07:12 Takeoff Flight BA 963 to London Heathrow.| [<- Flight Schedule, Hotel Addresses] | [Main Page] | [Las Vegas ->] |
This page describes the first part of my journey: getting from Kiel, Germany, to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
20:50 I arrive at Hamburg airport. A free bus shuttle takes me to the Airlines Hotel. A nice, big room. I rearrange my luggage for some time, change the slides for my talk a bit, and watch some TV (Mermaids and Alien3).
05:07 The wakeup call from the reception comes in. I had ordered it for 05:00, what an unexcusable unpreciseness!
05:35 I grab my luggage and head downstairs for breakfast. The breakfast is quite good, but I don't have enough time to really enjoy it.
05:57 The shuttle takes me and two other passengers back to the airport. The queues in front of the British Airways counters are quite long, and (as usual) I am in the queue containing only confused people having problems. I get only the boarding card for the first flight to London, but at least the lady assures me that my luggage will go to Las Vegas (and not to Murmansk :-).
06:40 I arrive at Gate A10 directly at boarding time. The plane is a Boeing 737-400, and is is packed up to the last seat.
07:12 Takeoff Flight BA 963 to London Heathrow.
07:21 (BST) We arrive at Terminal 1. Strangely, our hand luggage is searched and x-rayed again.
08:00 On my way to the American Airlines desk I am stopped by security. With a quite ununderstandable British accent they ask me questions about my luggage, if I carry electronic devices with me (actually I carry most of the devices known to mankind :-), who packed my bags, etc. As a result of my confusing answers a small stamp is added to my ticket. I hope it means something good.
08:14 A bus takes me to Terminal 3.
08:25 The waiting lounge at Terminal 3 is quite crowded. I sit down on the floor and type this entry. Then I continue working on my slides. Another guy sitting on the floor is also using his notebook. He is wearing an ``LA Lakers - NBA 2000 champions'' shirt.
08:54 Finally, a seat is available.
09:55 After a short call home (paid with Visa, it will cost me a fortune) I buy city guide books for San Francisco and New York City.
10:13 At Gate 14 the hand luggage is searched again; this time for drugs (maybe explosives?) only. A small piece of paper is moved across the surfaces of my bag's contents, and a gas chromatograph tells that I am not a drug smuggler. Lucky me.
Prof. John Fink: ``Brace yourselves, gentlemen. According to the gas chromatograph, the secret ingredient is... Love!? Who's been screwing with this thing!''
The Simpsons Episode 8F08 ``Flaming Moe's''
11:35 The distance to Los Angeles is 8769 kilometers. On board the
plane (Boeing 777 A300, full) the seat rows are organized 2-5-2. Luckily I'm
in a 2-row. I kill time by filling out the Customs Declaration form.
11:53 Takeoff Flight AA 137 to Los Angeles International.
13:30 Lunch (Chicken) while watching TV (``Hanging Up'' featuring Meg Ryan, Lisa Kudrow, and Walter Matthau), just like home. Unfortunately, the sound quality is very poor, and thus, enjoying the movie reduces mostly to watching Meg's beautiful eyes and smile.
15:36 Estimated time to L.A.: 7 hours and 10 minutes. Position: South part of Greenland. Toilet queuing time: 10 minutes.
16:55 A woman is unpacking her stitching equipment. I wonder how she got through security with her 5-inch pointed scissors.
16:58 A snack is served.
17:29 I watch the science-fiction movie ``Supernova''. Again, no audible fun.
17:54 Turbulences. The belt-on signs lighten up (and do not go off until the end of the flight).
19:10 I still miss the green immigration form I have to fill out, and ask the stewardess to get me one. She does, and I start amusing myself about the silly questions, e.g., if I have been involved in espionage or Nazi activities between 1933 and 1945.
Officer: ``No one who speaks German could be an evil man.''
The Simpsons Episode 9F22 ``Cape Feare''
12:15 (PDT) I adjust my watch to the local time in California, which is UTC minus 7 hours (including 1 hour for daylight saving). I also change the 24-hour format to the ugly 12-hour am/pm stuff. [However, this report will remain in the 24-hour style.]
12:45 Lunch again. Pizza, American style, i.e., thick and bubble-gum-like, but you can get used to it. I talk with my seat neighbor (Emily, who has just moved from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara) about sightseeing in California. Like everyone else she strongly suggests driving along the coastal Highway 1 between Los Angeles and San Francisco. There must be something about this route...
13:40 We cross the border to California. Still 50 Minutes to go. Well, to fly, I hope.
13:58 An ``arrival video'' is shown, explaining the immigration and customs procedures in every detail. In the final stage of the landing phase, Emily tells me that there must be strong winds blowing away all the smog, since the city of Los Angeles is clearly visible, which is somewhat unusual. I will try to make some photos at the beginning of the connecting flight to Las Vegas.
14:28 Touchdown at Los Angeles International (LAX). The air temperature is 73°F (23°C). As I see the palm trees outside I really realize that three weeks of really amazing events are waiting for me. And I am waiting for them.
14:50 Immigration check. After that, my luggage is nearly lost: I have to carry my bag from the luggage belt to another one by myself; in Hamburg they assured that I did not have to care about this. The checks at customs and for illegal imports of agricultural products are finished quickly. The first unusual thing (to me, at least) I notice is that many people are asking for charity donations.
15:30 I arrive at Gate 42A. Still over one hour before checking in.
15:50 A word about the place which Americans use to call ``mens' room'': The doors to the cabins look like the entrance of a western saloon, but fortunately are lockable. The construction of the walls is kind of minimized; it's funny that you can see your neighbors' legs and feet while you are sitting, but looking into their faces when wiping your rear end is somewhat strange. And the soap here at LAX is disgusting!
16:35 I wake up. This implies that I must have slept. Not good. I
better not sit until check-in time.
17:24 Takeoff Flight AA 2706 to Las Vegas McCarran International.
During the ascending phase I make some pictures of Los Angeles. It is big,
really, really big!
18:05 Touchdown at Las Vegas McCarran International. A futuristic train
(without driver?) goes to the baggage claim. Of course the belt is not called
``belt'', but ``roulette'' (or something similar, I have to recheck this). A
limousine shuttle (my first four dollars spent) takes me to the Monte Carlo
Resort & Casino.
18:55 Finally I am in my hotel room, number 5110. Since the hotel is
quite full, I get a nonstandard room which is bigger than normal and has no
mini bar, but that's okay. Completely tired and unable to move any further, I
just drop my luggage somewhere, turn off the air conditioning (I did not come
to the states to get a cold) and turn on the TV. Sunday evenings on FOX are quite good, as far as I
know. And yes,
I am right in time for ``Futurama'', ``The Simpsons'', and ``X-Files''. Since
``King of the Hill'' seems pretty boring to me, I use that time slot to go to
the PDPTA 2000 registration desk. First I get completely lost in some
abandoned hotel corridors, but then I find the right place.
Meanwhile, the sun has set, and there's a terrific view outside. After
registering I try to watch some more TV, but I'm too tired. So I get to sleep
at 22:00 and thus conclude the longest day in my life so far. I expect not
much sleep for the days coming up...
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