14 November Thursday
We had class today from 1-3:30. We got our Austrian History midterms back (I got an A-, yay!), but we were all too distracted by our London trip to pay any attention to them really. 
So this morning we packed up in our little backpacks for the weekend spent in LONDON! Everybody came except for dear Kimber.
Travel plans were a bit complicated.
First, we left to Bratislava at 4:21. We got there at 5:20.
At some point we needed to take a bus (the 61) from the train station to the airport (a 20-minute ride). Our plane took off at 9:10...and we wanted to be there around two hours early.
There was a 61 bus leaving at 5:42, and then every ten minutes ish...eventually another one at 6:42. Half the people jumped on the 5:42 bus without really saying anything (bye..!), and Stephanie and I were trying to find a bus to take us into the old town really quickly to buy a t-shirt and postcard we never got when we were in Bratislava a month ago...that was our first trip and SO much fun! And we tried to go back to get the shirt and postcard at this certain shop, but by the time we got there it was closed. So we had to get there before 6.
Nobody wanted us to go, they were saying we were stupid risking missing a flight...
But it wasn't really risking missing a flight because we knew
we would be back in less than 20 minutes.
Anyways, we figured out we needed to get on the 93 bus into town, and we remember what the stop looked like. We got on at 5:48 and it took us five minutes to get there. We ran around the corner right to where the shop was, and we made it in there at 5:54 and the man was still there! We were SO happy to see him it was so funny. We were out of breath. We grabbed the things we needed, then ran back! On the way back this Canadian man started running after us because he heard us speaking English, and he really needed help finding the train station. So we told him we could show him where the stop was since we were going it, and I said, "but we're runnin!!" So he ran with us! Hahaha. All he needed was to see where the stop was, then he thanked us and left.
Steph and I made it back to the train station at 6:15. Only Moni, Haley, Mara, and Garrison were there waiting for us. We all got some cheap sandwiches, then jumped on the 6:42 bus 61 to the airport! TIME TO SPARE BABY.
Everyone was waiting for us there...scratch that, Jordan and Tanner were waiting for us at the door. The rest of the group was upstairs chillin. They thought we were stupid but whatever, we knew what we could do.
We went through a billion passport checks it seemed...finally getting through security and into our terminal. I was FaceTiming Janelle for a little bit telling her some things to do with her camera...she has been to London and told me a few places I needed to for sure see! They were on my list. It was great to talk to her, too.
We took off to the London Luton airport at 9:10, and we gained an hour going over there so we made it there just after 10! (2 hour flight).
CUSTOMS. I've never been through customs like this! They kinda interrogate you a tiny bit...they asked me what I was doing in London...just visiting, travel. I told them I was a student in Vienna. But that I'm American. He asked to see my student ID card...then he asked if I had a flight home and when, and then he asked to see that ticket! So I got that out...I swear it lasted forever. Everybody else's was pretty quick. I was one of the first, though, and I think they realized our whole group had pretty much the same story.
Next step: withdrawing money. This is the face for withdrawing MONEY...
Pounds are expensive....1 pound = $1.60! AHHH. Klint couldn't get any money out for some reason. It was all very stressful, especially with sixteen people.
It was then coming on 11:00, and we had tickets for this "easybus" service to drive us for 10 Euro from the airport into the city..about a 30 minute ride I think (not sure because I slept the whole way). Well we were all supposed to buy the 11:30 ticket online last week, but of course one person got 10:30 on accident, and four people got a 12:00 ticket... Well we got out to the right stop at 11:15, and there was bus being loaded up, and it left at 11:18. So we figured that was the 11:15 bus or something. It was full, too. Sooooo another bus didn't come till midnight...and we told him what happened and that 12 of us needed to get on the 11:30 (there were a handful of other random people there who had also bought 11:30 but were skipped). The driver made some calls and came back around 12:30 telling us that the 11:30 driver had taken cash from people who hadn't bought tickets! Skipping us entirely!!!! So his 12:30 bus took all the 12:00 people and the 10:30 people....but NOT the 11:30 people!!!! So half of us had to wait in the freezing cold huddled together for the next easy bus.
At this point NONE of us were going to make it in time to use the underground system because it shuts down ...sometime. I'm not sure but we were too late. The first group ended up having to get a taxi to take them to our hostel. We didn't get to leave till 1 ish I think...and then we found a night bus going in the right direction and we got on and were ready to pay the 2.40 to the driver...except none of us had change since we had just come from an ATM...and the driver didn't want to deal with that so he just let us all on for free!! So that was good.
We got off near Kensal Green Cemetery or something...and walked up a hill past the cemetery for a few blocks. Oh, by the way it was FREEZING. We were all numb from standing at that bus stop at the airport for over an hour. The area we were walking in was super sketchy....we were walking and Garrison goes, "That's a squished mouse." Five seconds later, "...and that's a squished rat."
We finally finish passing the huge cemetery...and we pass this club, this white building with BANGING loud music (it's 2 in the morning?!). I was thinking, wow it must be warm in there....turns out this building was our hostel. It was warm and lively and dirty and totally sketchy...but a BED. It was 2:45 when I finally got to sleep (3:45 Vienna time).
And here begins our weekend in London....!
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