"It Was the Worst of Flights, It was the Best of Flights"

Dad Waiting on Weather Delays in Memphis

OK I know this is a blog about Hemingway and not Charles Dickens, but the title of today's blog about our two flights could not be more appropriate.

Let me begin by suggesting that traveling with your octogenarian father may sound challenging to you. Let me set you straight right now: if you have any octogenarian relatives, friends, people you meet at the airport for the first time, PICK THEM AS YOUR TRAVEL PARTNER NOW!

It did not start out that way though.The trip got off ok. Sissy dropped us off pretty much on time at Memphis International. The most harrowing time of course being the days before such a trip catching up, getting ahead, trying to get your crazy busy life to stop the merry go round so you can jump off before you get knocked back down when it comes round again.

But despite blue skies in Memphis, there was trouble already. Chicago. The Windy City was acting up as usual and causing delays. We arrived just in time to rush through the terminal, to the tram, and then to the International terminal and all the way to the very last desk for LOT Polish Airlines, who promptly informed us to turn on our heels and return to American Airlines from whence we came to get them to reroute us, since we had just missed our flight to Warsaw and the connecting one to Tallinn.

We found the AA International Desk, stayed in a long line (everyone else had missed their connections as well) until called. The lady was nice but she reminded me of that SNL character who stares at you then down at the keyboard typing like a mad lady until oh about 1 hour later she found us something. However, we would be losing a whole day. We would be sent to NYC LaGuardia where we would stay the night and then transfer to JFK for a 5:45pm flight on Finnish Airways to Helsinki and then -- finally-- Tallinn.

Dad in Front of the Great Neck Train Station Not Far from The Andrew Hotel

One major problem. There were no hotels, but the NYC plane was leaving so we got on with no idea where we would stay that night. Fortunately, the gate lady in New York, after acting somewhat perturbed, reacted to Dad’s Southern Charm and ended up getting us a free night and free ground transportation (value $350) at The Andrew Hotel in Great Neck on Long Island, which had a train station for the Long Island Railroad right across from it so we could spend a few hours the next day in “the City”. Turned out the “typical New Yorker” was actually very nice.

With the Manager of the Irish Pub on Times Square

So after a good night’s sleep and a free breakfast that morning, we headed to Time’s Square, ate at an Irish Restaurant, people watched, and promptly headed back in time to make our flight at JFK. We love The Andrew hotel, Grace and all the staff. In fact all the people in New York were nice to us, just like they had been when I took the girls back in October. Now here comes the “find an octogenarian” part of this story.

When we got to the Finnish Airways terminal, I asked for a wheelchair for my Dad. He had had back surgery a few years ago and is 82 years old. It was a long walk to our gate. I remembered my mother-in-law using one due to a ankle issue and I thought it was worth a shot.

People Watching in Times Square

All I can say is, all of a sudden you would think I had just announced that the King of Finland was on this flight. We had a man with a wheelchair push him all the way to the gate, at which point one of the Finish Stewards asked me his age, and immediately upgraded us to First Class. She even hugged and kissed me and said “you take care of your father.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but this was a big deal to me. I had never been in First Class before, and neither had Dad. On an International Flight, where you are often scrunched-up with a crick in your neck for the next 9 hours, it means everything!

French Champagne and a NY Times to Get Started

I now know how “Jack” felt in the movie “Titanic” when he was invited to dine with the rich and beautiful at the Captain’s table. I was all “why are you giving me champagne? Are you going to ask for my credit card... because you know back there these days they even make you pay for peanuts!”

We went on to get a full five course meal (I had the filet, French cheeses, au gratin, fruit salad, cheese cake, baguette,etc...) with the best French wines, including a desert wine that I know priced for around $400 at a wine store in Memphis. “Wine Spectator” Magazine has ranked Finnish Airlines as the “best wine served on business class on an airlines” several years running.

I read my Kendall, charged my phone, looked over the complimentary copy of the Times, watched the latest news on the BBC, listened to classical music on my “real” headphones -- the really good kind they give you -- and eventually the “relaxation meditation” channel recorded especially for Finnish Airlines, as I moved my seat all the way into recline and then into bed mode and drifted off to sleep, feeling like I had just had Thanksgiving Dinner I was so stuffed. This is the life. I looked back at Dad, who was sitting with someone else across the way, and he seemed to be in heaven.

Sleeping Pods in the Finish Airlines Club in Helsinki

We were awoken the next “morning” as the sun “rose” over the the snow caped mountains of Northern Norway outside my two windows. They came around and handed us warm wet towels for our face. The stewardesses were also fluent English speakers, with a perfect “American accent.”

We were then served a full course breakfast of omelets, bacon, orange juice, fruit bowel, yogurt and croissant. Oh, and of course a cappuccino. I could not eat it all as I was stlll a bit stuffed from the dinner the night before. I felt so pampered and spoiled that I almost decided to vote Republican in the next election -- economy class? Who cares! Poor saps. LOL

Alas, when we landed in Helsinki, they had yet another young lady meet us and stroll Dad to the special members only airport club, where we could wait and eat and drink some more while we waited for our next flight. We were too stuffed to even look at the food.

The young lady , named “Nea” , is a college student in Finland, and I asked her about her education. She explained that education all the way through college is not only free but that they even pay you to go to college there. However, it is very competitive. Finland has one of the best public education systems in the world. She was accepted into tourism studies and this was her summer job. We tipped her for her trouble and she looked surprised at the tip, unlike the gentleman in NYC who --while nice -- certainly expected to be tipped (and he deserved it). Now that we were Republicans though, we were getting kind of stingy with our tipping... so her response was welcome. We tipped her anyway, the Democrat in us still hanging on for dear life at this point.

Helsinki Airport Club Lounge

The Helsinki Airport -- indeed all scandinavian airports -- are ultra-modern affairs and free Wy Fi everywhere. They have “public phones” but they are smart phones tethered to a desk... they even have “sleeping” pods not unlike in the movie “The Intern” at the Google campus there. They have free charging stations for your phones that you just sit them on -- no wires.

Cannot Get Enough of this Lounge

All I can say is if it is true that the state of a nation’s infrastructure is an indication of the rise or decline of a civilization, the Finns make us look pretty bad in the US. Everything is ultra modern, new, clean, and with Green technology integrated everywhere you look.

We finally boarded our plane -- a prop plane -- for a short hop across the Baltic Sea to Estonia and -- finally -- Drew!

Getting On the Puddle Jumper to Estonia

We were turning back into pumpkins, but wow what a trip. Indeed, it was the worst of flights, it was the best of flights.