Road 50, Here We Come
About delays
This is my daily summary of our adventures following Road 50 from Chicago to San Francisco. This is not completely true, as road 50 does not reach Chicago, but let us say so. Additionally, we just left Vienna for Chicago this morning. We will hit the road soon.
We left Vienna, Austria, this morning. Actually, first we left home. It was about 7:00 AM and a taxi was waiting for us. We reached the airport on time and entered the check-in area to give up our backpacks. Yes, you read correctly, we decided to travel comfortably, using our 30-year-old backpacks. Travelling with suitcases would not have been appropriate as our rental camper is quite, well, very small indeed.
The last time we both travelled with our huge backpacks was in 1994. At the time, we headed for Ladakh, a forgotten plain at 4000m of altitude, lost between India and China, on the Indian side in the Himalayan mountain range. We boarded a night bus from New Delhi to Manali. From there we were lucky to board a second bus that brought us from Manali to Leh, the main city in Ladakh. We were lucky because it was the beginning of July and the road had just opened for the summer season. This highway was categorized as one of the most dangerous in the world and crosses passes at 5000 m of altitude. In some places, walls of snow were still higher than our bus. You can find the book we published after this and another one-year trip in Asia here.
Let’s get back to this trip. I just mentioned that we entered the airport and walked towards the check-in counters as we heard the screams of some policemen telling us to exit the hall. A piece of luggage had been left unattended and as it is customary, the whole building was being evacuated. It reminded me of another trip from Vienna to Stuttgart in Germany that I had done a few weeks earlier. Normally the flight takes about 1 hour. It took me 15 hours to reach my destination. My plane was cancelled. I had to fly later to Hanover. Once in Hanover (Hannover in German) and waiting for my connection, a funny person called the airport and announced a bomb attack. The whole airport was closed for the afternoon and all the flights cancelled so that I had to take the train. I reached my destination at 10 PM instead of 10 AM.
This time, we have been luckier. We left but stayed close to the entry door so that we manage the jump the queue when the alert ended. Luckily well done. The plane departed and we reached Amsterdam. From there we had to run to catch our next plane to Chicago. I had the pleasure to be submitted to a random security check, which again helped us to join the queue. This must have been my day.
We sat in the plane and waited, waited. After about 1 hour, the captain mentioned a delay due to missing passengers. Later a delay was due to offloading of the pieces of luggage of the missing passengers. Finally, the last reason happened to be that traffic was heavy and we had lost our departure slot. We started with 2 hours delay.
I am writing to you from seat 14 H. We just reached Greenland. The sky is cloudy. Most of the passengers are sleeping or pretending to sleep, lost in their thoughts. What are they dreaming of, I could not say. Returning to work after holiday? Leaving loved ones to start a new adventure? The beginning of a love story? The end? Overwhelming feelings of sadness or joy? The imagination travels at the speed of sound to meet the one already waiting for the plane to land. So many destinies crossing at 10,000 feet, above Greenland. Image of a peaceful earth, the infinite beauty of this white desert, untouched by human futility.
We finally landed, but could not find an appropriate parking spot. We lost another hour. It is 3 AM European time. I am about to go to sleep after a long day of travelling. Looking forward to meeting you soon again. Take care.
