David Arrives in America
What can I say, but the next time I went to Germany was really a "spur of the minute" trip. I had hung up the phone with the Germans during which they had again ask when I was coming back for a visit. I had pretty much given up hope on a return visit this year. The last Delta Fun Fare ticket opportunity expired in mid-March, not a good time for travel as the boys were very involved in school.
Later on that Sunday evening, I received my weekly e-mail from Delta. To my surprise, Munich was back on the list of European cities with super discounted fares from selected US cities. I found Atlanta to Munich to be $385 round trip, but knew that Little Rock usually added about $110 to that price. Still at under $500, it was a pretty good price. I checked from Little Rock, via Atlanta to Munich, and found the price to be only $408 for the round trip ticket. A real bargain for sure.
I quickly sent off an SMS to their cell phones with possible travel dates and to check their e-mail for more details. I also told them that I needed to know by Monday afternoon so I could get those fares. The window closed on Wednesday and I knew that the sooner I made the reservations, the better my chances were to get these super prices.
By noon on Monday, I had all the answers and suggestions, so I committed to the reservations. Thus started my second trip to Germany.
By now, everybody at work has decided that I am crazy. Another weekend in Europe. They just don't understand. Why not travel to some place you don't get to visit every time you turn around and instead really get a chance to see the world. Even though this was my second trip to Kempten each time would be a different experience. And, this one was no exception.
During the pre-planning stages, the weather report was looking pretty good. But as the date to leave got closer, the weather began to deteriorate, almost to the point of cancellation had the ticket not been a "no exchange or refund" type. I was committed to the journey, no matter the weather. Leaving a balmy Little Rock, arriving to an even warmer Atlanta, my arrival in Munich was a full-circle change. But first, there were several obstacles in the way.
First off, my departure from Little Rock was delayed AFTER we boarded the plane. Seems that Atlanta had problems with more aircraft than the airspace around Hartsfield could accommodate. So, after about 45 minutes sitting on the tarmac, we finally departed Little Rock. Our arrival in Atlanta was only 30 minutes late, but that caused several passengers to miss their connections. I, on the other hand, had five hours to make my connection to Munich.
Little did I know, but about an hour before departure, my flight has delayed almost more two hours. The problem, weather in New York delayed the departure of our aircraft. Let's see, I arrived in Atlanta about 1:20p and was scheduled to leave at 5:45p. Now, I'm scheduled for a 7:30p departure. I had already watched one of the movies I brought while waiting on the original departure time. I wasn't about to start on another.
I found some phones near Starbucks that had computer connections. I counted about 10 of them at small tables, two to a table. Eight of them were occupied by people just sitting, sleeping or reading. Only a couple actually had computers in operation. Finally, one of the computer users left and I was able to get on-line with some difficulty. I could not make a local call, only a credit card, collect or 1-800 number. So, since I had the 800 access, that was my choice. I was able to retrieve my e-mail and send out a couple. I checked the status of my flight and did a bit of surfing. Total time on-line was less than 10 minutes. For me that may have been a record.
I returned to the gate area to await the departure of my flight. While sitting there, I stuck up a conversation with a young man that was on the same flight. He was heading home to a small down East of Munich. Seems he had been in the States for the past one year, one week and one day working for a prosthetics firm as a trainee through a program called AITP. An exchange program for career people much like the exchange programs for students with one major exception. He got paid for his work. Enough so that he bought a car and had an apartment.
We talked for most of the time awaiting our flight and then continued the conversation after we were in the air. Our seats were just a couple apart. I was in a aisle seat outboard and he was in the middle of three seats with the aisles both empty. As soon as we were airborne, I moved to the aisle seat, on his row and he moved to the other aisle so we both had more room. I put the notebook computer on the tray between us and later we watched "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" during part of the flight.
We also talked a lot about his stay in the States and my visits to Germany and Europe. The best I can remember, it seems that he had met a girl while he was an exchange student in a US high school in North Carolina. She is now attending a university in Vienna, Austria. They have been carrying on a long distance relationship for over 3 years now. Somehow, they manage to get together at least 2 or 3 times a year. The rest of the time, they used the telephone to keep in contact.
What was to have been an 8:55am arrival became a 10:15am one. But, I was able to get an e-mail off to my hosts informing them of the 2-hour delay. Kempten is about 2 hours away by train or car, so that gave them an extra couple hours of sleep. Customs in Munich was as easy as anywhere I had been. All they wanted was to see my Passport. The line was short since I had been in the very back of the plane and was in no hurry to get off.
