Northern Greece, Albania & Macedonia: Ancient Lands of Alexander the Great Day 1

Day 1 – Tuesday, October 10, 2017 - Flight to Munich, Germany

Mother Nature brought the first snowfall to Elephant Rock yesterday. The golden scrub oak, the green pines, and the white snow were picturesque under the glistening sunshine as we walked this morning. Two deer crossed our path – Christmas card quality right in our own back yard.

This fall adventure will take us to the “Ancient Lands of Alexander the Great”. We are traveling with Overseas Adventure Travel again and looking forward to getting to know more of Greece and visiting Albania and Macedonia for the first time.

Our friend Tim will be staying with Buddha and the house. He is so responsible; we really appreciate all he does for us. Gennie made him cookies and we have a few adult beverages for him during his stay.

As we finished up the last of our pre-trip chores, we received an email from Lufthansa informing us that our 4:10 pm flight had been delayed. After a little research, we saw that the flight had been redirected to Iceland, but we were required to be at DIA for check-in at the regular time.

Amazingly, our drive to Denver had no delays. Leaving home at 12:45 we arrived at the Pikes Peak parking lot in just one hour. A shuttle was right there to pick us up and to take us to the terminal. Our gate agent told us the Lufthansa delay was due to a medical emergency. He said it happened more often than one would think.

The gate agent gave us each a voucher for $40 for meals as the flight was delayed for at least 3.5 hours now. When we went to Panda Express, the server told us that we would not get any money back, so Vic quickly invited the guy behind us to join our family and we paid for his meal. He was thrilled – as our son said, “it is always good to spread the wealth”!

Our extra time was spent in the United Lounge on Concourse B. It was nice to have a relatively quiet place to wait with snacks, beverages, and clean restrooms. At 7:00 we were at Gate 41 in the A Concourse.

We boarded the plane with many anxious other passengers. Our layover in Munich was supposed to be 9 hours so we had no connecting flight worries, but for some on the flight, it meant rescheduling and making alternative connections. Ah, the joys of travel!

The plane left the jet way at the designated 7:45 and we waited a few minutes for our turn on the runway. We were wheels up at 8:05. We settled in for the next ten hours. The Lufthansa crew was very apologetic and sorry for the delays. As there was nothing we could do, we made the best of our extra quality time together.

On our way to another incredible adventure, we are very happy that you have joined us for the next 18 days.

”Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

To receive $100 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062