Soooo.. I am officially back in Los Angeles. Here's a quick recap on how the trip went. Please note that I am not colouring this with any kind of whining or negative emotion. This is just fairly objectively what happened during the trip:
Itinerary: Örnsköldsvik - Sundsvall - Arlanda Airport - Helsinki - JFK Airport, New York - LAX Los Angeles.
Jan 1st, 1555 CET:
Bus was supposed to arrive at 1540 but arrived 15 minutes late. Apparently it was also full and was not going to make it to the connecting train, which was leaving at 1810 from another location. We decided to take he car down south in order to maybe make it. Sis had met an old friend of hers as well and we also told another woman that she could hitch a ride with us if she wanted (she was amongst those that were left behind). We were assaulted by a blizzard while on the way south and due to this, missed the train by minutes. The bus arrived later and so, around 40-50 people were stranded there. We were helped out by a very lovely lady from SJ (Statens Järnvägar [State's Railroads]). Eventually we all made it on another train. This only went halfway and the remainder of the trip was covered by an extra bus. I eventually arrived at Arlanda Airport around 1am.
Jan 2nd, 0600 CET:
Flight to Helsinki. It went off without a hitch.
Apparently, Helsinki airport always announces in Swedish in addition to English and Suomi. This means that whenever there's the slightest announcement, non-scandinavians have to sit through a few minutes of jibberish before actually getting the message.
Had a layover of a few hours and spent that time watching scottish comedian/musician/actor Billy Connolly on my laptop. That man is hilarious!
Come an hour before flight departure, we were informed that there was an extra security check at the gate. This is the first time where I have actually been properly frisked (patdown, visiterad) by someone. The problem with this security check was that it took a very long time. Thus, the flight was delayed by roughly two hours. A disconcerting thing to hear when your connecting flight is leaving 1½ hours after the originally planned arrival in NY.
On the flight: Happened upon a family consisting of mother, father and their three(!) sons, ranging from young to adolescent age. Sitting on the left aisle side of the middle four-seats, I was subject to listening and observing a young child being extraordinarily spoiled by his father. The child was what must be a nightmare for a parent. Whining, rude, jittery, jumpy and altogether fairly annoying to his family. The only time he actually listened to someone was when I asked him something (usually if he wanted help with the belt, blanket, getting out in the aisle for a lavvy visit, etc). He also kept sneezing on me.
JFK Airport (Which has parts that look exactly like LAX):
Missed first connecting flight at 5:15pm. Was mentally fatigued at this point and unnecessarily grumpy, did not behave rudely to any employees though. Being a pain in the neck, just because you've had a less than perfect day, does not help your own situation and ruins the moment for others.
Don't misbehave, people! Be courteous and make the effort to be at least neutral when addressing personnel that have had no contact with you prior to that moment. Got another flight at 7:10pm. This flight was delayed until roughly 8:30pm. About 20-30 minutes after taking off, we had to turn around due to the flight being overloaded. We were greeted by a posse of emergency vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances. "It's all procedure" said the pilot. After waiting to midnight, we finally boarded the flight and came back to Los Angeles at 3am local time on the 3rd of January. I was greeted by A & C (Mom and dad nr. 3) who were following my progress from NYC to LA. I am greatly appreciative for all the support and help I get from these lovely people.
So that's the trip back to Los Angeles. I am fairly weary and my body isn't fully recuperated yet. Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you're all having a good time!
Må väl!
