Saturday 2-24-13
A picture from the first Lufthansa flight.
So Day 2 starts 8am (Frankfurt time) upon landing and we have to depart on the tarmac and take a shuttle to the terminal. It’s packed, I’m standing and I’m practically falling asleep on my feet. Then it’s go through security AGAIN (went smooth) and find my gate. Now I have a long wait. So, I pick up a couple of items for the kids and look for something to eat. I don’t read German and everything is in Euros so I’m not really sure if the food prices are reasonable or not. Turns out the taxes are pretty steep here and everything is expensive. Even though IBM is paying for it, I opt for McDonald’s…better the devil you know. For you Tarantino fans, I had a Cheeseburger Royale. :)
View from McDonald’s:
I sat at the gate and started nodding off when they announced that the plane was very full and we should consider checking our larger carry on bags. I’m first to volunteer my bag since I had to do this on the first flight, I didn’t think much about it.
After an hour and a half of sitting on the plane and not moving (apparently de-icing has to be done with us on the plane) we finally take off! Eight and a half hours later, we arrive in Bangalore, and as I’m departing, I ask the flight crew about my checked carry on bag…they assure me it will be on the luggage belt…not plane-side as I was expecting. I go through customs, and that goes smooth, I get to the baggage claim and start to worry when I see my carry on come off the belt. At this point my suitcase has not shown up yet. I call Meenak, who has brought Soukarya with him to meet me at the airport. He says he is waiting outside with the driver from the hotel. So now it’s a waiting game…did Delta transfer my luggage when I had to change terminals in Detroit? Did Lufthansa transfer it to the plane in Frankfurt? I’m starting to get concerned.
It’s now down to me and a small handful of other people at the luggage line…we all look at each other nervously. The guy next to me sees his bag. I hate him. I say congratulations and he guiltily walks away with his luggage. Just when I’m about to go to the lost baggage line, another batch come through, and there is my bag!
I go outside and meet Meenak and Soukarya and there is relief and smiles all around! I talk with them while waiting on the driver to bring the car around and after a race car 45 minute drive I get to the hotel. This place is gorgeous…more to come on that. For now…sleep.
Addendum: I put the red cord on the door to indicate privacy since I’m sleeping in…housekeeping calls at 2:30pm to tell me they saw the privacy cord and wanted to know if I wanted my room cleaned. Um…no…I wanted to sleep. :)
View from my room:
