September 12

Day 1: September 12

Travel

Example of what our suitcases looked like

The Adventure Begins...

Today was the beginning of what could be the greatest two weeks of our lives. Ella, Ellie, Logan, Grace and I left to go to Germany to experience the culture, history, and beauty of Europe's second most populated country. We all packed the night before and texted up a storm over what to bring. It was clear that we all couldn't sleep as the excitement was too much to handle. We had to have texted until three in the morning. It's a good thing we didn't leave until 7:25 P.M. tonight. Finally, we all met up at 5:00 P.M., parked in the large parking deck of Raleigh-Durham International Airport, to say goodbye to our parents and enter the airport. We chose to meet up around two hours before the flight because it is international and the lines tend to take longer. Everyone, except for Grace, had a suitcase that looked as if it would explode. We ran up to each other and jumped up and down for what felt like five minutes. Although there was so much joy in the air, there was also a lot of sadness as we had to say goodbye to our parents for about fourteen days. Soon we got over it, thinking, "We're going to Germany!"

Raleigh-Durham International Airport

The lines took ages, literally! We probably stood in the line for security for a full hour. The most embarrassing event occurred... the alarm sounded when I walked through the machine. While my friends gathered their luggage, laughing at me, I was mortified as they had to scan me with a wand. After that humiliation,we went to our gate and arrived thirty minutes early. Because we had some spare time, we went to a store to pick up candy and "essential" food. Finally, we boarded the plane. Everyone had seats together, except for Ellie, who had to sit in between a smelly man and a crying baby. That's when a short flight comes in handy! All of us had been on a plane before, meaning nobody was nervous about going up in the air. Still, we fought over who got the window seat to look out on the ground below, and Ella won. As we ascended into the air, we all whispered, "Goodbye North Carolina," and laughed. After an hour and four minutes of eating candy, watching movies, and drawing pictures we landed at the Washington Dulles International Airport. The only line we had to wait on was the customs line, which surprisingly didn't take too long. We had a two-hour and thirty-one minute stop to use the bathroom, gather some more food, and take a short nap. Now was the time to mentally prepare for a ten-hour and fifteen minute flight ahead to Istanbul. We boarded the plane for the 11:00 P.M. flight. The only one who appeared to be tired was Logan, who claimed she usually went to bed pretty early. She had plenty of time to sleep on this flight. Once again, the plane took off, and all five sets of eyes closed.

Washington Dulles International Airport