Once through Immigration, I went immediately to the exit and was spotted by Peter and David. We left for the lower levels to catch the train to Munich's Hob (downtown station) and then switch to a local for Kempten. We had to wait about 15 minutes at the airport for the train to leave and about 30 minutes in Munich for the train the leave there.
Even though the weather in Munich was a change from that in the States, it was not "that" bad. However, Saturday morning was a different story. I awoke to heavy show pelting the skylights of my top floor bedroom. Enough had fallen that they were completely covered. Opening one, I could see that we had close to 2" of snow since midnight. However, by mid-day, the sun appeared and the temperature rose enough that melting was apparent, so David and I went downtown to do some shopping. Being the day before Easter, most shops were very busy as they would be closed on Sunday.
So why was Easter Sunday to be any different. I awoke to a massive snow storm. Already, snow was several inches deep, no sun and low temperatures. It looked like a day to stay inside and warm. The wind was much worse than Saturday and the snow kept it up almost all day. A couple of times, the snow changed to rain. With the warmer weather just a week earlier, the streets and sidewalks stayed pretty much clear. It seems like all we did was eat. A late breakfast, mid-afternoon lunch and early evening dinner. The rest of the time Thomas was studying as he had his finals starting when he returned from this 2-week Easter Holiday. These tests are very comprehensive and will last until the end of May.
6:30am (All
times are German local, subtract 7 hours for Arkansas.)
Monday was here before I knew it. The alarms were set for
6:30am so we could have a final family breakfast before Peter, Christine, David and I left
for the Munich airport. We decided on the train because it
would be a bit more reliable than the car should the weather turn to snow
overnight again. Leaving about 8:00am should put us at the airport no
later than 11:00am for my departure at 12:40pm for Atlanta.
12:15am
As things had
been going, there was a "maintenance delay" on our aircraft, delaying
it's loading by 15 minutes. I used this time to continue my endeavor to
learn Flash 5, a graphical animation program. I had hoped to use my flight
over to begin this study, but we encountered several areas of "clear air turbulence" that made reading almost impossible.
1:45pm
This delay will possibly change our arrival in
Atlanta which was scheduled for at 4:55pm with my connection to Little Rock leaving
at 8:20pm to arrive at 9:00pm. I should have plenty of time to go
though customs and immigrations and make my connection to Little Rock.
Little did I know, but this was only the beginning of a very long flight
home. The 15 minute delay just became 2 hours. Enough time to
totally miss my flight from Atlanta to Little Rock.
Delta gave us vouchers for a meal at any of the restaurants in the terminal, but it seemed that everybody was taking time out to eat at the same time, not just those of us on Delta Flight 131. At least this gave me more time to study my Flash 5 book and try some of the sample programming instructions. I'm glad that my notebook computer AC charger will operate on European electricity which is 220v and 50Hz as well as the US standard of 120v and 60Hz. Had it not, my 4 batteries would have long ago expired.
3:15pm
Well, it's some 3 hours after the scheduled departure time and
Delta informs us that we still have no scheduled departure time. This is
due to the fact that the Monday after Easter is a German holiday and all
maintenance shops are closed. They have even checked with other airlines
to no avail. The part is so small and so seldom needs replacement that
nobody has one in stock. The defective item is part of the lamp that illuminates
when the Exit Door is activated. Without it, there is no light near one of
the exits.
It seems like such an inconsequential item to cause such a big problem. It is now certain that I will miss my flight to Little Rock and most likely will spend the night at Hartsfield in Atlanta, that is, if I ever get there. I'm now hoping that they will just cancel the flight and reschedule us another way to New York, Cincinnati or even Atlanta.
4:20pm
Delta finally informs us that the flight has been cancelled for
today. It's now 4 hours and 10 minutes after the scheduled departure
time. We were told that our baggage would be returned and we needed to go
back to the Delta ticket counters in the lobby to be rebooked on a
"special" flight that was scheduled to leave at 10:40a on Tuesday to
take us all to Atlanta.
4:35pm
The crush of passengers on four agents was astounding. Finally
a couple more started working from the office behind the counter and another
started working from the boarding gate area. Still, each passenger needed
to be rebooked and connections made. This process took from 15-30 per
passenger or family.
