Traveling is always exciting. Now it was also quite adventurous.
With three suitcases and two backpacks, we set off. It wasn't easy to find a place for everything. There was something we had to leave from home at the last minute. Our backs tore off by the backpacks due to all the technical devices, laptops, drones, and accessories.
Our plane took off on April 4th 2019 with a 40-minute delay due to airspace restrictions. We flew to London, where we would have about an hour to transfer. But since the plane couldn't park due to another plane, we lost a lot of time here. Another security check followed. So if we had gotten on and off on time, we probably wouldn't have made the connection either. Well, that didn't happen the first time. Luckily there was another flight to Charlotte in 2 hours; until then, we tried to spend the time at Heathrow. We ate a sandwich, drank coffee, and hoped our suitcases managed the connection. So we quickly reached the next flight, which was delayed a bit, and the flight was slow due to the strong headwind, so we were postponed here by at least an hour.
Finally, our plane landed at 4:30 PM instead of 2 PM. Getting to the U.S. is always difficult, as we have already experienced. You have to stay in the queue for hours. It was no different now. Americans go in a separate line, you stay with ESTA in a separate line, and there is a third queue if you have a visa.
Of course, the locals are the most, but they also get through the fastest. The other two lines eventually merge, and this is the point where everyone is questioned after each other. Fingerprint, photo, paper checks, questions. So it took a while too. But luckily, we got through without any problems. We didn't have to wait any longer for the suitcases either. Our bags were already unloaded from the luggage belt.
The time passed quickly due to the delay and the slow pace process. From here, our trip immediately led to the car rental. But that was also quite strange because the car we got was passed on to someone else. We had to go back to where we got another one. Another surprise came in the parking lot: someone was already in the car. This was also issued twice. We finally succeeded for the third time! By then, we were pretty exhausted. 😄
According to our re-location agreement, we were provided with accommodation for a month. In the meantime, we have to look for an apartment. So we drove here by car for temporary housing. Of course, no one was surprised that the reception was already closed when we got there.
We didn't have internet, it was too late to make phone calls, so we looked for a hotel nearby and spent the first night there.
When we got there, we were pretty tired, we went to bed and fell asleep immediately. A colorful program awaited us the next day.