Over the Darkened Sea--Atlanta to Vienna

My layover in Atlanta was tedious, and I was very anxious by the time I boarded the plane for the trans-Atlantic crossing about sundown. By the time we had taxied to the runway and waited in line, it was pitch dark. Until sunrise I didn't see a thing. Our flight took us over New England, the

Canadian Maritime Provinces, and the North Atlantic. Immediately after takeoff, the flight attendants served dinner. After that I decided that I would try to get a head start on overcoming the jet lag and go to sleep. The inflight movie, "Mr. Bean's Vacation," did not interest me in the least. There was, however, a young mother with two very active sons across the aisle who were enthralled. I used my earplugs, and the airline provided two pillows, a blanket and a eye mask. I slept almost the entire night until sunrise, awaking only briefly while we were over the North Atlantic, and imagined that cold dark water 30,000 feet below us.

I awoke when there was just the faintest hint of a sunrise on the eastern horizon. We were over England by now, and the rest of the trip over Europe was spectacular. We arrived in Vienna at about 9:50, Vienna time.