The luggage at the beginning of the trip!

This is the bagel in its traveling bag, complete with silica drying packets...

This is in the London airport! The bagel is reclining luxuriously on the turquoise seat!

The Flight!

The Journey Begins

After a last minute stop at the pharmacy. The bagel and I were on the road (accompanied by my mother and brother). We drove from Erie on a beautiful sunny day. Getting into the airport was uneventful and security went quickly (thank god). I always feel guilty for no reason when I go through security. I never have anything to hide, but I feel like people’s suspicions are heightened with the idea that there might be a threat.

The bagel was safely stowed in my backpack and sampled the different seating options at the airports. The Buffalo airport sported the traditional blue covered metal seats. The airplane was on time and we actually left early! I took a Jet Blue flight (which I recommend if you can get a ticket). They are super reasonable AND the Captain comes and talks to you before the flight, so you know who you are entrusting your life to. He was pretty friendly, so I felt like I was in good hands. The ironic thing about the flight was an American Airlines employee was sitting next to me. He had his headphones on the whole time, so I know nothing about him other than what his uniform told me.

After getting hooked on a new USA TV show (due to the DirectTV that is available during their flight), I was off to an adventure through the John F. Kennedy International Airport.  This TV show was Covert affairs, I didn’t really know what was going on, but it was pretty entertaining, so I watched one and a half episodes. Baggage claim was great. I learned all the ways to not carry 3 bags and a backpack through the airport especially when getting onto a packed airtran, but I managed. I am not looking forward to the subway ride through Vienna to get to my hostel!

Flight

The flight was nice. The food was actually good and we even got a TOOTHBRUSH on the flight! I sat next to a man who lives in Syracuse, New York and is a psychiatrist. He was going to Bucherest to visit his mother.  We had normal polite conversation that you have on an airline, looking at the sky shopping magazine and deciding what movies to watch. I slept most of the way, which was awesome! I guess turbulence was pretty bad, but I never felt a thing. It was really cool to see the sun set and rise during the same flight. When you see the clouds light up from below it is just really cool. They look like mountains underneath you.

I think that the highlight of the dining service was the muffin we got about an hour before landing. The package said “me, myself, and my muffin. Mmmm” for some reason This doesn’t seem like the most appropriate statement to put on the side of a breakfast treat, but it made me laugh.

Heathrow.

Not a fan. They heard you back through security (again) and then you sit in this shopping concourse (where I am typing now) until they give you your gate number. Then you stressfully rush to where your gate is in hopes that they will still board you. It stresses me out, but at least I am trying to entertain myself!

In security I met some people just coming back from a safari in southern Africa. They were heading home to California. Good flight to them and off to Vienna for me and the bagel!

Amanda and Bagel.

The Beginning of the Bagel

Introduction:

Hello!!
My name is Amanda and I will be studying in Vienna this semester! I CANNOT wait! I go to school at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Bloomington is a wonderful place that I will miss very much! The heat, the people, the parties, the classes (yes I like those), This fall will be quite different than any other fall I have had. One of the local businesses that I will sorely miss in the Bloomington Bagel Company. This local bagel boiler tantalizes my tummy just about every other week and gave me the inspiration for this blog. They have a deal that if you take a picture on your travels with a one of their bagels and bring it in, they will give you a dozen bagels for free. I have procured one of these bagels and plan to travel with it throughout the semester. I wanted to bring my favorite, the asiago cheese, but decided that the plain would be a classic and more durable choice for the adventures that it would have!

Hopefully you will not mind reading about my adventures with the bagel. I thought that it would give a bit of a twist the average travel blog.

The storefront.

The Beginning:

Today was my last day in my Hometown of Erie, PA, so I figured that the bagel should have a preliminary picture overlooking the lake and the sunset! ( That is our convention center that is shaped like a boat!!)

The bagel at sunset. 

It will travel with me in a sealed ziploc bag with some silica packets to ensure it is a dry environment. (pictures to come)

I leave in the morning at 9:30 AM to travel from Buffalo to JFK to Heathrow to Vienna!

I hope to have some updates about my travels when I get settled in Vienna!

Auf wiedersehen,

Amanda and bagel