Terminal 5 looked deserted and my departure gate is totally empty. And this made my heart leap for joy after my major disappointment at not finding noiseless headphones. And besides, I threw my old beater headphones in my suitcase for good measure so I knew that all was not lost.

However, the thought of an empty flight to Europe was more than I could hope for. I was mainly praying for an empty seat next to mine. Nothing worse than my bulk being squeezed in between people on an eight-hour flight!

Well, I am happy to announce that my flight was very empty and very pleasant.

No one in O’Hare had ever heard of the airline I was flying on: Air Baltic. My cab driver cruised the departures strip looking for their sign – it did not exist. Then I looked on the confirmation page I had printed on my computer and noticed in the smallest print:

Operated by SAS – Scandinavian Airlines.

Aha! So I bounded to the SAS desk and asked the reservations clerk. Actualy, I am on a Scandinavian Airline flight. The Air Baltic flight was the connecting flight I take once I get to Stockholm – after a seven-hour lay over…more on that later…

SAS has great service. We got dinner as soon as we took off and all beverages are free. I discover a wonderful beer from Denmark. And since there was no food to buy in Terminal 5, I really had no fattening junk to snack on and I didn’t miss it.

We had a huge movie selection and I had an entire row to myself. I pushed up the armrests and stretched out. Ahhhh…. Nice!

Unfortunately as usual, I could not fall asleep. And per my habit, I didn’t feel sleepy until the last hour of my eight-hour flight. We are served a nice light breakfast at 6:30AM which includes a ham and cheese sandwich – hmmm – I’m not in Kansas any more!

We land. My cell phone beep indicates a text message. It’s from Verizon Wireless:
“Welcome to Sweden!”

My phone automatically goes into international mode and I am ready to receive and make calls. Verizon Wireless rocks! The Network is with me! I text my niece who immediately asks me if there are any gorgeous Swedish men running about! Nope, it’s barely 8:00A.M., no Swedish hunks running around yet.

I have been awake for fifteen hours – eight of which were spent in an airplane.
Now I have a seven-hour layover in Stockholm followed by a two-hour flight to Riga on Air Baltic…

Up next: Arlanda: Stockholm International Airport and the great layover…

Tags: air baltic, air travel, Latvia, Linkedin, Lynne Jordan, lynne jordan & the shivers, lynne jordan and the shivers, O'Hare International Airport, riga, SAS, scandinavian airlines, Stockholm, Sweden, Verizon Wireless, weight control, women's body image
Filed under: In the Life of a Diva