Edward2005

If so, would you share your story of that day?

sheila

Edward, I was. I live here. I did at the time, and I fear it's still here somewhere.

the injured and the bereaved and our scoiety which will never be the same are in all our thoughts today.

Queenie

We were living in Switzerland. It was afternoon and I was at the market.

My husband called from his office and said he had a conference call with the US cut short as a plane had crashed into the World Trades.
I thought it was an accident. I didn't imagine it was a big deal. We didn't have a television, and I watched the events unfold through the CNN website.

When I saw the devastation, I called my husband to come home. We are both US citizens, and he had worked in the World Trades.

One of my girlfriends in Switzerland, originally from Manhattan, did not know about any of it until I called her later in the evening.

I will remember the frustration of not being able to call my parents or friends in the US – all the phone lines to the US were busy. However, we could email back & forth to the US, and I was receiving current local information in that way.

flanneruk

On September 11, 2001 I was driving down the M6. News of the first plane hitting the WTC came onto Radio 4 as I was turning off onto the M42.

The next time I turned off the M6 onto the M42 was two months later. At precisely the point I had heard the WTC story, Radio 4 interrupted the piece it was running to carry the American Airlines flight 587 crash story.

With a responsibility that great hanging over me, it took me two years before I took that route again for my regular Liverpool-Cotswolds trips. And even then, I made sure I didn't get to that junction around 0800-0900, Eastern time (driving without listening to Radio 4 is, of course, unthinkable - except when those infernal Archers are on)

But there must be thousands of people who were doing precisely the same thing when they heard the WTC story as when they heard the Flight 587 story. Did anyone else find the coincidence worried them?

ThinGorjus

I was not in Europe, but at home terrified about my mother's safety. You see, my mother had taken off from Newark at about midnight Sept. 10. (This was the same airport where two of the planes were hijacked.) My mother and my step-father were flying to Rome, a 10-hour flight. When I heard the news about the Twin Towers, I fainted. I didn't know if those two planes were one of the planes my mother was on. I was only revived by the fact that my friend, Tom, kept screaming in my ear that my mother was on Alitalia, and the planes that struck the WTC were United flights.

Now not to make light of the situation, but it is funny, when my mother and step-father landed in Rome they went to retrieve their luggage. The airport monitors were reporting the news about the WTC, but in Italian. My mother turned to my step-father and said, "Gee, I wonder why they are showing the movie Towering Inferno at the airport." My step-father replied, "Probably to entertain all the passengers because this lugguage is taking a damn long time to get unloaded." It wasn't until they got to their hotel, unpacked, and got on a public bus to go to Piazza di Spagna that they realize what had happened. An Italian women, assuming that they were American, offered them her condolences.

rex

The late Art Hussey was, and gave a good account of what he experienced in a trip report at the time. I was eight days away from the "2001 Fodorites' trip to Italy", and we couldn't even talk about a plan, let alone discuss reaffirming it or not until planes started flying again (trans-atlantic) on the 14th and 15th.

We felt some very real solidarity once on eperson decided "heck yes, let's go" - - then it was unanimous in less than 24 hours.

We saw countless expressions of "America, we're behind you and grieve with you" during our Sep 19-30 trip.

Best wishes,

Rex

JulieVikmanis

I was at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport waiting to board a plane to Newark with connections on to Rome. As the first tower was hit and newscasts started carrying the news my husband rushed to the counter of the world club to get rebooked on another flight that might still connect us through another city. He was working on this as the second plane hit and everything became more clear about what was happening. We waited with all the others in the world club, glued to the tv sets then got the message about the entire system being shut down. We spent hours retrieving our bags and took a cab home then returned to the airport the following day on reports that the system would indeed come back up only to take a second cab back home again. We spent the next 4 or 5 days with our packed bags in our hallway, watching CNN continuously until we finally got a plane and took our trip in spite of it all. We too were greeted by so many with expressions of condolences and sympathy. Even saw a handwritten statement condemning the terrorism posted in a glass cabinet by the town council of Trequanda Italy as we walked that lovely little town.

walkinaround

also live in europe...perhaps many remember this but the channel i was watching switched over to the US news coverage where jennings (i think) was talking to a reporter near the site who had just announced that the first tower had collapsed.

Jennings corrected the reporter to avoid the audience misunderstanding...he said something like "you mean PART of the building collapsed". unfortunately, it was no misunderstanding.

bsconway

My husband and I were staying in a rented house in Umbria, not too far from Perugia. We returned after an outing and the landlady ran out to greet us, saying, in broken English, that something terrible had happened in the US. She took us next door to her house where she and her mother were watching tv. My Italian wasn't nearly good enough to understand the commentators, all I could understand was the crawl on the bottom of the cnn screen. But the visuals were horrifying. At first, we thought Palestinian terrorists had blown up the world trade center. And then we saw the replay of the planes--finally, the towers collapsing. We were all in tears. My husband and I went back to our house and watched more on tv--too stunned to take it all in. The next day we drove to Perugia where we were able to find an internet cafe and see what was really happening. Also called my sister on Cape Cod to find she and all my family, including sister in NYC, were okay. We were scheduled to fly home the Monday after the attacks and by then the flights were back to almost normal. But the Rome aiport was more scary than usual, with hundreds of Americans trying to book a flight and carabinieri with automatic rifles looming over balconies above our heads. We were never so glad to get home!

seetheworld

"Did anyone else find the coincidence worried them?"

The morning that flight 587 crashed was the first business trip my husband took since 9/11 - he was leaving the country. When I heard the report that a plane had gone down I thought, "Oh no, not again".

