It was a very long trip home…featuring three flights, a taxi, a Lyft ride, six times through security, four lounges, three countries, and a total trip time (from hotel to home) of about 30 hours. And this was without any delayed flights.

Susan and I left early on Good Friday..3:15 am (her flight was 90 minutes earlier than mine). We took a taxi and I had enough lira to pay for the taxi so it was not too expensive and we were pretty close to the airport.

As is true with all Turkish airports, we first had to put our bags through an x-ray machine and also walk through one, before entering the airport. I did a loop around the airport looking for my check-in counter (I was going to Munich, then San Francisco and there was also a direct flight to San Francisco, I kept looking for the wrong flight and they left at about the same time). We went through passport control and security again…this one where we didn’t need to take out tablets or laptops…and were in the beautiful, new albeit out of the way IST.

We found a lounge we could both visit with my priority pass card and had a snack and drinks (breakfast #1), then Susan left to get her flight to Frankfurt and I went to the Turkish Airline lounge for breakfast #2. The TA lounge is beautiful, lots of food options from soup to eggs to salad to baklava and more.

First collage…flying to Istanbul, and lounge #1; second collage, Turkish Airlines lounge.

I left for my flight to Munich. My row had two tall Germans in it and before takeoff the flight attendant moved them into the exit row which made us all happy…I got three seats to myself and could sleep and they had sufficient legroom.

On landing in Munich in Terminal 1, I had to transfer to Terminal 2 via bus, but not before going through security #3 for the day, which was pretty quick, though I did have to take out my laptop and tablet. Then I found the bus and was taken to Terminal 2 (no further security I thought), and found the Lufthansa lounge for breakfast #3 (though to be fair I’d been up eight hours by that time)…more vegetables!

I left the lounge with what I thought was plenty of time to catch my flight, and it was, but I didn’t count on security #4 which was the most extensive, had to take out of carryons all food, laptop, tablets, jackets, take off shoes (rare outside of USA), have the spices I’d bought at the airport tested, it was time consuming. Once on the plane though I relaxed and had a nice, but long flight.

I went through customs (very easy with Global Entry), and rechecked my bags for my last flight, then went to lounge #4 but for dinner, not breakfast (nice salad). But as I reached for my tablet to read during dinner, I realized that my iPad mini had once more decided to hide as I got off the plane (I think I will rename it the lost and found IPAD). The United employees at the lounge helped me reach the right person behind security though and I was reunited with it an hour later (so was the German boy who left his on the plane). That led to security check #6.

I had considered taking an earlier flight home on a different airline but decided not to…good decision…and that flight ended up delayed.

My last flight arrived early, I got a Lyft home and that’s the end of my overseas travel for a month or so. Thanks for following our adventures.

PS: Susan and Anne also got back to the USA safely, even though Anne went out of SAW, another Istanbul airport and they are not close to one another.