Flight

Hello all. We have landed safe and sound in Munster. We haven't done a lot since we are recovering from jet lag and etc., but I will share our experience so far.

We left KY bright and early, we woke up around the time Pete is usually going to bed :) The flight from Lexington to Charlotte was easy. We arrived in Charlotte, went to the bathroom and were going to get a bite to  eat since we didn't have much time or much appetite in Lexington when I thought we should check what time we boarded, it turned out we were boarding in just a couple minutes! Off we went to the other side of the airport. I was so winded when we arrived. They were boarding when we got there but we had made it. Feeling rushed and a bit out of sorts we boarded our plane to JFK. We had so many shoulder bags that I think I hit every person in the head as I walked down the aisle, then we got to our seats only to find someone was in the middle seat. We just stood there letting the line behind us grow longer. A flight attendant took notice and had us move to the back of the plane until we figured things out. She was very nice and gave us a very large bottle of water while we waited. The lady who was in the seat we wanted came back and was not happy, you could tell she wanted a reason to be mad, but everyone was just so polite about it, and I think we looked so disheveled that it was hard to stay angry long. They gave her an aisle seat up front and it all worked out. I was across the aisle, from Pete and the boys, with Thomas, the man next to me was being very polite but when the flight attendant offered to move him so he wouldn't have to be next to me(and a baby), he jumped on the chance adding, "This will give you more room, ma'am." I thanked him and realized in his case I would have done the same. This flight went very well too. It gave us time to relax before JFK. We let this plane clear out completely before we deplaned, and many people commented on how good our baby was the whole time. I think since we arrived in such chaos people were holding their breath the whole flight, and then were pleasantly surprised when the flight ended with everyone happy and cheerful. We knew we had a 5 hour layover in JFK and we knew that we had to pick up our checked luggage then go back upstairs to check in for our international flight. We started following the arrows to baggage claim when having a stroller made things difficult, but we found an elevator and went down. It came out at security near a TSA booth. It was pretty obvious we got out at the wrong place. Luckily, three young kids, two tired parents, and lots of shoulder bags makes you look stupid and not evil so an agent or security guard with a thick Jersey accent was so polite and helped us figure out what and where we needed to go and then handed us over to a woman who found out what terminal airberlin flew out of. Really, people didn't have to be nice or take time out of their day to help, but I am so glad they did. We found where the baggage claim floor was but I guess our detour had us entering the back way because a guard was very confused when we told him what we were looking for and asked for proof that we were really on the flight we said we were on.  By the time we arrived they were about to close the carousel. We got our luggage and a luggage cart and off we went to find the airtrain to get us to our terminal. We found it just fine but the first train was a bit full and we had a lot of stuff, so after hesitating for a second we went for it, only to find people wouldn't move and the door was starting to close so we backed out but Jack's backpack fell inside the train just as the doors were shutting. Luckily, a very nice young man pried the door open and tossed out the bag. Again, people were so nice when they didn't have to be. We found airberlin just fine but that part of the the airport was pretty deserted. We stood there for awhile and no one passed us so I went to figure out what was going on. We really wanted to get through security so we could eat since we hadn't eaten anything all day,minus some little snacks I had packed. I learned that the airberlin lines weren't going to open until 2:40pm and it was only just noon. So we found a magazine/coffee stand, bought some more snack food and a couple magazines and set up camp in a corner out of everyone's way.

This was very uncomfortable since we had no pillows or blankets and there were no chairs, but it wasn't horrible. After snack time I pulled out our dvd player and Luke watched Cars and fell asleep, Jack and Pete played Super Mario Brothers on the computer and I had Thomas. Eventually, Thomas fell asleep and I realized Pete was asleep too, so I thought I could rest but at that moment Jack woke up so I read to him. The time there was fairly uneventful we did get some weird looks from employees who passed after it became apparent we weren't moving anytime soon. One lady asked if we were actually planning on flying, but after I explained our problem she became apologetic and wished she could just check us in herself, but was no longer allowed. Then when we went to mobilize a man came and checked our bags, they had tags on them from being checked in Lexington, I am not sure what he wanted, he never said, and he let us continue on our way. We made our way to security just fine, the lady was a bit mean and sharp with me, but it could have been worse. We found our waiting area and were finally able to eat!!! The kids started to get antsy here. We got out cars, coloring books, Pete took the older ones to find cake after lunch, but the day was beginning to catch up to them. While I was in the bathroom with Luke an older woman approached me to say she had seen me playing with the boys and while her youngest was now 41 she had 3 kids who at one point were 3 and under so she remembered the days well. (People often say this to me and almost always with a wistful look in their eyes as though they truly miss those days.) We boarded our plane and Jack was excited to find we each had a pillow, blanket, and a bag with various things inside including a face mask.

