We made it to Europe! Our trip across the pond went very quickly and very smoothly, and we even got to meet members of the Canadian National Paralympic Soccer Team, who were on their way to Barcelona for a World Cup Qualifying event.
After a late start, we flew through check-in & security in Seatac & enjoyed our last American meal at at the concourse. Gone was all the stress of packing, planning, childcare arranging, saying goodbye to the kids, getting checked in, & through TSA. Our three-week date had begun.
It felt fantastic!
A hop, a skip, & a jump, and we were abroad. YVR is an outstanding airport decorated well with Northwest Native Art. But before we could take it all in, it was time to board an Airbus A330 bound for Europe.
Lufthansa is a fantastic airline & I highly recommend them. Good food, plenty of individualized entertainment choices, decent leg room, efficiently run, and (very important) a usb charger in your arm rest.
Jetlag is like a hangover, except ibuprofen and some greasy food won't fix it
Ten hours in plane is draining by any standard, and traveling forward 9 time zones will inevitably have a massive effect on your body and sleep. My tip is this: hydrate & replenish. Whenever the stewardess walks by with drinks, ask for 1 water and 1 OJ.
So, three movies (the croods, something & the hobbit), some journaling, & several games of GalaxyTab FIFA later, we landed, on-time, in München.
Our connecting flight to Dresden began boarding about 20min after we landed, but border control went quite quickly. We had no problem meeting our flight.
Just an hour later we were picked up at the Dresden Flughafen by our great friends Julia & Jan. Soon enough, we walking through the famous Dresden Neustadt to their flat. It was only early afternoon, so we ate & talked, & caught up, trying desperately to stay awake until 10pm.
The final step in getting acclimated to the European time zone, is ignoring what time it is back home and fully committing to your new time. Pay off you will want to know what time it "would be if..." but Jetlag is as mental as it is physical. Find something to distract you until a proper bedtime approaches. ...if you aren't meeting up with friends, I suggest grocery shopping and dinner out.
I don't sleep on planes, but Niki does & I'm not sure either of us is better in dealing with jetlag, so I'm not certain it helps. Our jetlag this trip lasted two days, but it is not horrible, because we aren't also fighting dehydration. Were just a bit sleepy.
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