O istenem de kar!

The first time I ever flew was when I flew from New York City to Budapest via Vienna. Ever since then I’ve been fascinated with flying and traveling. The day before flying out, my parents and I drove from little old New Paris to the big apple. I don’t remember where we spent the night but I think it was a college dorm. (Side note: I was only 15 when I started this journey and most of the students there were seniors or had just graduated high school. I have a 9 year old daughter and often question whether or not I would have the courage to send her in a trip like that when she’s 15.) The only thing I remember about that night in New York was meeting a girl heading to Spain and another girl going to Hungary with me. There were 7 of us going to Hungary. I was the only boy going. It was that night during my conversation with the girl heading to Hungary that I learned they didn’t speak Russian in Hungary. Her grandmother was actually from Hungary and taught her a lot of words and phrases leading up to our trip. I remember chatting with this girl from Michigan and her wild story of meeting a famous country star and that’s all I remember from that night. I must have been so excited about my trip that the rest was insignificant. Now, this was in August of 2001. For my fellow millennials, that date will be very significant. The flight was amazing! It was a massive jet with huge seats and my own television. I haven’t flown internationally but once since then but I hope the flights are just as fun. I think everyone remembers their first time flying and you never quite get that same intense feeling, at least I haven’t with all the interstate flying I’ve done since. Even the food was good. The flight over the Atlantic was serene and for the most part uneventful. I watched a couple movies and watched the trip on the massive screen up front. I’m 6’5” and had plenty of room on this plane. I didn’t sleep a wink because I didn’t want to miss anything. The best parts of flying are the takeoff and the landing. I remember coming into Austria and seeing the mountains. Growing up in Appalachia I’m no stranger to mountains but seeing such majestic and ethereal mountaintops like these was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. We had a quick turnaround in Austria and then it was onto another plane for a quick trip to Budapest and then my experience really took off!