It is 21.20 Vienna time at the time of writing this update. Here's what we've done so far today. We left our apartment exactly 11hrs and 50 min ago and took a taxi to the airport. The friendly lad brought us in 20 minutes from door to door. Having left Dubai 1,5 years ago, and therefore not being used to some insane driving anymore, I think Philipp and I both endured several tiny heart-attacks during that ride, but oh well, we survived. It was a premiere for the both of us; the first time ever to take a taxi in Vienna. I experienced another "first-timer" today, but I'll get to that in a minute.

The short flight from Vienna to London was a very smooth one and we arrived at around 13.00 in the afternoon. There's obviously no comparison between Vienna Airport and Heathrow, my goodness, how big can it be! We arrived at terminal 3 and after a 15-min walk following the signs to "International Transit Terminals", we thought we had reached the right one, but no, there was a bus waiting for us to take us even further. After another 10min ride and a half marathon inside that terminal, we arrived at the passport control and luggage check. When I saw the long queue I got a flashback to the Dubai Immigration and got impatient immediately but the feeling soon faded as we were actually flying through. At the luggage check I took out my iPad and my plastic ziplock bag and waited in line to go through the body scanner. "Gents first please"... "Yes, sir, please come through"... "Men only"... Uh what?! We ladies were queueing up like chicks on a stick and the guys could pass through one after the other.. So again I had to tell myself "we're not in Dubai anymore!".. And that was my second first-timer..

After the checks and scans we decided to grab a bite to eat and to our surprise there was a Wagamama Restaurant (WagamamaS for insiders ;)) During the meal I got in touch with Miriam and heard they had arrived and were coming our way. The trip for them so far had not been a good one. My dad woke up with a bad headache in the early morning already and it had bothered him since. Although he had taken several painkillers and tried to get some rest during the first flight, he was not feeling well at all and looked very pale. He said that these headaches usually disappear in the evening at around 19ish, so we were all thinking/hoping that it would be gone by then. It's now 21:45 and he's still sick as a dog. It's a terrible feeling having someone sit next to you like that and not being able to do anything at all! Waves of nausea come and go and he hasn't been able to eat or drink much since the morning.. Nothing we can do; just sitting there, completely helpless.

I watched 'The Woman in Black' with Daniel Radcliffe, not a bad movie. I couldn't follow it properly though; most of the scenes were very dark and with the daylight shining on the television screen, it was a bit tricky..

3:45 Vienna time 22:45 local time (Montreal). We have arrived safely! Luckily towards the end of the flight my dad started feeling better and by the time we landed his migraine had disappeared completely. I watched another movie, "The Lady", about Aung San Suu Kyi, based on the true story of a lady who started a democratic movement in Burma and won a Nobel Price. It was a truly inspiring movie; just a pity I didn't get to see the end as we started descending and the entertainment system got switched off. Arggg!!

After we landed we took a shuttle bus to the the city center and checked in into the Marriott Chateau Champlain on the 18th floor with a gorgeous view - pics will follow. We've been awake now for 20hrs and quite knackered so I'm gonna dive straight into the comfortable Marriott bed and take off to destination dreamland!

Tomorrow's program: the old town, bagels and Cirque du Soleil! Goodnight!