My internal European flights had to be paid for out-of-pocket (vs. miles). Woe is me (yes, sarcasm). I’m grateful that I’ve been able to travel around the world with minimal flight costs…now, the incidentals have been out of control on my wallet. I think I need to create a budget. Apparently, the consensus is that you can travel the world for $12K/year. This currently equates to my monthly expenditure even though I’m not paying for flights or accommodation. Yes, I need help and a reality check.

My behavioral observation is that when you’re saving so much in one arena, you believe you can spend more in another category. My bombastic-ness and tendency to do everything in extremes exacerbates the situation. Well, there’s time to adjust. No biggie.

London to Cologne

I trudged with many transfers by public transit to Stansted Airport in London. I had slept 4 hours and was massively hung over. I had stayed in bed for nearly the entirety of the day wondering why I do that to myself. With stone-like death stare, I dutifully followed the directions to the airport and ended up at the Germanwings counter, where the woman informed me that I had been upgraded to first class. My face was motionless. “Did you hear me?” she asked, smiling expectantly.

I went into motion and thanked her profusely, wondering how I could possibly get upgraded on an airline I’ve never flown. Maybe this was a harbinger of things to come. I cheered up a bit. This temporary lift incited me to buy a $200 pair of sunglasses guiltlessly in duty free. Looking back, that seems like a pretty dumb move given my tenuous income-earning status.

The flight experience itself was good, but given that it was such a small airport, I was surprised that we had to shuttle/train ourselves to the gates. Oops, if I had stayed with my decision to grab something at Pret, I would have had to find a new itinerary!

My Cologne days were exactly as they should have been. Long, meandering conversations. A naked German spa experience. Take out instead of elaborate dinners. Extended periods in the park. Talks about life, the universe, and everything. Hugs. Even a running and strength training circuit. For some reason, I couldn’t sleep though. It all started my last night in London. I think something is itching my brain.

Sadly, after a short two nights, it was time to go.

Cologne to Palermo

I trudged down to the taxi, with my friend Susa taking control of my bag, which had arrived in Cologne airport without one of the critical wheels – one of the inner ones that the suitcase actually rolls on. Letting it rest in a tripod fashion at every point incited a massive internal groan. And so there I was at 5:30am trying to communicate with a taxi driver in sign language and one-word German grunts. By 5:40am, I was at bus stop waiting to go to Dusseldorf Weeze airport bemoaning my 2 hours of sleep (I get very dramatic when I’m extra sleep deprived).

I had never flown Ryan Air before. One of their ploys is to list a major city but really have the airport be 1.5 hours away from that major city, I found out. Dusseldorf itself wasn’t super close, but Weeze was far beyond that. The bus ride was 2.5 hours. With a stone-like death stare, I accepted my fate and boarded. The process of booking that flight was harrowing with so many potential add-ons to the price. E.g., pick your seat for 4 EUR – this is optional, but they word it in such a way that you believe you have to choose it. If you don’t check in online in advance, you pay 45 EUR at the airport. If you pay in USD online vs. EUR, they give you a bogus exchange rate. There was a payment fee for my credit card (is that because it’s a US card???? Too tired to find out.). The list is long. But yes, OK. I paid about 55 EUR to go from Germany to Sicily. I’m shutting up now.

The main takeaway – be careful to ONLY add luggage (the small 15 kg one) and stuff your carry-on with the heaviest stuff like crazy.

As I boarded the plane, I started to enter the time warp I would further immerse myself in for the next few days. Everyone around me resembled the old school Italy of my imagination. There was a distinct 80s things going on. The adventure continues.

Helpful Flight-Booking Sites in Europe

• Google Flights – This gives you the ability (quickly!) to check multiple scenarios without going through all the infuriating travel sites. Well done.
• ITA Matrix – Acquired by Google, this has always been the best way to find the cheapest itineraries, and they will look out for the cheapest flights over the course of a month following your travel start date. You can also specific a range in the number of nights you would like to stay.
• Ryan Air – Typically has the cheapest options.