Day 1- Traveling

Flying from DFW to London and from London to Gothenburg

DFW to LHR

The Airport

Madilyne's parents were gracious enough to drive us to the airport. We met Caroline and Virginia at the ticketing counter since we all got there around the same time. The TSA line was not long at all, despite there being TSA issues across America lately. We were in Terminal D, the nice newly renovated terminal. There were plenty of seats with outlets (which is a struggle if you travel a lot and are at airports). Virginia had an upgraded seat so she boarded long before the rest of us.

The Plane

Our London plane was huge! It even had the first class pods that recline, which I've never seen before. This plane's isles were so narrow that as I walked down them, I felt like I was bumping into everyone in the isle seats. They were running out of space in the overheads, so I quickly put my tote bag up before they closed the compartments. I had window seat along the back left wall (which I wanted), because I like to lean against the wall and look out sometimes. I watched 3 movies and slept for about an hour unfortunately. The woman in front of my pushed her seat all the way back, cutting into my already small space. I couldn't bend down to my backpack anymore because the seat was in my way. To top it off, we were 2 seats in front of the bathroom. It was easy access for when I needed it the one time, but it also smelled a little here and there.

Airplane Food

The food was actually very good! I had chicken with gravy and couscous for dinner. There was also bread, butter, Swiss cheese, caramel brownie, crackers, and salad. Breakfast wasn't the best, but it was still better than nothing. They served us a pre-made box with yogurt, granola pieces, dried fruit, and an apple cinnamon muffin top.

LHR to Gothenburg

We had an hour and a half to de-board the plane, go through security again, and get to our gate. At London, we followed the purple signs for "connecting flights". We even had to take a bus ride to the new terminal. London is the biggest and nicest airports I've been to. I don't know if all of the terminals looked like the one we were in but there was a bunch of shopping places. I'm not just talking about a news stand and souvenir shop. They had designers like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, etc. We had about 15 minutes once we got to the gate until we boarded. The flight was very small, not crowded at all. I had an empty seat next to me since I was the aisle and someone was in the window. My friends said they barely had anyone in their rows too. It was a great flight because not only was it not crowded, but I also got to sleep for 3 hours. The Gothenburg airport is very tiny. We had to de-plane using stairs instead of a jetway!That's the first time we felt the Swedish frost. As soon as we got to the gate and were leaving, there was a line forming. Customs was right outside the gates since the airport was so small. Luckily the flight wasn't too large so we made it through quickly. Now we know why flights to and from Gothenburg were so expensive during our travel week.

Getting to Campus

We met with Anna and Sally, the trip coordinators from the University of Gothenburg. They picked us up from the airport and found us right away! We split up and Caroline and I went with Anna to the campus while Virgina and Madilyne went with Sally. Anna decided to take the scenic route through the snowy forest. It was gorgeous! It was like a winter wonderland with all the trees and snow along the sides of the road. It reminded me of Colorado or Utah, even though I've never been to either of those places when it was snowing. Anna showed us around downtown Gothenburg as we drove. They also highways here but they are not as big as the ones in America. More people drive around than I thought. However, there is more public transportation in the city than outside, which is typical. They do drive on the right side like we do but they also drive a manual gear, so it felt a little different.

Housing

We got dropped off to our dorm at the university. Most of the students do not stay on campus since the campus is spread out across the whole city. There are also plenty of apartments everywhere so students just find one to live in and commute using public transit. We are staying in (what looks like) an international wing of a dorm. We each have our own room with a twin bed, cubes or dressers, desk, router, fridge, dining sets, closet, and private bathroom. There is a shared kitchen to our area of the hall, so I think about 10 people may have access to it, besides us TCU people. The dorm is in a very good area since it is about a 5-10 minute walk to the tram stop. It is also a 2 minute walk from the grocery store.

Walking to our gate from DFW security

Dinner on the flight from DFW to LHR- Chicken and Couscous

You can track the flight on the map! It will also give you departure times, time that you've been on the plane, time at destination, ETA, amount of mileage traveled and to destination, temperature outside the plane and at the destination, plane speed, etc.,

London airport gate

In line for the Gothenburg Airport after getting off the plane

Gothenburg is the home and headquarters for Volvo since it is a Swedish car brand

The winter wonderland drive through the forest

Traffic sign on a highway in Sweden. The other Sweden group of travelers is going to Malmo!

Pictures of my room