Our Traveling Woes

I thought I would blog our return trip back to the States just so that I can recall all the events in detail! On the 1st of July we left for Samara, Russia from Israel. We got on a bus and along with several other missionary families we headed towards the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. We made our way to the Lufthansa entry point and underwent some serious baggage security. I have been told that Israel has the tightest security in the world. We then went to check in and this is where our problems began. Our flight had been delayed by 4 hours which meant that we would miss our connecting flight to Samara. Our hands were pretty much tied. Initially we had planned to be back in Samara by early morning on the 2nd of July since we were leaving for the States on the 3rd of July. After an hour of trying to figure out our best options with the ticketing agency, Lufthansa put us up in the Intercontinental Hotel of Tel Aviv......very plosh! They also took care of our taxi ride to and from the hotel but we ran into some problems because the agent who was new on the job didn't know where to take us to catch the taxi......augh! After 15 minutes of going back and forth to the Lufthansa ticketing she finally figured it out. So, we get to the hotel and the workers there didn't know what to do with us. They finally figured it out and sent us to our room............we get to the room and someone was already there. Back down to the lobby to let them know. The embarrassed manager then re booked our room and then personally walked us to our new room overlooking the Mediteranean Sea. Lufthansa also took care of our dinner, so we ordered room service. It was delicious and after not eating since the morning it was quite a feast for us and an expensive one but we didn't have to pay the $113 bill. Our sleep was a short one though and we really didn't get to enjoy the 5 star accommodations since we were up at 1 in the morning to be back at the airport by 2 a.m. Well that is enough for now. I will continue the story later.



THE VIEW FROM OUR ROOM ON THE 23RD FLOOR OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA