After waking up by three simultaneous alarms a quarter past four it was time to rise and shine. A couple of calls to Minitaxi were required to order the cab but after the very reasonable fee of 285 SEK we were at the Airport. After a little panic I found my wallet which had slipped out of my coat while sipping on a chai at Espresso House. Items that were not found and considered to be left home included however Mirsada’s camera and earphones.
After a swift flight to Brussels we were greeted by a lovely lady with a voice capable of scaring grown men who informed us that we immediately had to go through security (again). So much for the strolling around for two hours. After passing security again we were pleased to be shortly interrogated with questions such as “have you ever repaired any of your luggage” or “how did you pay for your tickets”, we were ready for boarding. With only 90 minutes margin and no way of going back through security. At least I found the trip’s first powerpoint and wrote this.
We flew with a rather small plane, but the food was decent and the media was above expectations, a nice selection of music and movies. There were a few special announcements since we were flying into US, it was apparently forbidden to form groups at the restrooms and if requested by crew to scatter we were obliged by federal law to do so. Amazing. After filling out just two forms we were more or less clear to pass through customs, which I’ll have to admit went smoother than expected.
We took a cab to YMCA and got a small room with two bunk beds on the 12th floor. Not the most romantic solution but the view from the window was rather nice. We ditched our luggage and took the subway to Macy’s to find out that the rumored 11% rebate for foreigners did not apply to electronics. We walked Broadway home passing Times Sq and had supper at some nice japanese place, a bowl of noodles with a little bit of everything for yours truly. The rather long day took it’s toll and we were off to bed.
Hamzeh walked by us and mentioned that the lunch was included but closed in 30 minutes so if we would like to take advantage of that, now was the time. After an orgy in confusion we seated ourselves for a three-course lunch. Out of the thirty-two seats the wedding tour group used seven, the rest had either eaten earlier, didn’t know about it or had been directed to other restaurants by the hotel staff.
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