In our part of the plane there was a woman in front of us alone with a baby and a 3-year-old, and across the aisle from us was a couple with a new baby. I think a bond was formed right away. Luke had a hard time and probably the hardest of all. He screamed, he cried, he kicked, he kept undoing his seat belt. It was rough. Thomas began to scream and cry as well. It wasn't too pleasant. I had Thomas and Pete had Luke. Jack was just perfect in the middle. I realized at some point the man with the infant was making faces at Thomas to help calm him and it worked-- I smiled my thanks and he did it on and off the whole flight. At various points on the flight I would get Thomas asleep and just then the flight attendant and the cart would come by and it would wake him up. It happened every single time! He would wake up screaming. I began to hate that cart. Luke watched a movie on our dvd player but then it died, and it was hard to keep him occupied after that. There were not movie screens at every seat only a few scattered around the plane so you had to watch what they played and while the remake of Footloose is , I am sure great, it isn't a child's movie. The couple with the infant asked when they would turn down the lights because that is one reason the kids couldn't sleep, all of them by us, but it wouldn't be for awhile, and again we exchanged glances of understanding. I eventually gave Luke and Thomas benedryl which did help. Thomas slept quite well, but Luke became so sleepy he didn't really know how to handle it. At one point he woke up throwing a fit and then almost immediately fell asleep on the floor under his seat, we kept him there for awhile. The flight was about 8 hrs. and I slept for about 2 because when we finally got Thomas and Luke to sleep Jack woke up, yes Jack had slept through all of this. Pete was awake the whole flight. In the morning we were served a German breakfast of salami, turkey, bread, pickle, yogurt, and muffin. Then a round of hot beverage. We survived but it isn't something I would want to do again right away or as Pete says-- ever. We got to Berlin and had to have our passports ready. Pete informed me later this was customs but I thought they just wanted to make sure no one was sneaking in the country. Luckily, we had nothing to declare anyway and picked the correct line for having nothing to declare. We again had to go through security and now we were in Germany. The couple with the infant from our first flight were also by our gate so I actually spoke to them, they were going to Madrid or Barcelona( I can't remember) but from her accent I deduce they weren't American which shows me there is a bond universal when traveling with young infants on an international flight. Here Pete made our first German purchase and he bought me Coke. haha. It was very good. Then on to our last flight which was practically empty. Thomas was not so quiet on this flight-people stared. In Germany, maybe America too, they use lap belts for infants. We used it on our long flight and on the small flight Thomas was nursing when the flight attendant went by so she did not see him, but when she passed later she was slightly horrified that I allowed my baby to take off in a plane with out a lap belt and didn't I know it was dangerous? So she gave me one to use for landing. We got to baggage claim found our large bright red suitcase was missing! Not the black or navy ones, but our bright red one. This airport was empty. We went to lost and found and when we couldn't tell her our address or phone number she asked if she could walk with us and meet the person picking us up. Pete Albers, Pete's adviser, was the only person there in that part of the airport. He and the lady went in a corner to work things out. We loaded all our luggage in his car and then he found us the bus route we needed, waited for the bus with us, and told the bus driver what ticket we needed. He drove back with the luggage and we rode the bus. On the bus there is a screen that tells what stop is coming up and then shows the next three stops approaching along with the time. When you want a stop you hit the stop button that is red and says stop. We had to make a transfer which was the hardest part. This bus let us out at a main stop with many bus stops on both sides of the street. We had to find the correct one. We had three train numbers we could pick from but we couldn't find them on the signs anywhere. A lady who was on the original bus stopped to help us. She wanted to be and tried to be so helpful. She fearlessly went on a bus to ask a bus driver, stopped a man on the street who looked like a bus driver, and approached a college student all of whom were not helpful other than one told us to cross the street and try looking on the signs over there. She had a boy with her whom she called retarded, and it struck me how harsh that word sounded and how in America we don't say that word anymore. She explained she was not his mother but was watching him in what sounded like a foster care situation, she went on to say he was autistic and it struck me even more that she would call this autistic boy retarded, it would not be done in the US. After she went on to try and ask a second bus driver what to do with us we saw a bus we could use stop so we bid her farewell and boarded our bus. When we arrived at our destination Peter Albers was standing there waiting for us, and it was right next to our temporary home.

I will write more later on and put a few more pictures up but Pete should be home soon and we will need to find food and a hair dryer so I won't look so crazy.