There is this brief moment in time that exists between when the report first comes out of a crash and when the actual flight information is revealed that left me frozen with fear. I frantically dug through my purse to find my husband's itinerary.

He was sitting on the runway, no clue what had happend, when the captain announced the crash and told everyone to call their families to let them know they were okay. I was so thankful to hear from him.

BTilke

I was at home in Brussels, surfing on the computer, with the BBC on the TV in the living room. When I heard the news, I ran to the living room. I thought the plane would be a small private plane that crashed into the WTC by accident, the pilot having a heart attack or something. The true horror of the story quickly unfolded. I called my husband at work, he passed on the news to his boss, who sneered "you should know better than to believe everything a wife tells you." (Shortly after that, he drove the company into bankruptcy.)

I was in the World Trade Center in August 2001 for a business meeting. The meeting was originally supposed to take place in September (not necessarily 9/11 though) but the client asked if we could bump it up a month. I still have my WTC visitors pass.

cambe

I was at work in Belfast when I got a phone call from a collegue to say that a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. I thought that the plane had problems and crashed. She phoned a few moments later to say that a second plane had crashed.

I went to our managers office which had a TV and it was on CNN.

I watched as the twin towers collapsed and thought they were showing a movie.

Like the murder of Kennedy and the death of Diana I will never forget that moment - it was unbeliveable.

Pegontheroad

My sister, (Maryfran) and I were in England, attending an evensong service at the lovely York cathedral. Toward the end of the service, during the prayers, the priest asked the congregation to pray for America during the on-going tragedy. We had no idea what was going on.

We exited and asked a guard, the first person we saw, what had happened, and he told us about the attack. We roamed around till we found a pub with a television set, and we sat there watching the attack, horrified, with a pub full of working-class guys who were as glued to the set as we were.

For the rest of the trip, we lost interest in pretty much anything except watching CNN when we could find a place that had it. We, along with a vast crowd, went to a special changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, where the "Star Spangled Banner" was played. I remember trying to sing but being unable to do so because I was so choked up.

Cambe's post reminded me that I was in Japan when Kennedy was killed and at Berchtesgaden when I learned about Diana's death. I was in Japan and Germany during the late 60's, when there was so much turmoil in America.

I think my reaction in times of tragedy, especially national tragedy, is that I want to go home and be with my people.

PBProvence

I too live in Europe and watched it unfold on several news channels, including CNN, where I, with a neighbor, watched the second plane hit. My neighbor's, who is from Luxembourg, daughter worked in the second tower along with her husband.

My daughter lived in NYC and she called me almost immediately (before all the lines were jammed) - we put her to work trying to find out where my neighbor's daughter was. She was able to let us know later that day that both she and her husband had been on a flight to NY from LA, where they'd been for business, that was due to land at Kennedy at 9:30 AM. Of course they would up in Newfoundland for four days....

That evening visiting friends from Boston arrived back at the house and they thought I was watching some action movie on television. I had to tell them to sit down to give them the news. They were supposed to return to Boston two days later, but wound up staying for almost another week before they could get a flight home....although I must say they weren't in a hurry to return.

Meanwhile, my husband was in Milan, where he had intended to board a flight to Washington,DC for a cardiology congress... He turned around and came home.

PB

Nlingenfel

My friend and I left on Sept 10th at 5:45 from IAD to FRA, United Flight. Arrived in Frankfut and drove to Czech Republic. No TV, no phone for 2 days, we stay in small towns. Went into the Pupp Hotel, in Kalovary Vary and saw what we thought was an implosion of a building. Started to watch the TV and realized what had happened. Called home, family and friends were frantic.
Now we have to call home every day or so, and leave an itinary. Before we never called. We were lucky and were on the first flight back to Washington, met people in the airport who were there for a week or more trying to get home.

We live 45 miles from Shankstown, PA and 4 miles from Altoona Airport.

suec1

My daughter had left for London in August 2001 where she was going to stay for three months doing a study abroad. We live in Atlanta but of course when she began hearing the news it seemed to her all of the US could be under some form of attack. Fortunatley she was able to get through to me at work about 10am US time - I think at that time events were still unfolding and there was alot of fear of just how many planes were threatening unknown targets. For the next few days there was alot of concern over whether the students should finish the term or head home to be closer to their families. She did end up staying until Thanksgiving - one student withdrew from the program. I went over to visit her in Oct. and received a very long and hard hug when she greeted me at the airport!

rsb99

I was not in Europe, but my parents were in Italy, in Tuscany. They were on their way to board at a farmhouse, and continued with their plans, even though they were horrified and heartbroken. The family they stayed with was wonderful and supportive, and also very helpful in my efforts to contact them.

My in-laws were in Maryland, expecting to board a flight to France that morning from Dulles. They never even left their hotel.

Brazilnut

I was not in Europe on 9/11, but was there when the American Airlines flight 587 crashed.

By the way, I was staying at the Tavistock Hotel on Tavistock Square at the time, and learned of the crash as I came out of the Russell Square Underground Station... (Remember London July 7/2005??).

mikemo

My daughter was on the tarmac in Shannon (on Aerlingus) with clearance to take off.
They received notice that all US air space had just been closed and had to abort a takeoff.
Fortunately, she had a/the only Euro/US cell phone and was relaying real time info to those on board from her brother in DFW.
She spent the next 6 days fishing in the Republic.
M

Edward2005

Thanks to everyone for their amazing stories. Only 4 years ago, but it seems like a lifetime.