Day 1: Destination: Austria

Why did I leave my camera??
Even traveling day poses fun adventures :)

Day one on the journey seemed promising enough. Who doesn't like to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to drive to the airport? Not that it mattered much, because I didn't sleep anyway. It's like the concept of Christmas for young kids waking every few hours to see if Santa has come yet (maybe you, too :) I admit, I don't sleep much on Christmas Eve). The same thing happens with an eagerly anticipated trip to Austria.

My dad and I arrived at the airport close to six this morning to meet up with the BYU group so we could all get on our 8:35 flight to Minneapolis, Minnesota. For all of you that travel first class, let me tell you how envious and peeved I am at the special privileges of the elite travelers. After multiple failed tries at the Self Check-In, I finally gave up on my own reliance and walked over to the regular check-in line. There were two checker-inners (for lack of a better word) manning one kiosk, and about three people ahead of me in line. Thirty minutes tops, right? Wrong. Ten minutes. Plus the extra hour the two at the kiosk spent checking in the 25 first class passengers that appeared out of thin air... Coach riders are people too!!

We landed in Minneapolis around noon their time, and since we have a seven hour layover, a few of us decided to go to the Mall of America to kill some time. I remember going to the Mall when I was little, but the only memory I have was of a Snoopy ride in the middle of the Mall. Ten years changes a lot of things... Obviously. I will say that you could probably get anything you ever wanted in that mall. There is a store for everything - from computers to cocktail dresses to a mini Legoland. I even relived my childhood by going into the American Girl doll store. With all of the fun stores, I was a little disappointed that I left my camera in my backpack while we explored. I know it's nothing compared to what Europe will be, but it was a fun way to start off the adventure!

In just a few short hours, I will be in Vienna, Austria.
The fun begins :)

Location:Minneapolis, Salt Lake, airplanes...