Arrival in Sweden

Sunday May 21, 2006

I left for the airport at 5am mountain time and arrived in Kiruna, Sweden at 2pm local time the next day. 25 hrs of travel time, stopping in DFW, Chicago, and Stockholm. Here's a photo of the Scandanavian Airlines A340 I flew on. I got an upgrade to business class, compete with 4-course dinner, large sleeper seats, and breakfast. During the 4-hr layover in Stockholm, I walked around like a zombie but found a place to catch a few winks. I don't remember much about the short flight to Kiruna! I was asleep when we crossed the Arctic Circle. After a 40 minute drive from the airport in Kiruna, I checked into my room at the "Dilbert Hotel" at the Esrange launch facility. The first thing I did was take a 3-hr nap! After dinner in the base cafeteria, I tried to stay awake long enough to go to sleep at a "normal" time. It's difficult to adjust when the sun never sets here!