just go with the flow

Alright, so my flight out of Toronto was my first Int'l flight and it was on a huge B-777. I really played the "Dumb American Tourist" for that one while I was boarding. First off, I got on and threw my carry-on up in a compartment but it wouldn't fit all the way in. I figured it wouldn't be a huge deal because they would just shove it in and close the door on the compartment. Instead I was called out by one of the flight attendants and told to find a different spot for my stuff. After doing that I sat down and realized that someone next to me was confused why I was there because she was sure that her and her granddaughters had the entire center row. So I had to check my boarding pass and of course I sat in the wrong seat. Real nice... With all the blood rushing to my face because of the embarrassment and stupidity I finally got into my proper seat and prepared for the long flight.

It wasn't such a bad flight even if it was about six and a half hours. I just ended up reading a large chunk of my book and enjoyed some of the free personal music and movies. I did take a break from my in flight activities to watch as the horizon turned into nothing more than a line dividing the last bit of light in the sky from the dark, solid mass of the earth below. It became dark much faster than a normal day because the plane was flying eastward. Before I knew it, I could see nothing but black out of the window. Pitch black. The darkness of the night only lasted for about 3 hours or so because the plane met the sun on its way back up.

Once in Frankfurt Int'l Airport I was relieved/excited/anxious. I stepped off the plane and suddenly felt only one thing... confusion. Frankfurt's Int'l Airport is HUGE, and let me tell you, that's an understatement. I got my final boarding pass and was told that I had to travel over 3km to reach my gate all the way at the end of the Lufthansa facilities. The really funny part was the security just let through customs without any questions being asked and without any searches. It was actually kind of weird and I don't know why they simply had me skip through the line but I was't complaining. While walking along to terminal A I had to pass through this long underground tunnel with moving pathways all the way to the end (see picture below). It was an amazing sight. Then I came across these really interesting facilities that were basically smoke booths. These glass cubes had sliding doors to allow a smoker to enter the small space to light up a cigarette within the airport as to not break the rules of no smoking in the terminals... It was as though these people were being put on display while they enjoyed the full effect of their precious lung-blackening smoke that filled the glass enclosure. I didn't take any pictures because I'm sure none of them would have appreciated (no matter how interesting the notion of having these things around the airport was to me).

This is the Frankfurt Int'l Airport underground tunnel to terminal A. Cool stuff.

From Frankfurt I took a flight that was no longer than 45 minutes in the air to Hannover. I chose a window seat to view every detail below. It was far beyond beautiful, these little villages that were so tightly nit into neat straight-edge shapes. I could see all the red from all the traditional ceramic roofing used on every home and business complex. The extensive number of fussbal (soccer) fields spread throughout villages large and small. I was more than ready to land. Once off the plane it was an amazing feeling to be done with flying and to see that my baggage had made the whole journey safely with me. My good friend who lives in Hildesheim and is very soon due to graduate was waiting for me outside the baggage claim area and I was ecstatic to see her because I wouldn't have made too far without her guide.

Let me tell you one thing, exchanging the American dollar into euros is complete crap. I felt like I was robbed!! The exchange rate there is 1:1.60... it was horrible watching all of that cash disappearing like that. Horrible... but that just makes me much more conscious of the money I have to live off of while I'm over here. Me and Jen had small talk while on the hour long train ride to Hildesheim while I watched out the window in amazement and she enjoyed my reaction to this foreign land.

This is the ridiculous face I make when I am super tired. Pretty dang scary, wouldn't you say?