Germany

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 (Frankfurt, Germany) – I knew I was back in the “real world” as soon as we landed. When I had arrived in Cairo two weeks earlier, people were up and collecting their bags before the wheels hit the ground. I think they were heading out the door while the plane taxied. Nobody seemed to care.

In Frankfurt, the flight attendant literally yelled at a girl for standing when the plane was completely stopped because the fasten seatbelt sign was still on. The girl was about 8 years old.

I was asked for my passport twice on the jet way (yes, the jet way), which was roughly two more times than I was asked for it in Egypt.

I checked into the hotel and headed out fro a bite to eat. The hotel clerk gave me vague directions to a street with “a bunch of bars and restaurants.” When I got there or perhaps (and probably) somewhere completely different, I was surrounded by strip clubs and sex shops. I try to play it cool and go with the flow when I’m in a new city, but with each step I took this place seemed to grow seedier and seedier. Quickly, I spun around and headed back toward the hotel, where I had seen a couple places that looked ok.

I found the typical German restaurant. It was called O’Reilly’s Irish Pub, and my server was from Auckland, New Zealand. Ok, maybe it wasn’t completely German.

While waiting for my flight in Cairo, I had watched as New Zealand tied their World Cup game about 2:30 into extra time. I asked the waiter if he had seen it. “Ah, I really wanted to, but I was still asleep. They played so bloody earlier,” he replied, giving me a you-know-what-I’m-saying look. The game started around 3 p.m. local time.

The next morning I wandered around town, looking at some relatively old places (after Egypt, “old” becomes slightly more subjective). I was told that the art museum was one of the best in Europe, so I headed that way only to discover that the entire place was closed during renovations.

Feeling I had had enough, I awoke and decided to try to catch an earlier flight than my scheduled 5 p.m. departure. There were several, so I went to the airport at 9 a.m., only to be told that United’s policy prohibits people from leaving on an earlier flight without paying the full ticket change fee ($250 in this case). I tried several attempts to talk the “woman” into letting me on, including an explanation that United allows standby all the time and had even done so for many people on my flight to Germany a few weeks before. She, in turn, explained that at United, rules are rules and can never be altered because at United they want customers to feel as unappreciated and unworthy as humanly possible (I may have paraphrased that last part, due to interpretation). She explained that I would have to wait the 10 hours until my scheduled flight, watching at least five other flights with empty seats head toward the United States within a few 100 yards of my gate. She then ended the discussion by telling me to “Have a good day.” That part was verbatim, but I’m pretty sure it was a euphemism.

If you ever find yourself stuck in the Upper A concourse at the Frankfurt Airport, I can tell you all about the shop and the restaurant. I can also tell you that the duty free places close for several hours in the middle of the day for no apparent reason.

All in all, the trip proved very successful. Thanks for reading, and if you really enjoyed it, I would be happy to consider sponsorships for future journey blogs.

I’ve never really been one for conclusions that succinctly wrap up everything into a neat package.

The end.