London's Retreat

Our journey home was mostly uneventful. We flew from Prague to London arriving at almost midnight into Gatwick Airport where we found some remarkably comfortable chairs near a Starbucks to sleep on. Good ol' Starbucks with their comfy sofa chairs...a marked improvement over the usual airport benches with the arm rests that you have to avoid. Despite the bright lights and the video game that constantly replayed the same song (Don’t Worry Be Happy) throughout the night, it was not a bad night's sleep-for an airport.

We woke up early the next morning and made our way to Heathrow airport by train. It was nice to see a little of the city. We were driving as the sun was coming up so all the little square houses and the bare trees took on the pretty pinkish glow of sunrise. We made it to the airport quickly and had plenty of time to kill before our flight since it had been delayed for 30 minutes. We finally got on the plane but then had to wait another 45 minutes while they called for Mr. So-And-So to please identify himself. Eventually we got off the ground and started heading west over the Atlantic. I was looking forward to getting to New York. Just after we had gotten settled and the flight attendants were about to start their first drink round, the captain got on the intercom and said, "Sorry for the incontinence, but we are going to need to return to London." We all grown and wonder why we have to turn around and then he gets back on to say, "There is a discrepancy between our passenger list and the checked luggage. Given the current security level we cannot proceed and have therefore been recalled to London." The plane makes a big sweeping turn and we start to make our way back.

We were by this time, about an hour into the flight so this return means that we will have to fly back for an hour and then retrace our steps adding 3 hours to our trip. I was a bit bothered, but understood. Once we get back above London the captain comes on again, "I don’t know how long we'll have to wait to land; we are not scheduled for a gate so we make have to run circles for about 15 minutes or so." By this point everyone is getting annoyed and even a little worried. Can you fly over the Atlantic with a half a tank of fuel? After a few minutes of "circles" the captain comes on, "It turns out that there was a clerical error....we have been given permission to continue on our way. " I was partly relieved, somewhat amused and also a little concerned. If we had to go through all this trouble to come back, don’t they want to make sure there is not a problem...or at least top up on fuel?

As it turned out there was no need to worry. The flight was fine, it went by pretty smoothly for me since it was not very full and I ended up with a 4- seat row all to myself! I slept most of the way. We were greeted in New York by Ryan's parents who took excellent care of us throughout out stay.