Austria! Well then, G'day mate!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I think I may have sweet talked our way through to the front of queue. Could I kindly ask that you please return to your seats and turn off all electrical items". Followed shortly by "Sorry folks, as usual, my ability to talk to women has failed and we are again sitting 4th in the queue". The last piece of commentary, courtesy of our pilot brought an ebullition of mirth that rippled through the plane's cabin. My first snow for the season had proved more of a hindrance than anything. Snowflakes clumsily tumbled to the ground throughout the evening and created a backlog of flights looking to depart. So there we sat delayed on the tarmac as the snow continued to fall steadily.

Despite being delayed by almost 3 hours it was the captain's charm that had appeased the restless passengers. The groan of disdain was in unison when the delay was announced. People whinged and complained when they were made to stand outside on the tarmac in the falling snow, yet when the pilot stood at the front of the plane looking disheveled and tired, he assured the plane that he wanted nothing more to be back at home with his family than stuck behind a line of planes. This simple act of showing that he was human lead to the unscrunching of faces as the crowd prepared themselves for the long night ahead. It may have been the charismatic nature of the pilot but the mere act of informing the people of the situation and his own desperation reveal that showing a little humility goes a long way.

Vienna, Austria. I write this, half asleep, half awake. Undecided which state is more prominent, yet I know, that sleep is the only thing on my mind. I would, at this moment in time trade my liver for sleep or possibly my first new born. Up until now I had a routine for weekend flights. It ran like clockwork, like a finely tuned machined in a Japanese factory, well a non-Toyota factory. A procedure so refined that it detailed the intricacies from waking early, to double checking documents, knowing what to pack, knowing what to charge, where to catch the bus, put simply, I had weekend travel down to a tee. This trip would not follow that procedure and be the mark of many firsts.

Saturday 4:30 am. My clothes, reeking of Korean BBQ from last night's dinner. My breath, smelling like a suspicious mix of tequila and Sambucca. My backpack, looking dangerously under packed slung over my shoulder. Me, a picture of lost youth, I collapse like a bag of old clothes on the train. It lurches forward into the darkness as I drift in and out of sleep. At this moment in time my biggest fear was not missing my flight, but waking up in Brighton at 6 am. I dreaded the weekend ahead, I dreaded the Monday. I finally arrive at the airport, it comes as no surprise that the flight has been delayed. Gatwick Airport, I'm greeted by 2 familiar and obviously under the weather faces. One gurgles before vomiting in the recycling bin before boarding the plane. I wasn't the only one feeling rough.

As planned, this trip to Vienna was to re-kindle the love of the festive season, to huddle around with steaming cups of mulled wine, ginger bread biscuits and to be dazzled by all the offerings of the Viennese Christmas Markets. The group dynamics of this trip would also be different, we had fresh faces in London and their enthusiasm and desire to travel the cities reminded us of past trips and previous vigors. I looked at myself, no longer the fresh faced traveller, it was refreshing and alarming at the same time. We were dragged through freezing winter conditions from Christmas Market, to restaurant, from palace through to the trails of Mozart. I say dragged but deep down I was secretly glad the motivation was there. In total, we managed to make it to three markets. Schnonbrunn, Rathausplatz and my favourite the charming Spittelberg.

So as I sit here and type, my focus lapsing from the meager 2 hours of sleep the night before. I force myself to finish this post. Wondering if there were any glaring omissions from this recount as well as entertaining other questions. eg. Can you die from a lack of sleep? 9:30 pm Monday evening, completely exhausted and signing out. My bed calls for me, I call back...

"I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death" - Nasir Jones, New York State of Mind