Flying to Minneapolis (Mon 8/2)

Sascha left for the airport VERY early this morning. After we had said goodbye to him, we went back to bed and got up a few hours later. Once we were all packed and ready, we took a shuttle to the Keflavik Airport, where we said our goodbyes to Edith and Juergen. It was difficult to say goodbye not knowing when we would see each other again.

After saying goodbye, we went through security and ate some lunch. Our flight was running a little late, but it was smooth and uneventful. The best part was that when we flew over the east coast of Greenland, there were no clouds. We could see the glaciers, frozen ocean, icebergs, etc. The clouds were really pretty as we descended into Minneapolis, too.

Customs was surprisingly pleasant (we didn't have a very good experience returning from Switzerland), and after checking into our hotel, we walked to Granite City for dinner. It felt very weird to be back and almost like our other half was missing. As my dad put it, we felt like the Hobbits (from Lord of the Rings) sitting in the Shire's pub after their journey (of course on a much less epic scale). By the time we got back to the hotel room, it was around 10 p.m., or 3 a.m. Reykjavik time- we all crashed pretty quickly.