Remember this: aluminum tape is an aggressive pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive. It is flexible, UV and crack resistant.

Day 1:

I can’t say this trip has started off smoothly. Our group arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport on time for our flight to Paris, France. It was on time, but with one minor problem: it was struck by lighting.

Now I’m not sure how to take this news seeing as my trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh  by bus was delayed two hours, which made a six and half hour trip a nine-hour trip. I can be a bit superstitious – especially when the same thing happens twice in two days, and more was to come later.

The pilot for our damaged vessel told us that the damage was fixable. The lighting strike had left a plate-sized hole in the nose and the damage inside remains a mystery. The plan to fix the damage escaped our pilot but said – get this – aluminum tape. The tape would be used to patch the hole.

Just getting out of Pittsburgh took a bit of time. Our flight was schedule to leave at 6:35pm; however, with the repairs and aluminum tape our flight left at 8 p.m. and we were soaring the skies by 9 p.m. The flight from Pittsburgh to Paris was very good. I slept the entire way so I can’t say I had any problems or was aware of any – (best way to travel and prevents jet lag).

We did miss our flight in Paris to Berlin, Germany, but that’s rule number one when traveling: be flexible because these things are never in your control. Besides, I would rather have the engineers take 2 hours to fix the problem properly than a half fast job where a more serious incident could happen.

CDG Airport in Paris, France

Paris via airport was interesting. I was able to see many people going to their allotted terminals and the different shops. It is vastly different from Pittsburgh International. The airport is very modern and it was cool to be hearing other languages besides English.

Thankfully this flight to Berlin had not suffered from any lighting strike damage. There was, however, a 15-minute delay because there was a medical emergency on the flight prior to ours. This flight was a quick jump taking only an hour and a half to get to our first destination for our International Media class and once again I fell asleep.

Our arrival to Berlin was the final leg of our travels for the day – or so I thought. The delayed flight in Pittsburgh discombobulated the itinerary of the day, which skewed the day’s events A.K.A our luggage was lost.

Between missing our flight and the entire hubbub of taking a new flight, nine people in our group did not get their luggage. Cue the panic! After the moment of dread had passed, an easy solution was found. We had to stop at the baggage claim. All in all it has been eventful getting to Berlin.

After we finished with baggage claim we proceed with our very late tour. The important thing to take from this is that Berlin is gorgeous! This city is a wonderful combination of modern and old world feel. There is a deep appreciation for the environment and for the natural landscape.

I confess I’m already half in love with the city and I’ve only seen a few highlights   from the tour bus – but I know that this city is one of a kind.

For dinner our group went to a beer garden called Lindenbräu. The food and beer were amazing. It was just wonderful to sit down and have real food, but the best part about dinner was our luggage was found, which means between now and tomorrow I’ll have my things back.

The past 48 hours have been an adventure already with; one flight missed, two fights delayed, some aluminum tape, and some lost luggage, but in the end we shared a good meal and we got to Berlin…eventually.

It’s been a great first 48 hours and I can’t wait for the rest!

Carson