There is a time on every trip, usually towards the end of a plane ride, when I get the feeling that I'd give anything just to be on my own bed. Vacation is a luxury; traveling is hard work.
Everything went as planned from TRF to MSP. The park and fly hotel was much nicer than expected and I had a good night of sleep before my flight. Unfortunately, the pleasantness ended there. Caffeine withdraw gave me a terrible headache and it got worse after my connection in Newark. The flight into Munich was half empty so I was able to stretch out and lay down on the seat next to me. Even that didn't make me feel any better. landed I had a cup of coffee half hour before the plane thinking it might make me feel a bit better. Wrong.
Nauseous is a feeling I was accustomed to as a sickly child but surely I haven't felt this bad in a long time. The plane was getting ready to land so I couldn't get into a washroom. I held down just long enough for the landing and made a straight dash to the bathroom to throw up. Ok, will this do the trick? NO! I felt so weak I could barely left my arms up. When I finally got into the terminal I had to empty out whatever else I had in my stomach, which wasn't much. I took my time to clean up a little while dreading at the thought of waiting in lines to get through Customs. Only, there was no wait. By the time I finally dragged myself to the clearance area there was no one left by me and ten customs officers waiting to stamp my passport. The airport wasn't confusing but I was completely thrown off for not being able to do the usual routine of following the crowd. I walked a circle in the clearance area looking for an entry slip only to not find any. Geez, those Customs officers were looking at me like I'm crazy.
As soon as I walked through the nothing-to-declare gate I was greeted by a small crowd and an overwhelming smell of ham sandwiches and pretzels. Once again, I had to go throw up like a pregnant lady. I have to get to the hostel asap! Quickly Rick Steves to the rescue, arrival in Munich, "hop on the Lufthansa airport bus, which linkes the airport with the main train station." Thankfully I was able to dig up 13 Euros leftover from my last trip, just enough for the bus ride. The smell in the airport was so intolerable there was no way I could have gotten some exchange or found an ATM or to get to the train. I gathered whatever strength I had left and went straight outside for some fresh air and the bus ride. The ride from the airport to the main train station is 45 minutes. Once the bus started moving so did my upset tummy. I can't believe this. "I'm not going to make it through 45 minutes," I thought to myself. I held up for as long as I could and my god, when the bus finally pulled up in front of the station I puked all over my pants (and was lucky enough to get the rest in a plastic bag).
I wanted to travel light this time so I had exactly one pair of spare pants in my carry-on. I just didn't think I would need it this soon into the trip! I tried to clean up a little before getting off the bus only to find out the bus driver had already left and I was locked in! AH! This is so absurd, it's almost funny.
It was a very easy walk to find my hostel from the train station. The short walk and fresh air made me feel infinitely better. I checked, washed the stains off of my ESM sweatshirt and now am taking my time to document the unglamorous side of travel. Thinking back, I've gotten sick on lots of flights but never this bad. Not all trips are easy but they are always worthwhile. Time to let the adventure begin...
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