Day One...and Two

What has started out swimmingly has evolved into an extraordinarily typical Helmke experience. The flight to JFK went without a hitch; the trip TO London Heathrow was great as well.
And yet, the descent into London started it all. "A little bit of snow," I recall the captain saying. We landed in the 6 or so inches of it, and because we could't get into a terminal, we were going to trudge across the tarmac to a shuttle to take us to Terminal 5. The stairs we were to use were frozen, so we had to pilfer those of another plane. Once on the shuttle, we waited approximately two hours, as a minor fender bender in the convoy of buses brought us to a standstill.

And then I got into the terminal. Terminal 5 has a placard talking about how it is 4000 meters long, and a 'queue' had formed that had cut back a grand total of five times...you do the math. Nine hours later, 800 cancellations later, I got a flight reservation for 945 the following morning. I could not pass through to departures and was thus limited to the cafe barstools and wooden chairs of the outside. They did provide us with water, sandwiches, and foam sleeping mats free of charge, but I also took part in the many sandwich options offered by the various eateries (including a grocery store). My new favorite sandwich: cheese and onion.

I slept a bit on the plane to LHR, but I only got two hours off and on in the airport. My friend travelling to Vienna just checked in (330 GMT), so there is hope that I will in fact reach my destination before the cows come home.

I'm actually having a really good time considering the extenuating circumstances of my journey, but I am ready to get to Istanbul. When my parents said I should overnight to see London a bit, I assume that this is not what they meant. I wouldn't have been able to get down there anyway, as the Tube, buses, and taxis all suspended service. The worst snow London saw in 18 years hs brought the entire country to a crippling halt. Oh well.....as Mom aptly puts it, "It's an adventure."