The Final Chapter

When the alarm went off at 6:00, I was ready to go. I woke refreshed and alert. I went into the kitchen to put on water to boil, then took a shower. I dressed and drank my coffee. I cleaned up and the kitchen and made my final check. Everything looked good. I zipped up my suitcase, put on my coat, left the keys on the counter as instructed, pulled the door shut and went downstairs to meet my driver. 7:00 on the dot – just as arranged. We loaded my stuff in the trunk and pulled away. There was some wet snow falling, but nothing was sticking to the road. The driver and I had a pleasant conversation about Vienna and we were soon approaching the airport. Vienna’s airport is about 35-40 minutes away from the city center, but, at this hour, we were going against traffic and made good time. We reached the airport and I paid him the agreed upon amount plus a nice tip. We shook hands and wished each other well.

I was flying Business Class, so I was looking forward to having breakfast in the lounge. I got to the Business Class check-in and walked right up to the counter. I reached into my bag to pull out my passport. It had sat on the counter in the apartment all week, so, the night before I had made extra sure that it was in the bag. I fished around in the compartment where I keep it. Hmmm. Where was it, I opened the bag a little wider and began going through all the pockets. “Where is it?” I asked frantically. The agent said “Do you have your identity card”, I said ,”No” I’m an American and I saw his face drop. “There’s nothing I can do,” he said. “It has to be here,” I answered. I was in full panic now. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. I stepped off to the side and tried to calm down. I went through the bag methodically. The passport was not there. It had to be in the apartment or the cab. I took a deep breath and called Anita, the rental agency agent. Fortunately, she picked up right away. I explained the situation to her and she was very calming. “OK” she said, “the cleaning lady is on her way there right now. I will call her. I will call you right back.”  Right back never seemed to take so long. Finally the phone rang. “She will be at the apartment in about 20 minutes and she will look for it. I will let you know when she calls me.” “Thank You” I said, “could you also call the cab driver and ask him to look and see if it is in the cab?” “I’ll do that” she said and rang off.  I was doing the math in my head. It would be close, if she finds it; I could still make the flight. While I waited for her call, every scenario imagined played in my head. I had visions of a trip to the embassy; finding a hotel room for who knows how many nights; trying to find another flight home in the days before Thanksgiving. The phone rang. “It’s not in the cab” Anita said; “but the cab driver is heading back to the apartment now. If it’s there, he will come right back to the airport.” I did the math again. Yes, it could work.  She rang off again. I waited a few more minutes, which seemed like an eternity. “The cleaning lady must be there by now” I thought. “What’s taking so long?” I was in agony. Finally, the phone rang. It was Anita. “It wasn’t in the apartment” she said drily. My heart sank. “It was on the ground near the entrance to the building. It must have fallen out when you were putting your bag in the trunk. The driver is on his way back to the airport. He will meet you where he dropped you off.” I said “Thank You” in every language I knew. I had never felt such a sense of relief in my life. “Have a safe trip,” she said.

I knew I had at least twenty-five minutes, so I went and got some water. I might have had coffee, but there was so much adrenaline flowing through my veins that I decided against it.  I sat at a counter and slowly drank my water. I gradually began to calm down. Soon it was time, so I went outside. The fresh air felt good and before too long my cabbie drove up. He opened the widow and handed me my passport and I handed him nearly all the euros that I had left. If he had said, “That’s not enough”, I probably would have gone inside and withdrawn more cash. Instead, he thanked me and waved good-bye. I rushed inside and checked in. Somehow, I missed the Business Class security line and had to crawl through the regular line. I made it to the gate, just as they were beginning to board Business Class. I was never so happy to get on a plane and sit down. “I made it”, I thought to myself as I slumped into my seat. What a way to end my European adventure!

We were delayed for a while on the ground because planes were being de-iced. Eventually we took off and soon we were heading westwards; I was heading home. I settled into my seat for the almost 9-hour flight. The pilot assured us that we would still arrive on time. Weather conditions presented no problems. Before too long, I was sipping some nice Austrian wine and savoring some very delicious food. My main course was a veal goulash with sour cream that was incredibly good for airline food. Once the meal service was finished, I turned out the light and took a nice long nap. After a good rest, I went back to work on this blog and worked constructively for a few hours. When we reached North America, I stopped and followed our progress down the snow-covered Eastern seaboard. When I recognized Lake Champlain, I knew we were almost home. We followed the Hudson down but did the obligatory circle over Newark Airport. When we finally touched down, we sat on the runway for over thirty minutes, because there was no gate available. Thanks to Global Entry, I was through customs quickly. I proceeded outside to meet my driver. Thanks to the runway delay, on the other hand, we now had to deal with rush hour traffic. Still, before too long we were on Route 24 headed for Morristown. The biggest chunk of my sabbatical travels were now at an end. So, as a result, we have come to the end of this blog.

If you have followed my travels, thank you! I hope you have enjoyed reading these accounts as much as I have enjoyed writing them.