Alarms went off at 7, tearing us out of loving slumber. I showered. Glen cooked sausages. I made omelette. We finished off a bunch of food that we’d bought the day before. We threw some things out and left the rest for the owners. We finished packing and caught an Uber to the airport. The driver was keen to talk about Eurovision and how Russia should have won because its song was better and the girl was hot. We declared our love for Serbia’s entry.
We arrived at the airport at 8:30. Having already checked in, we were very early for our flight. You go through security at the gate and our gate wasn’t ready when we go there so we had tea and hot chocolate. As we were lining up, I got a message from sister needing advice and to talk about my grandmother, who is in hospital.
Long story short, I cancelled my return flight to Toronto (boarding had already begun so we were cutting it fine). I’d looked at flights to Perth from Vienna and there was a one-way leaving that evening via Dubai for a reasonable price. If I’d gone from Toronto, it would have been more expensive and I would have had to fly ten hours to Toronto and then 30-something hours to Perth. Going from Vienna would take about 25 and involve shorter flights.
I cancelled my ticket, hugged Glen goodbye (wishing he was coming with me) and went back through passport control. I’m very glad I had my British passport as they pretty much waved me through with no questions. I then bought my Emirates flight back, contacted Dion (who was staying in Vienna an extra night), and then caught the train to the city centre. I was still pretty shattered from having minimal sleep.
I met Dion outside the cathedral. He had to check out of his hotel and then into a different (cheaper) one. We went for coffee first, and I had a schnitzel sandwich. We went to the hotel, dropped off the luggage and went walking. The upside to this is that I got to explore a bit of Vienna and see the Hofburg Palace that I’d wanted to see. It’s an awe-inspiring building, reminding me a little of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was a wow moment.
We also walked through the gardens, which weren’t nearly as impressive as I was expecting, but it was nevertheless nice to be in some greenery. Our legs wore out before too long, having not yet fully recovered from Eurovision, and we returned to the hotel. There was only a single bed, but Dion can’t nap or else he gets sick so I was able to lie down. I fell asleep pretty quickly.
Dion walked me to the train station at 8pm; it was an easy walk from the hotel. We said our second farewell for the weekend, though we’ll see each other in Perth (he arrives about 12 hours after me). Train ride was uneventful.
I’d already checked in online but decided to try getting a whole row blocked out for myself. The downside of doing this is that they weighed my hand luggage. It was 11.4kg and the limit is 7 so I had to check it. I took out my laptop and iPad and a couple of other things, changed some clothes too, and returned. It was exactly 7kg. I could have argued that my hand luggage was now fine, but as the woman had rearranged my seats so I could have rows to myself (though not blocked out completely), I didn’t argue the issue.
Went through security, had a bite to eat at the same place and go through the same gate that Glen and I had been at 12 hours before. We boarded at 9:50 and I did indeed having a middle row of four seats to myself. A lot of other people had empty seats too. The start of the ride was turbulent and I again wished Glen were with me. Eventually the bumpiness went away. I watched the IT Crowd special, one I hadn’t seen before, and I laughed so much that the woman in front kept turning around.
Food was pretty good, service was great, and then I lay down across the four seats quite comfortable, fully stretched out and got about three hours sleep. Not nearly enough to catch up on the deficit but better than nothing.
I arrived at Dubai airport at about 7am. No gate had been assigned so I walked the terminal for a while before I claimed tiredness and sat down. My layover was four hours. The flight on the second leg, from Dubai to Perth, wasn’t full either and I moved from a three-seat row to a four-seat row and was able to stretch out fully and get some sleep. I also watched Cake, which was better than I expecte.
The flight landed around midnight. I got through border security quickly, thanks to the electronic thing. My luggage came out fast too, and I was out the front of the airport waiting for Dad and Donna in no time. It was nice to see them. It felt strange being back in Perth.
Travels with Dan 
What do you say, eh?