Our trip to Vienna turned out to be more eventful than we had planned. It was an exhausting trip, filled with missed & delayed flights, lost baggage, a few tantrums, record snowfalls and not much sleep, but all this was buffered by God-given grace & patience in the midst of some un-fun moments.
Our flight left from Orlando on Sunday at 5pm... or so we thought. I had checked the departure times a few days prior and in my mind it was suppose to be 5pm. It wasn't until our drive there (in Inverness) that we triple-checked and realized the flight left at 8:40pm. This was not the end of the world. We thought this would give us ample opportunity to arrive early, grab some dinner and relax and let the kids run around and burn some energy prior to takeoff. Dan's parents drove us to the airport (they drove both of their cars up to take us!). As we arrived and began to unload our bags we realized that our stroller tire was flat (not just a patchable hole, but the tube needed replacing). This was a devastating blow. All our plans rested on this stroller. It was our only way of navigating all our dependents and carry-ons (including a car seat & a guitar) through our layover at Frankfurt Airport. Thankfully we had arrived early! After much searching, Dan & his dad found a spare tube for our stroller tire, inflated it and got the stroller working - woohoo!! We still had a bit of time, so Dan's parents got permission to come to the gate with us. They were a tremendous help with the carry-on luggage & boys.
Our flight took off a little late, but nothing too disconcerting. An hour into the flight, we had some dinner and finally they turned off the lights. Our kids are usually asleep by 8:00pm, but they did a great job hanging in there. They got to enjoy some shows. William was very happy to watch Toy Story 3.
We arrived in Frankfurt a little late, but not too bad. It was neat to land and see all the snow on the ground. However, when we landed, the plane didn't taxi up to the terminal, but parked on the tarmac - which we didn't realize until we exited the plane doors. We didn't have any of our winter gear on. It was conveniently packed in an easily accessible carry-on... which is not so convenient when we were at the top of the STAIRS to head to the tram to take us to the terminal. At this moment, I'm carrying Calvin, a diaper bag, a CARS (the movie) backpack and a rolling carry-on bag. I'm also assisting William and overseeing Worthy who himself is carrying a bag. Dan is loaded up with the car seat, guitar, and (2) laptop carrying cases. At the door of the plane, looking down these icy, slick, metal stairs, I decide to drop my carry-on & Worthy's and grab William's hand to assist him down the stairs. I'm not quite sure HOW Dan managed to grab the 2 additional bags I left up there, but he eventually showed up on the tram. However, the stroller was nowhere to be found. We were suppose to pick it up in Frankfurt at the "gate" so we could use it during our quick layover.
After our 20 minute tram ride from the plane to another terminal, we need to transport our kids and all our bags (sans stroller) through passport control, security and to our next flight (which was a TREK!). This was arduous. Seriously. My arm was aching from carrying Calvin, who isn't a large 11 month old. After our 25 minute haul through the airport, we finally arrive at our gate and have missed our flight. Augh! Thankfully the man behind the desk speaks excellent English and was exceptionally nice as well. He booked us on a flight leaving for Vienna in a couple of hours AND secured (2) strollers from the airport for us to use. We made our way over to our new gate, found a cart on the way to load our stuff upon and kindly was helped by another airport worker to bypass the area where they block carts from entering into the gate waiting area.
Our flight ended up being grossly delayed, but thankfully not cancelled, like many other flights were. We found an out-of-the-way spot on the floor to crash and wait the rest of our 4 hours. The boys did great! Calvin slept some, Will & Worthy played with Transformers & colored and eventually we got the DVD player out and Alvin & the Chipmunks worked their magic.
William & I were able to get a much needed nap as well.
Finally we lined up to board the plane. We had many kind people offer to help us with our bags and one nice lady even gave the kids a candy bar while we waited. This time on our tram ride to the airplane (waiting on the tarmac) we had on our winter coats. As we got seated and adjusted the pilot announced that they would start serving meals because we were going to have an hour and a half wait before we could get de-iced and take off. Augh! Oh, and the bathrooms weren't working, so if they couldn't get those fixed while we wait then we'd have to disembark and find another plane. Double Augh! Thankfully, they got it fixed and off we headed to Vienna. This leg we flew on Austrian Airlines. The flight attendants were wonderful. They brought the kids toys during our long wait and really went overboard to accomodate us. Before we reached cruising height the kids and I were all sleep.
Shortly, we landed in Vienna and were welcomed at the gate by Brad & Herbert who came and helped us with our bags & kids. At baggage claim we met up with sweet Lindsay. They had all spent the day at the airport following our delays.
Our first pictures in Vienna - waiting for luggage (and a bit overtired)
Our last hiccup was losing a stroller seat. We filed a claim at the airport and it has since been returned to us. All in all it was an exhausting trip, but filled with kindness and helpfulness from strangers. Throughout our 28 hour trip, God gave patience and perseverance to each of us. We were both SO impressed and amazed at Worthy's helpfulness, patience and kindness. He was exceedingly helpful and we couldn't have pulled it off without him. Thank you God for a SAFE arrival and seeing your kindness to us in the midst of some crazy circumstances.
