Arrival day (01/29/2022)

Here we go - for real now? Almost unbelievably, we stand in front of our backpacks in the hallway of the apartment. Taxi is coming in 10 minutes, a little delayed but okay, everything according to plan and no reason to worry. Weight of the luggage is within the limit. Backpacks are between 21-23 kg, carry-on backpacks are 8-9 kg. Strapped on and still getting used to it, but there is enough time for that in the next 2 months. Into the taxi with a speedy drive to Schwechat, no traffic on Saturday morning ensures a quick arrival at the airport. Air France baggage drop-off with a small queue but okay, we are over 2 hours before departure. Well-prepared with all documents, whether it's vaccination certificates or entry documents for Mexico, Kathi has everything ready and after a final snack, it's time to get on the first flight to Paris, the first stop on the way to Costa Rica.

The Air France Boeing 787 leaves nothing to be desired, even in economy class ;-). Row 42 out of 43 and being together in a row of 3 is really okay for long haul. The onboard entertainment is promising and starts with an entertaining Air France security video, creatively solved and somehow likable. This impression continues, attentive service and solid catering (including Indian curry) make for an entertaining flight that will take about 12.5 hours in total. To sleep or not to sleep, that was the question, I decide to binge-watch while Kathi dozes off next to me for two hours. 5 movies in a row with the realization that Edgar Hover (former FBI director - played by Leo DiCaprio) was a crazy dude, Matt Damon can be a knight too (The Last Duel), Nelson Mandela is an inspiration (and Matt Damon can play rugby too - movie Invictus), Uli Hoeneß even has a documentary at Air France, and Zach Galifianakis (movie tip, The Campaign) is not only borderline funny in The Hangover.

Landing at 04:00 in the morning Vienna time, on-site it's only 21:00 with a 7-hour time difference. Immigration without any problems, no check of the vaccination passport yet, but Covid measures are also visible here with masks, disinfection, etc. We have firmly decided not to dwell on this topic too much in the coming weeks, so this mention will also be enough. After waiting for the luggage for a while (about 45 minutes) and check-in at the airport hotel, we finally make it to bed after a refreshing shower at 23:15 (06:15 internal clock). After leaving the 18th district in Vienna at 9:10, it was a long day with almost 21 hours on the go. With CNN in the background (including a report with Nehammer and Mückstein on Austrian Covid politics - it's fascinating what makes it into international news...), we slowly drift away, tired but happy to have mastered this long leg.