The Long Trip Home

 As I mentioned, most flights to the United States depart Kraków very early, as they require a transfer somewhere else in Europe.  A couple of couples on our tour were staying in Europe, going on to join other tours.  They were retired and taking full advantage of being in Europe, so they were stringing two or even three trips together.  A few others remained behind in Kraków for a couple more days, primarily hoping to visit the alpine region south of town, in the Tartar Mountains.  We, however, headed home, along with the vast majority of our fellow travelers.  Those who had booked their airfare with Gate1 had airport transfers that left around 3:15am.  We'd booked on our own and had a private transfer, which was leaving until a somewhat more reasonable 4:00am.  Still, it was a short night, and we were surprised to awake to heavy rain.  We'd heard a change in the weather was coming, with heavy rain and a precipitous drop in temperatures, but alas we'd all packed our umbrellas away.  Luckily the arriving van could park under cover, so we remained dry.  Our driver was a young Pole, eager to practice his English.  He seemed particularly interested in knowing if all the taxis in America are really yellow.  We all got a chuckle out of that one.

We were flying home via Amsterdam, with our KLM flight departing at 6:30am.  The airport was surprisingly busy.  We learned that in addition to the low-cost Polish airline Wizz, Ireland's RyanAir has a base in Krakow, so there were lots of inter-European flights.  We ran into others from our tour, some on our flight, while others were routed home via Munich, Frankfurt, and Warsaw.  We learned that the Munich flight had been cancelled by Lufthansa, so a large number of folks were in line trying to deal with rerouting themselves home.  We were, therefore, happy when our flight boarded and departed on time, and also pleased that the weather broke and the flight out was quite beautiful.

Waiting for Our Very Early Flight

The Airport in Kraków

A Polish LOT Plane Painted in Communist-Era Livery

Departing Poland

Approaching Amsterdam

The only downside to the travel was that we had a long four-hour layover in Amsterdam.  While that alleviated concerns about security checks and delays, it's still a long time when you're ready to get home.  We luckily had access to the KLM Lounge, so that helped, and K took full advantage to explore the airport shops, as well as the branch of the Rijksmuseum, which is located inside the terminal.

The Famed KLM Delft Houses, Lining Entrance to Lounge in Amsterdam

Our Transport Home

On the Ground, Back at Dulles

Our flight to Dulles was full, but we had room and all managed to get some good sleep.  We hit Immigration in Dulles are peak time, and I never saw such a long line for Global Entry.  Still, we cleared in about 15 minutes, and our bags were already waiting on the other end.  A quick cab ride later we were home, with Anna simply transferring her stuff from the taxi into her car, and she was off for her apartment.  K and I managed to stay up until around 7:00pm, which seems pretty impressive in hindsight.