This story is based on my personal experience. It is my first written story. Please be gentle.
My friend Susurrus was so kind to help me to translate my story from German into English.
*
Where were you? Or, where were you as it happened? These are the most common questions asked when a world-shaking event has taken place. There have been several, such as the raising of the Berlin Wall, the assassination of President Kennedy, the first lunar landing, the fall of the Berlin Wall.
I didn't see the raising of the Berlin Wall, Kennedy's murder or the first lunar landing. I wasn't born that time. I only experienced the fall of the wall in front of the television set. And September 11th? It's a little bit difficult to say where I was during that time.
I had just flown with a good friend to Fuerteventura for vacation on September 1st. We had flown from Hamburg early in the morning and finally landed at noon. The flight was quiet and uneventful. In other words: long and boring. We had a hotel in the northernmost part of Fuerteventura. Unfortunately, this meant that the trip from the airport to the hotel was rather long. As well, when we arrived, we were informed that our room wasn't ready yet.
That was a disappointment. It was my first vacation in years, though, so I wasn't about to let anything dampen my mood. While we waited, we relaxed at the pool bar, drinking the first beers of our vacation. At about three in the afternoon we finally got into our room. We spent the rest of the day exploring Corralejo and enjoying the fantastic weather.
You can say that it was a typical vacation for two bachelors: alcohol, music and fun. There was plenty of all three even though it wasn't intended to be a drinking vacation. We did several excursions, too, seeing some really great sights. Unfortunately, by Friday I had a bad sunburn on both legs and arms. I'd been using sunblock all week but I simply had bad luck. I joked that I was going to glow in the dark.
We didn't do much outside in the remaining days after that. Even so, by Sunday my arms and legs were still very red. My friend convinced me to try quark. I was very skeptical at first but I tried it, and it worked. By the next day, my arms and legs had healed extensively.
Now that I wasn't in quite so much pain, we enjoyed Monday as much as we could, because on Tuesday we were scheduled to fly back to Hamburg. And that Tuesday was indeed September 11th, 2001. Ironic, since this particular Tuesday ended the best vacation I'd ever had so far. Of course, there was no way for us to know that morning what would happen very soon.
We had a lot of time on our hands in the morning, since the bus back to the airport didn't leave until 10 AM. As it had been on the way in, the way back out was a very dull two hours. Our return flight left at 2 PM, and was going to last four and a half hours.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We sat on the outer terrace at the airport and reminisced on highlights of our vacation. When you go on a trip, you often have a lot of stories to tell. This is how it was for me, in any case. Nevertheless, I won't bore you with details on all the experiences we had, or how many pictures I took in these eleven days.
The flight back home was, in my opinion, much more interesting. We left Fuerteventura as planned. The flight back should have been just as uneventful as the outward flight. My friend and I had already made plans about what to do when we landed, because I still had vacation for the remainder of the week. We had approximately two more hours in the air when the announcement came, one I won't forget for the rest of my life. The captain said: "Dear Sirs or Madams, as you may have noticed, the crew is very distressed. There are reports of bomb attacks in Washington and New York with many thousands of casualties. I ask you to please excuse the crew's mood."
Following this announcement, it was deathly silent in the cabin for several seconds. The engines were the only sound present. We sat in the first row of the smoker's area. When the stunned silence passed, most of the smokers behind us became true chain smokers. For me it was a problem because I'm a non-smoker. Even my friend who is a smoker had slight problems. Until that moment, we hadn't noticed that the crew was in the least upset.
The rest of the flight proceeded in a very depressed, strange atmosphere. You usually can overhear other conversations on these flights. People almost always talk about their vacations. There is normally a certain mood: many are sad that their vacation has ended, others are happy that they're finally going home. This was completely missing here. Everyone seemed to be thinking of what exactly might have happened.
We landed according to plan in Hamburg. When we were picked up at the airport and driven home, we heard what had happened up to that moment. At that time, one of the towers had collapsed, according to the news on the radio. As soon as I got home, I switched on the television set. The first report I got then was that the second tower had also collapsed. I slowly became really conscious of what exactly had occurred. I carefully followed the news -- into the early morning -- in the hope of learning something more, but all channels were broadcasting exactly the same information.
Where were you when it happened? I was in an airplane on the way back home from a wonderful, relaxing vacation. Where were you, then? But is it really important? Everybody has his special story, of what he experienced on this day or during any of the several other world-shaking moments.
I'm really upset, though, that such a terrible event is indirectly connected with a personally very beautiful experience. Every time I look at the many holiday snapshots I took, I'm reminded of the victims and their families.
*
HP: Since then I've been with friends on vacation repeatedly. Each time it's a very strange feeling to sit in an airplane again, even months or years after the attack.
Well I can imagine that you or the other readers may think that the captain's speech sounds unrealistic or even invented. I can assure you it's unfortunately the way it was. I suspect that the captain was shocked by the event and therefore felt compelled to make the speech. Even if it was not very pleasant to hear, I think his behavior is excusable. In the end it was the most serious terrorist attack that has ever happened. And hand on your heart, what was your first reaction?
