We arrived Frankfurt a few minutes early, after a pleasant breakfast of fruit, cheese, yogurt & granola. I was grateful as I had only 45 minutes to make my connection to Basel.
The first thing was getting our heart rates up: 32 steep stairs to get up to the concourse level. They need that ADA here! There was a rep with connecting gate info, I headed to A50 (A -five-oh, she helpfully reinforced). Got to watch myself...the word that sprang to my lips was, "gracias!". Oops, wrong country.
Head off to the A concourse...we arrived at a teen gate in the Z concourse, not a good sign. Finally get there and the access is blocked except for about a dozen Polezei, armed and in body armor, and a couple crew members. Dozens of us are tapping our toes and thinking...I don't have TIME for this!
Turns out they were all there to open up the immigration lines. Yep, work passport control into that sliver of time. The line moved steadily along and eventually I got to my gate and was waved right in. But...remember it's Frankfurt! Down a long chute, down another couple dozen stairs, several twists and turns and you arrive at...a BUS. Gabe & I had the same experience during the Pinball Tour the summer after he graduated.
By now I'm fully sweated up and a little out of breath, happy the cool grey morning air is circulating through the bus. Surprised, but VERY happy to get tapped on the shoulder by a gendarme ... giving me back my passport. Must have dropped it somewhere along the way, gotta love that German efficiency.
Finally the bus sets out; we share up-close-and-personal taxiway space with a 747 and feel VERY small. We drive. And drive. And drive. Finally we pull up by a little puddle-jumper with stairs that fold down from the fuselage. More stairs...the joy!
"Business class" on this plane means the seat beside mine is "Ihr Freiraum" ... my "free space" ... now THERE's a dandy notion! I get a second light breakfast...fruit & cheese, and three little donut holes on a bed of whipped cream cheese...very nice. Almost didn't have time to eat it, flight was only 45 minutes.
Beautiful land under us, fields and forests; lots of rows with frost covers. The day was overcast, but at a point a giant sunbeam broke through and illuminated a village below. Magical!
Arriving in Switzerland, we again pass through passport control. I'm focused on finding baggage claim, but find myself through customs. Oops! Get coached on how to re-entry the secured area ... but no bag. Then I hear myself paged, in German and in English, but I can't make out where I am to report to. Wind up outside AGAIN, get let in AGAIN, to learn that (no surprise here) ... my checked bag would be on the FOLLOWING plane from Frankfurt to Basel. They'll take it to the hotel. I fill out papers, drop some to the customs guys so they'll expect it, and set off in search of a taxi.
Another few wrong turns and I'm there...to realize that I have a credit card, American dollars, and Euros in good supply...but not a single Swiss franc. Oops! Cabbie is happy to take Euros, so another disaster avoided.
I'm at the hotel by 7:30A.M., so not surprised no room is yet available. Take over one of two stations comprising the business center, and start an endless loop of failed login with AT&T. Grrrr.
Meanwhile, the Viking guy is right beside me, so I introduce myself as one of his charges. Well, he doesn't find my name, but kindly invites me to show up in the morning for the walking tour. That's better than being shut out, but not satisfying.
More foolishness with AT&T, now I have a number to call to escalate it...but I'm eight hours later than Chicago, and who the heck knows what time THEY'RE on.
Eventually a different Viking guy shows up and I plead my case. Well, yes indeed I AM on the list (which is in the smallest type I've ever seen) ... yes there are materials and additional outings included. So glad I asked!
Crashed for an hour or so in the room then went off on the "panoramic" tram to ramble through most of the city, for free. Hotels here apparently commonly offer the free passes, making it very pleasant and EASY to get around.
That took a long hour, crossed the Rhine twice and got to gawk at a very wide variety of neighborhoods. Back to the room, finally discover the inside scoop on Wi-Fi. Bag is delivered. Adapter, extension cord, and USB connectors all set up and feeding The Devices!
Enjoyed a Wiener Schnitzel dinner with great bread, sweet little new potatoes, white asparagus with Bearnaise sauce and a glass of Sancerre.
Now to get some REAL sleep, on my new time zone, so tomorrow I hope will be more coherent. Hey hey, it's the weekend!
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