I received my visa at 10:00 Monday morning, and the plan needed to be leaving at 11:00 Tuesday morning for the airport. That gave me around 25 hours to pack, not counting a few errands, saying goodbyes, and trying to get a little sleep. It was a crazy day trying to get ready!
The flight from Denver to London went quite smoothly, until we were about an hour out from London Heathrow. A winter storm had been parked over the United Kingdom for awhile, dumping a lot of snow in the north. There was 3-4 inches at Heathrow, and it was cold and slushy. Anyway, all the runways were closed and the other London airports weren't willing to let us in, so we flew in a circular holding pattern just north of London for slightly over an hour. Then, the pilot received notification that one runway had been cleared and he could land. I realized just how much he would have to trust the ground crew that the runway was cleared--one patch of ice and we wouldn't quite have a successful landing!
But, they had done a good job, and the landing was uneventful--we were all happy to be on the ground even though it was an hour after our expected arrival time. But now there was a new problem. Since no flights were going out of Heathrow, there were no empty gates. We remained on the plane for another hour or so, while a solution was figured out. They ended up pushing a set of stairs up against the plane and simply bussing us to the Terminal. It was a flight that will be unforgettable as we arrived at the terminal 2 1/2 hours later than scheduled. I had a very long layover, so it didn't cause me any complications and we realized that sitting on the plane for an extra 2 hours was much better than some of the alternatives.
By the time we landed, deplaned, arrived at the terminal, and I figured out my luggage, it was 12:30pm London time. The gentleman at Border Control was so very kind and helpful, and he thought I still had plenty of time to get into Central London and do a touristy bus tour. He was right, and I will write more about that in another blog.
My flight to Tel Aviv was scheduled to depart London Heathrow at 10:30pm. It was not a full plane and everyone was on by 10:25. The pilot stated that this was good since we would have to stop to get the wings de-iced once more before leaving. Unexpectedly, 2 other planes jumped in front of us, and we ended up waiting 45 minutes for our turn; thus, we left Heathrow an hour late. None of this messed me up; it was just a good lesson in flexibility!
I have to say, this air travel company has been phenomanal. I have never flown with a cabin crew that was so courteous and attentive to their passengers. I have never seen an air travel company with extra employees around the gates and baggage claims just waiting to answer questions. In fact, everyone at London Heathrow was courteous and went above and beyond to help me out and answer questions. I was overwhelmed by the welcoming and kind spirit. It makes me want to go back and spend more time in the UK with these people.
I arrived in Jerusalem this morning and am working to stay awake all of today and simply go to bed on the early side tonight. The best way to adjust to a new time zone (Israel is 9 hours ahead of Colorado time) is to simply get on it. The guest house supervisors were very kind and are going to let me have the first two nights in a room to myself so I can "recover from my journey." I greatly appreciate the thought--here's a glimpse of my room.
It's pretty little! But I appreciate their understanding of how grueling a trip like this can be. I have the rest of today as well as all tomorrow off, and I will begin learning my duties on Saturday. I guess there are three posts I could add to my blog whenever I had time--the story of my visa, my bus tour of London, and what my duties here will be.Today, it's a little chilly in Jerusalem, but not near as cold as Colorado had been the past month or so. The view out my windows is gorgeous! This is looking out over the little courtyard between the Guest House and Christ Church. The wall on the right is part of the Guest House.
This is also the courtyard in between the guest house and the church. This time, the building on the right is Christ Church. Such a pretty blue sky over Jerusalem today! It's about 58 degrees, but a breeze is coming up that is definitely not warm!
I guess I'll write more later when I learn my duties. I'm glad to be here but will never forget the uniqueness of the two plane flights and the overwhelming kindness of the cabin crew!! I hope I can always travel with this carrier from here on out!
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