My friend Susurrus was so kind to help me to translate my story from German into English.
*
Where were you? Or, where were you as it happened? These are the most common questions asked when a world-shaking event has taken place. There have been several, such as the raising of the Berlin Wall, the assassination of President Kennedy, the first lunar landing, the fall of the Berlin Wall.
I didn't see the raising of the Berlin Wall, Kennedy's murder or the first lunar landing. I wasn't born that time. I only experienced the fall of the wall in front of the television set. And September 11th? It's a little bit difficult to say where I was during that time.
I had just flown with a good friend to Fuerteventura for vacation on September 1st. We had flown from Hamburg early in the morning and finally landed at noon. The flight was quiet and uneventful. In other words: long and boring. We had a hotel in the northernmost part of Fuerteventura. Unfortunately, this meant that the trip from the airport to the hotel was rather long. As well, when we arrived, we were informed that our room wasn't ready yet.
That was a disappointment. It was my first vacation in years, though, so I wasn't about to let anything dampen my mood. While we waited, we relaxed at the pool bar, drinking the first beers of our vacation. At about three in the afternoon we finally got into our room. We spent the rest of the day exploring Corralejo and enjoying the fantastic weather.
You can say that it was a typical vacation for two bachelors: alcohol, music and fun. There was plenty of all three even though it wasn't intended to be a drinking vacation. We did several excursions, too, seeing some really great sights. Unfortunately, by Friday I had a bad sunburn on both legs and arms. I'd been using sunblock all week but I simply had bad luck. I joked that I was going to glow in the dark.
We didn't do much outside in the remaining days after that. Even so, by Sunday my arms and legs were still very red. My friend convinced me to try quark. I was very skeptical at first but I tried it, and it worked. By the next day, my arms and legs had healed extensively.
Now that I wasn't in quite so much pain, we enjoyed Monday as much as we could, because on Tuesday we were scheduled to fly back to Hamburg. And that Tuesday was indeed September 11th, 2001. Ironic, since this particular Tuesday ended the best vacation I'd ever had so far. Of course, there was no way for us to know that morning what would happen very soon.
We had a lot of time on our hands in the morning, since the bus back to the airport didn't leave until 10 AM. As it had been on the way in, the way back out was a very dull two hours. Our return flight left at 2 PM, and was going to last four and a half hours.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We sat on the outer terrace at the airport and reminisced on highlights of our vacation. When you go on a trip, you often have a lot of stories to tell. This is how it was for me, in any case. Nevertheless, I won't bore you with details on all the experiences we had, or how many pictures I took in these eleven days.
The flight back home was, in my opinion, much more interesting. We left Fuerteventura as planned. The flight back should have been just as uneventful as the outward flight. My friend and I had already made plans about what to do when we landed, because I still had vacation for the remainder of the week. We had approximately two more hours in the air when the announcement came, one I won't forget for the rest of my life. The captain said: "Dear Sirs or Madams, as you may have noticed, the crew is very distressed. There are reports of bomb attacks in Washington and New York with many thousands of casualties. I ask you to please excuse the crew's mood."
Following this announcement, it was deathly silent in the cabin for several seconds. The engines were the only sound present. We sat in the first row of the smoker's area. When the stunned silence passed, most of the smokers behind us became true chain smokers. For me it was a problem because I'm a non-smoker. Even my friend who is a smoker had slight problems. Until that moment, we hadn't noticed that the crew was in the least upset.
The rest of the flight proceeded in a very depressed, strange atmosphere. You usually can overhear other conversations on these flights. People almost always talk about their vacations. There is normally a certain mood: many are sad that their vacation has ended, others are happy that they're finally going home. This was completely missing here. Everyone seemed to be thinking of what exactly might have happened.
We landed according to plan in Hamburg. When we were picked up at the airport and driven home, we heard what had happened up to that moment. At that time, one of the towers had collapsed, according to the news on the radio. As soon as I got home, I switched on the television set. The first report I got then was that the second tower had also collapsed. I slowly became really conscious of what exactly had occurred. I carefully followed the news -- into the early morning -- in the hope of learning something more, but all channels were broadcasting exactly the same information.
Where were you when it happened? I was in an airplane on the way back home from a wonderful, relaxing vacation. Where were you, then? But is it really important? Everybody has his special story, of what he experienced on this day or during any of the several other world-shaking moments.
I'm really upset, though, that such a terrible event is indirectly connected with a personally very beautiful experience. Every time I look at the many holiday snapshots I took, I'm reminded of the victims and their families.
*
HP: Since then I've been with friends on vacation repeatedly. Each time it's a very strange feeling to sit in an airplane again, even months or years after the attack.
Well I can imagine that you or the other readers may think that the captain's speech sounds unrealistic or even invented. I can assure you it's unfortunately the way it was. I suspect that the captain was shocked by the event and therefore felt compelled to make the speech. Even if it was not very pleasant to hear, I think his behavior is excusable. In the end it was the most serious terrorist attack that has ever happened. And hand on your heart, what was your first reaction?