From Washington to Czech Republic

 Dinner at an Italian Restaurant with Megan's parents

Our Final Days in the United States

    We were able to enjoy great food, quality time with some close relatives (with all necessary social distancing), and some great virtual game nights with friends to celebrate with all before our grand departure on October 18th.

     

The Flight

    Flying during this pandemic was the last thing we wanted, but we were extremely grateful for the extra precautions Lufthansa was taking to ensure maximum safety. Everything went as smooth as it could once we made it to the airport. Getting to that point was a logistical nightmare with flight cancellations, multiple re-bookings, and hours on the phone. Additionally, trying to get everything pulled together so all of the pets could get to Europe on the same plane as us...let's just say we never want to go through that again.

    In spite of the preparation struggles, the pets were champions through the whole process. Several hours at vet appointments for paperwork and issuance of pet passports, hours in the airports for pre-boarding and layovers, then the drive to and from airports. Overall it was 26.5 hours to get from Olympia to Brno and they were patient through all of it. We are so proud of them!

Good-bye Seattle, the United States, and all sense of life as we knew it!

   
Above: We were able to book the "extended legroom" seats and this section of the aircraft had only 6 people (I couldn't even fit them in the camera shot).

Above: Lufthansa served us a wonderful dinner on our way out of Seattle and an incredible breakfast on our way into Frankfurt airport.

    

Above photos: Flying over Germany into Frankfurt Airport. 

    It may have been cloudy and the photo quality makes it difficult to see, but it was breathtaking. All of the gorgeous land and cities with their iconic rooftops made it feel like we had made it. It didn't matter that we had a 7-hour layover plus another flight ahead of us. We had made it into Europe and everything from here on out was paradise. 

Our Layover in Frankfurt Airport

The layover warrants its own section. We may have been exhausted, the kitties were getting a little uneasy being shuffled through this massive airport, and we were worried about Po since we hadn't seen him since dropping him in Seatac Airport, but it felt wonderful to be in the airport. It truly felt joyous and everything had its own sparkle. Luckily I speak enough German (plus the amount of English spoken by TSA) that we were able to get through the security checkpoint and find our gate without any trouble. Michael even went and found us some pretzels and a beer. It may have been airport food, but it was still authentic German flavors and the sauce on the pretzel bites was mouthwateringly savory! 

 

Above: Us pretending that we are not completely exhausted. The long layover provided a great opportunity to change into fresh clothes and wash our faces to bring a little life back into ourselves.

    The best part of our layover was seeing Po get loaded onto the plane. I've never flown with pets and Po was flying in the cargo holds. I had read so many mixed reviews about how people's animals had been treated in airports and all we could do was hold our breath and hope we picked the right airline based on recent stories. At Franfurt Airport, I was able to look through a large window down onto the tarmac and see them unload Po from this van and up into the plane. They were gentle with the carrier and even leaned down to give him head pats before he was lifted onto the conveyer belt. Biggest relief of the entire journey.

Last Leg

    After a short and smooth flight from Frankfurt to Prague airport, we de-boarded for the last time and went to collect Po. He was his smiling, happy self. Our immigration lawyer's driver met us just outside of customs and helped us load our many bags and pet carriers into the car and headed down the highway for Brno - our final destination. 

Tune into our next post for a glimpse into our first night and first day in Brno!