I'm in Auckland!

I have spent the past two days in airplanes and now I'm finally here! We landed this morning before sunrise. There were few clouds in the sky, the air was moist and full of the smells of summer. In the distance we could see water and islands and when we lowered our eyes we found the airport shuttle bus. The scene was impossible to take in before we were ushered into the bus, but the feeling lingered all the way through the airport. We had arrived in Auckland!

Leaving home

Two days earlier I said goodbye to my family in Aarhus. It was hugs and best wishes one final time and that feeling of finality made me feel slightly anxious. I was already nervous about the trip and finding my way through the airports to catch my connecting flights. It added up to a pretty good level of stress. The stress would definitely have been exacerbated by the train problems I would have faced if I had not taken precautionary measures. Following the advice of my mother I got myself a seat ticket and I also took an early departure from Aarhus. Both came in handy as two of the train wagons didn't show up in Aarhus, but gave us half an hour of delay in Frederecia. Instead of reading as I had planned, I ended up listening in on the conversations of the other passengers and helping a Spanish girl understand the announced messages.

Flying with the Emirates

In Kastrup I felt more at ease as I was welcomed by the Emirates staff at the check in counter. They look really cool in their uniforms which mix classic business and their Arabic heritage. Sure enough they took very well care of us passengers on the flight as we received great in flight entertainment from touch screens at every seat and a three course dinner. We arrived in the impressive Dubai airport at nighttime. By following signs and hand signals of the many airport staff members I found my way to the next gate. There I had the funny experience that I think many tourists have had on their first visit to Dubai. Walking in to the spacious toilet you see marble sinks, shiny clean floors and all the stylish things that make you think of it as a very modern place. Then you find the hole in the ground that makes it out for a toilet. I was seriously in doubt about how to go about my business and even considered waiting until I was on the plane, but eventually decided to get the complete experience of the Dubai airport.

Flying with the Aussies

The next flight was with Qantas Airways. An Australian airline through and through. The captain welcomed us aboard with a thick accent and warmly told of lots of stuff that I don't remember. After takeoff we closed all the windows and the light was turned off so we could sleep. Only I wasn't tired at all and I didn't even think it would be a good time to sleep considering it would be morning in New Zealand at this time. So I watched some movies instead and I was served a beef brisket by the staff. A very strange, fast food like, dish that I accidentally stained my trousers with. But it was a very long flight I was on, so I eventually succumbed to sleep. When I woke up I was served a large dinner, that I couldn't reconcile with my inner food clock. I was expecting breakfast at this time, because I had dinner only 5 hours earlier.

Flying with the Kiwis

In Melbourne airport I met Lisa, a Norwegian girl who was also headed for Auckland. We had a nice chat and decided to spend our first hours in Auckland together. She taught me that the New Zealand accent changes the sound of the letter "e" to "i" in some words. Aboard the plane the captain welcomed us aboard the "jetstar" flight, which changed to "jitstar" in his mouth. I laughed to myself as he later gave a message to the "flight deck".

Aboard this plane there was no entertainment and I tried hard to sleep, as it was now night in New Zealand, but afternoon in Denmark. I'm pretty good at sleeping when I want to, so I managed to sleep almost the entire flight, despite the crying of a few babies.

Finally here

So now we have finally landed in Auckland, cleared security and found a bus to the city center. The plan is to get rid of our suitcases at our hostels and then go see Auckland. I'm excited about being here, exhausted from the jet lag and still somewhat anxious. But now I'm anxious because my future is more uncertain than ever before. I'll tell you what it brings in my next post.