Getting Here

October 23, 2009
Today our flight from Minneapolis to Chicago was delayed due to weather. No biggie. We weren’t going to be that late and I was pretty sure that the plane would wait for us. When we landed we hurried off and in organized chaos, ok, really not that bad, found the next gate. We were the last to board and we all got new seat assignments. A few of us were arguing with the gate people and freaking out. I just boarded the plane. I figured I could sort out anything in Frankfurt and I didn’t want to be the cause of the plane being further delayed. My seat was the last in the section and to be honest, I wasn’t even sure the rest of the crew made it on until midway through the flight when I saw a few of them use the bathrooms.

We got to Frankfurt just fine. The ride was a little bumpy but I managed to sleep through most of it (not surprising). For dinner I chose the “Express Dinner” which is served all at once instead of course by course. This was on recommendation of the very nice flight attendant. There was a smoked gouda bisque that was very tasty. I should have asked for seconds on that. I also had a salad with shrimp, some fruit, a roll and a piece of cheesecake for dessert. After dinner, I slept until breakfast time. That was a croissant, fruit, yogurt and juice.

Now I’m in the Lufthansa lounge wasting time. I already bought some Kinder Eggs for my team there. I will buy some for Ben on my way home. I was really hoping for some Brotchen to snack but they don’t have any. Very disappointing. I did have a banana. Exciting, huh? There are some sandwiches available, but I think I might just wait until on the plane again.

There is Wi-Fi here thanks to T-Mobile, but without creating an account, you can only go to the T-Mobile/Lufthansa site. That got boring pretty quickly. So, I thought I would write down my exciting adventures so far. It is somewhat amusing… there’s a guy a few rows away that is fast asleep. I can hear him snoring from here. I’m feeling awake at the moment. Maybe because of my nap. Maybe because it’s light outside. I’m sure I’ll be sleepy again soon. Planes, cars and couches have that effect on me.

Now Connected and in Mumbai - Funny story about security in Frankfurt - I asked the guy if I needed to take the laptop out of my bag (yes). Then I asked about taking off my shoes. He said that it depended on what type of shoes so I kicked a leg up to show him my running shoe. He said, "Well, that one is fine, but I'll have to see the other one too." We was joking and we had a little chuckle over that. Before leaving Frankfurt, I did grab a sandwich. Turns out one was a pretzel roll with herb cream cheese. Yum!

Flight to Mumbai was fine. I tried to sleep through most of it (mostly successful). An hour before we got there they passed out immigration forms and a new H1N1 form too. That was new. It was also new that they did a temperature check on all incoming travelers. I was wondering how they were going to do that. Turns out to be pretty slick - we walked in front of 3-4 cameras that sensed body heat. If yours was elevated, you were separated from the herd to have a health inspection. If you were suspected to have H1N1 you weren't allowed in. My temp was fine.

Ok, that's all for now.