Home - Wait - Not So Fast!!

Well, on Monday, the 29th we disembarked our boat, in the snow, and headed to the airport. We had learned the evening before that our flight from New York to Dallas had been cancelled. We arrived at the Vienna airport to be told that no flights to New York or Washington DC were happening. Because all airports were backed up, we were told that it was better for us to stay in Vienna as all hotels in Munich were booked. Austrian Airlines provided us with two nights hotel and food. We were told to come back on Wednesday. Our hotel was right across the highway from the largest indoor mall in Europe, so of course we needed to check it out. It was your typical mall with a brand new H & M. On Wednesday we headed back to the airport and the airline attempted to tell us the same thing and tried to book us as a group. Several of us became quite upset and began to inquire why we couldn't be sent to our home airports. At that point, Austrian Airlines sought permission from Lufthansa to book us that way. It took about half an hour and permission was granted. Things began to fall into place. We were able to fly from Vienna to Frankfurt to Dallas/Fort Worth, but could not do so until Friday the 1st of November. On Friday our flight took off from Vienna without a hitch, but the flight from Frankfurt to Dallas was caught with 15 minutes to spare because we had to go through customs in Frankfurt. There were 6+ lines funneling into one line to go through to the gates. Many of us became a little irritated and finally they let all people holding American passports to go straight through. At that point we were home free. When we landed in Dallas I wanted to cry. Felt so helpless not being able to come home when we were supposed to. I felt like I might not travel for a while because of the ordeal - Nah - already looking for the next adventure.