. He’s a really nice guy and I look forward to getting to know him these next couple of days.
I went to sleep at 12:30 am local time (6:30 am Munich time), so after being awake for 24 hours.
Germany
Switzerland/France
Spain/Portugal
Portugal
So much food!