5:45pm
Finally, it was my turn at the counter. I found that the
"special" had been cancelled almost immediately after it was
scheduled, if it ever was. I ask for comps upgrade seating or travel
vouchers, but was told that "we can't do that for everybody". I
was given a room at the airport hotel which was very nice. I was also told
that dinner, breakfast and "reasonable" calls stateside would be paid
for by Delta. So now, I leave at 7:10a on Tuesday on Lufthansa to
Frankfurt. Change to Delta for the rest of the flight to Cincinnati and
Little Rock. Not bad, since I paid for a non-stop flight to Atlanta.
But, at least I'm heading home - AGAIN.
6:15pm
Direction signage in the Munich airport is not the world's greatest as it
is under major construction to almost double it's capacity. Those indicating how to get to the hotel were the ones most
needed. I did find it and got checked in with no problem, they were
expecting us. But when I got to my room and tried to dial the States on my
computer, I found both the long distance and stateside services were not
"turned on". I called the front desk and was informed that Delta
had not made any arrangements for such calls even though the ticket agent said
they were permissible. A quick call, by the front desk to Delta, returned
a "no" to the comp calls. So, I've been stuck with almost $50
in on-line calls to get everybody informed of my situation. (BTW, I drafted a letter to
Delta on the flight home. A few weeks later I received $200 in travel
vouchers).
10:30pm
After a walking trip back to the terminal to check out my departure area,
I returned to my room and prepared for bed. My wake-up call is for
5:00a. Breakfast at 5:30a and then leave the hotel for the short
underground walk, pushing my baggage cart, to the terminal and Concourse A and
then gate A26. This will be my first experience on Lufthansa Air Lines.
I found the Munich airport to be like most European terminals, very clean and full of shops. It's like a major shopping mall with all the name brand shops selling their wears at "duty free" prices even though Germany no longer has duty-free status in the European Union. That was one of the changes made last year as the first part of the phase in of the common currency, the Euro. The next phase will be the actual issuance of the Euro starting in January 2002. The complete conversion is expected to take a couple of years.
4:00am
Well, as fate would have it, I woke up at 4 o'clock and could not go back to
sleep. My 5:00a wake-up found me watching CNN International, the only
English-language television, except for 2 pay channels, in the room. The
recorded message said, "It's five AM. Please wake up." And it
went on from there.
5:30am
I'm back on schedule now, I hope. After a quick check of my e-mail, I've
got everything packed and ready to head out the door and on to my flight home, or
at least the first leg of my journey. At the front desk, I found my
telephone bill to be just over DM73, a new one for me during a 12-hour
period. I only hope I can get some comp out of Delta for my out-of-pocket
expenses.
7:10am
Lufthansa 175 pushed back just a couple of minutes late at 7:12a and after a
very long taxi to the take-off point, we had to wait on one other departing
aircraft and three incoming before we actually took off at 7:35a. The
40-minute flight to Frankfurt was without incident and arrived on-time or a bit
early. This plane had leather seats in all classes with a couple of extra
inches of leg room as well. There was one drawback. It was HOT, I
mean the cabin was so hot, I was afraid that some chocolate that Christine gave
me in Kempten was going to melt. And there were no individual air vents
either.
8:15am
The first leg of my return home was finally complete and I was in
Frankfort. Again, I found the airport to be clean and very well
organized. Shops of all kinds line the long walks between terminals and
gates. You can purchase just about anything you need or want while waiting
on your flight, all at "duty free" prices.
8:45am
I finally arrive at the "D" area of Terminal 2 and the Delta check-in
counters. I found the attendant at the "Please wait here" line
to be a lot less than gracious, but once past him, I have nothing but praise for
the ticket agent that assisted me in getting my seat assignment and boarding
passes for Cincinnati and Little Rock taken care of.
She worked with me, trying to find the best accommodations for my return. I wanted plenty of room so I could open up my computer and try to continue my education on the Flash 5 software package. I ask for a seating upgrade, but there were no availabilities in Business Elite and the "crew seating" was not available on this flight. So, by 9:00a I had an Exit row, aisle seating booked with no one currently assigned the center seat.
I was now on my way to find some brunch. Not having any local currency, I exchanged $10 for German DM's at one of the many currency exchange points. This would be the first time I had spent any "money" on the trip.
