Bratislava – Day 19 – Travel Home

I arose at 545am so I could pack my last few things and leave the room with my suitcase, to be in the dining room for breakfast at 6:30 with Michael.

The dining room was quiet and empty, and I ate quickly, and was outside, in front of the hotel, a few minutes before seven, to find the limo driver already waiting.

The drive took about 45 minutes and cost €55 – it was definitely worth it given that I was able to sleep later, and not have to walk to the bus station, then take two buses to Vienna airport. It was also interesting because I saw some of the places that I biked through on the way home from Vienna a few days ago.

There was only one person in front of me at the Air Canada check-in counter, which was already open. The lineup for security snaked back-and-forth several times, but moved quickly.

One needs to have their passport stamped on the way out of the EU as well as on the way in.

I was feeling pretty tired and decided to sit in a massage chairs comfortable place to sit, but not put any money in. They have them set up so that if you sit in them without paying, after 30 seconds they begin beeping. I moved on.

They still allow smoking in the Vienna in Airport, but you must stand in this glass room that’s ventilated to the outside. I so rarely encounter smoke at home that even in situations like this, I find a smoke that leaks out when the door is opened that it is bothersome.

By the time I arrived at the gate, the plane was already in from Toronto.

I had over an hour to wait until boarding and was feeling quite tired so I found an empty corner of the terminal and used my inflatable pillow to lie down cradling my backpack. I set an alarm on my Fitbit and on my phone. I didn’t fall asleep deeply, but felt somewhat refreshed when the alarms went off. I did wonder before I decided to try to have a little nap if it would be possible for me to not awake, and miss the boarding call, but I deemed it pretty much impossible given how lightly I tend to sleep.

This plane, an Airbus 330, had a nicer configuration than the one on the way over with just two seats on the sides rather than three. I had a window seat, but only had to ask one person to move when I needed to get up.

As we ascended I could see the fuel storage facility that I rode my bike through when I was riding back from Vienna.

The meal was absolutely dire. Fortunately, I had a couple, hard-boiled eggs and yogurt drinks, and pistachios to keep me going.

The snack was also dire.

While we were flying, I removed my European SIM card and put my Canadian one back in my phone. As soon as we landed, I filled out ArriveCan, and when I got to the immigration machines, they already had a record of all of my answers from the app, and I simply had to confirm that they were correct. All the people complaining about the app during Covid were idiots. There were empty machines waiting when I got there.

The luggage hall was almost empty when I arrived, and the luggage had not yet started coming off.

After about 10 minutes, it started. The last time I recall paying attention to the baggage carousel, the bags would fall whether there was another bag there or not, and things could jam up, but this one sensed whether or not there was a space before it would let the bag fall.

Cindy pulled up a few minutes after I got outside. I think I might’ve momentarily fallen asleep, or at least I was certainly zoning out because she was out of the car asking me if I wanted a ride before I realized she had pulled up.

She drove us back to her place and offered me tea, but I was too tired and just wanted to get home. I got into my van, which had been very low on fuel when she drove us to the airport 2 1/2 weeks ago causing her to have to put gas in for me. Cindy is such a thoughtful friend.

When I got home the boys and I spent the afternoon and evening catching up, and I made it to 1030, almost 23 hours after I had awoke, before I fell asleep.

It was such an amazing trip. I saw so many interesting and beautiful things. I still have so much to process about the trip because it was such a whirlwind. I look forward to doing so, and figuring out what I missed, and for the opportunity of seeing it on one of Michael’s future business trips to Bratislava.