April 12 - That's All, Folks!

Well, the day of my departure came...

The flight was in the afternoon and I asked the bike shop to be ready by around 10 am - I had a few minutes to stroll the streets.

Right next to my accomodation

Woof!

More Zzzzz....

I was a bit worried when I went back to the shop at the agreed time and the bike was still being worked on. Well, there was a lot to work on...

Before...

...After

Crew at the bike shop

To cut a long story (yes, this was quite a long one...), the bike fit the box, the box fit the taxi and soon I was at the business class counter of Vietnam Airlines. The bike and the two bags were checked in - easy, I thought. Oh no! Suddenly the agent declared I was overweight, by some 10 kilograms, which would cost over $200. I argued for quite a while with the agent, then with the supervisor. Frustrated, I called my father, he had the idea to talk to the supervisor. Not sure how, he was able to convince her to check in the bags all the way to Vienna - for free! Thanks, Dad!

It was the three-hour flight to Taipei, below us gigantic thunderstorms were raging, I took some videos of the lightnings. Luckily, high up in the air, there was no turbulence to be felt. After two hours at the Taipei airport, I boarded my comfortable flight to Vienna - some 12 hours later landed with the brand new A350 at the Austrian capital. I tried not to eat everything served - my parents were waiting for me with a yummy welcome-back breakfast...