10:40am
The departure lounge is now open. I have seen many of the same passengers from Munich around the
terminal, some of which are on this same flight home. One girl is trying
to get home for her wedding on Saturday. Then on Sunday, they leave for
their honeymoon. Guess where -- Munich. She works in design for BMW
and had been in Munich on business for several days. One of many trips she
makes every other year. When she, and others are not traveling TO Munich,
the Munich crews are traveling to the US. They alternate every year.
Another man was rebooked to DL131 after his New York bound flight was also scrubbed in Munich earlier in the day on Monday. I saw him at ticketing, but he's not around the Cincinnati-bound flight, so I guess he's got a more direct flight, perhaps to New York.
I've been lucky all the way in one very minor area. I've been able to locate a power receptacle that will recharge my notebook batteries on these long waits for planes. At least, I have not had to sit in the middle of the floor like some people I've seen do. The ones I've found were right near a seat that was unoccupied, and in an area that I can see the gate and watch people as they pass by.
11:10am EDT (European)
Boarding time -- FINALLY. We are on our way home. The flight to
Cincinnati was 8 hours and 47 minutes, pretty much as projected at departure.
Who would have guessed, but in the seat next to me was yet another AITP trainee. Tino Pardon was headed to Scottsdale, Arizona for an 18-month program as a Sous Chef at the Camelback Inn - Marriott. He was from Kassle, a town about 200km North of Frankfurt. For the next 8 hours, he ask me hundreds of questions. I enjoyed every one of them and gave the best (truthful) answer that I could.
About to turn 22 in May, he was a bit apprehensive about this endeavor although he had worked in Zurich for over a year and traveled to Egypt on holiday. This was a long time to be separated from his family and girlfriend back in Germany. An avid computer user, he was packing his own Toshiba notebook computer. We exchanged e-mail addresses and ICQ information as he wanted to keep in touch, and so did I. (Follow up: We regularly exchange e-mail now that he's settled in his apartment and even a phone call or two.)
2:38pm EDT
Arrival in Cincinnati was no problem. In about 15 or 20 minutes Tino and I had
cleared Immigration, retrieved David's suitcase and passed through Customs and
their drug dog. I rechecked the suitcase on to Little Rock and helped my new
friend find his way to his departure gate just a few down from mine. Once
his was located, we returned to my gate as my flight left about 30 minutes
before his. While we waited, I made several phone calls to let people know
that I was at least back in the States. Tino realized that he had
not packed his CD collection he had so carefully selected to bring.
As with any friends parting company, I reached out to shake his hand, but I could see something in his eye that made me make the next move. Even though we had only met about 9 hours earlier, fate had put us next to each other for one reason or another. I made the move to give him a hug, and Tino responded equally with a very strong hug in return. I have no way of knowing just how scared he might have been, but I only hope that I was able to set some of those fears aside as he embarked on his on adventure in the USA. I know that the people of Scottsdale, will learn to love him as much as I did. Only they will have so much more time to enjoy his humor and fresh outlook on life. In parting, I wished him well and invited him to visit me in Arkansas if he ever had the chance.
4:10pm
The Delta flight to Memphis, and Little Rock, departed with a few minutes of
schedule. I didn't realize that I would be going through Memphis, but at
this point, I'm just glad to be on the final leg of my journey. This plane
was carrying less than 50% of it's capacity. The least used of any flights
I've made in recent memory. This also had to be the coldest plane as
well. I finally got out my windbreaker to try and stay warm.
4:25pm CDT
Memphis. Now, I'm feeling more like I'm home. My watch agrees with
the local time for the first time since Thursday. Arriving in Memphis
seemed like a very short trip. Not that the time change made it look like
just a 15 minute flight. We were to be on the ground for just 30 minutes
as departure for my FINAL destination of Little Rock, is scheduled for 5:00p.
5:00pm
Of the 30 or so passengers from Cincinnati, about 10 of the got off in
Memphis. Only a couple boarded for the flight to Little Rock at
Memphis. Once airborne, the flight was about 40 minutes.
5:45pm
Arrival in Little Rock was the most anticipated part of the whole journey.
Finally I was almost home. Just a couple of hours and all would be
returned to normal. David's suitcase came off the plane and onto the
baggage carousel near the last of all the bags, of course. I just missed
the Security Airport Shuttle to the parking deck and had to wait about 15
minutes for it's return.
7:00pm
I was home. Everything was as expected. I spent some time just
relaxing before beginning the process of unpacking.