The London trip (April 23-26) marked my very first experience with solo travel (not counting Copenhagen). I spent a great deal of time figuring out the logistics of my short weekend stay in London, everything from the flights there to accommodation to sightseeing plans.

I decided to fly with easyJet (the Southwest Airlines of Europe). For accommodation, Preben had informed me earlier about Couch Surfers and Hospitality Club, awesome concepts where people offer their couches or bedrooms to travellers for 1, 2, 3 or more nights in exchange for friendship and stories. I joined both sites but was unable to find accommodation quickly enough due to lack of time (and because I only sent out 3 hosting requests; I didn’t want to spam everyone, lol). However I remain a member of both sites because I definitely plan to do more traveling in the future.

I ended up settling with the Astor Hyde Park hostel, my very first experience with one! I was a bit wary of the fact that my room was mixed female and male, but according to the reviews online no one had any problems with it so I decided to give it a shot!

The easyJet flight on an A319 to London was fast and smooth. I was a bit nervous, thinking, “what am I doing, coming to London all by myself?!” I was also very excited — London was one of the cities I’d read so much about and now I was going there!

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Well, Departure Day is almost here. It feels so unreal. I’m so ready to leave, but at the same time, I’m not. I’ve been having second thoughts, even though I am so excited about this trip. It’s funny, months and months ago, I couldn’t wait to go, and now that it’s finally here, I want to stay home…I guess that’s all just part of the pre-departure anxiety. I also started having anxieties about the flights…I love airplanes but I can be a jittery flier if I haven’t flown in a long time.

I will miss my family, friends, co-workers, choirs, jobs and all the familiar people, animals, places, foods, rituals and objects that define my life. For the next 4 months, I will meet new people, try new things and develop new routines. It will be an amazing experience, I just know it!!!

I am a bit of an airplane geek, and so part of the fun of my trip is the process of getting there! I booked my air reservations way back in April (seems like an eternity ago). I will be flying with SAS Scandinavian Airlines, and I booked my reservations directly through their website.

I’ve never flown with SAS before, so it’ll be very interesting. I’m looking forward to the personal entertainment screens. Apparently there’s an option to view the take-off and landing from the pilot’s perspective on the screen via tiny cameras placed outside of the plane!

I also went with SAS because I wanted as few flights as possible. Fewer flights = less chance of delays, lost baggage, missed connections, etc. SAS is one of 3 airlines that offer direct flights from the US to Copenhagen. Delta and Continental are the other two. I ultimately didn’t choose Delta because although they use roomy 767s on the flight, the fare was expensive (over $2000) and instead of personal screens there are overhead monitors above every other seat. Continental had a good price, but they use the skinny 757 for the route, with no personal screens. The idea of sitting in a 757 for 8 hours wasn’t exactly appealing. Scandinavian also had a good price and their on-board offerings are amazing for the price. An Airbus A330, personal entertainment screens, etc. So I went with them!

So my itinerary is Raleigh-Durham to Washington-Dulles on a United 737-300 (SAS and United are part of the Star Alliance) and then Washington-Dulles > Copenhagen on a SAS A330-300.

For the return journey in December, I will be on another SAS A330-300 to Newark and then on a Continental 737-300 back to RDU. Continental is not part of the Star Alliance, so I guess airlines don’t always connect you with other airlines only from their alliance. Either way, I’m excited!!