Flying high

My European adventure took an Asian detour for Christmas and New Year. The trip from Copenhagen to Shanghai was both the most UNsmooth and the best flight I've ever taken. On the day I flew Copenhagen experienced a huge snow storm that blanketed the city in snow, causing massive delays and cancellations for all forms of transport. My friend Marcin missed his flight home because his train to Copenhagen was delayed, then didn't come, then he had to take a substitute bus which stopped servicing mid-way and he had to take more substitutes... Something complicated and convoluted like that. When he enquired at the SAS desk for a ticket home, they told him it would cost him 10,000DKK - that's double the price of my ticket to Shanghai!, and he was only flying to Poland! In the end he was able to buy a reasonably priced ticket but that departed from Sweden (luckily, that was only a 45 min bus ride away from CPH).

My flight to Amsterdam also did not escape bad fate, even though we were allowed to board the plane on schedule, we didn't take off until two hours later, after the runway had been cleared of snow and our plane underwent de-icing (a new concept to me, how cool, they spray peachy coloured salt(?) on the plane). Consequently I miss my connecting flight to Shanghai. Happily though, I was rebooked in another flight just 4hrs after mine IN BUSINESS CLASS. I was so lucky, because I think I got the last seat in business class, even though I was not the first person in line to rebook. There just happened to be someone serving me when they found out a glitch in the system, and I was promoted to first in line.

Business class was so comfortable, I was served a 3 course dinner, slept horizontally and was given a Dutch souvenir. The 10hr flight was too short!!

So ultimately I'm very happy for the snow storm. Unplanned and unexpected, someone who saw me off at the airport, then I was able to fly 10 hours in the most comfortable way possible.

Shanghai...yea...it is not the purpose of this blog. Suffice to say that I relaxed at home and ventured out to banquet with relatives on many nights.