And We’re Off!

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

The saga begins – well, actually it begins on June 30^th.  Marilyn picks me up right on time, we top off the car so the Poles will start with a full tank of gas, and head to Premier Parking to drop off their chariot.  The van to the airport is ready to go and the nice driver waits for us to check in so that we don’t have to wait another twenty minutes for him to return.  Marilyn makes sure one more time that the attendant understands that the Poles will be along in just a couple of hours and will be returning the car on the 22^nd.  We’ll come collect it on the 28^th, which seems like a lifetime away.

We have to check in at the United counter, in part because we are dropping off our luggage (YAY!!  And it’s free!) and partly because we couldn’t check in on-line, despite our best efforts.  It’s something about it being a United flight that is part of a Lufthansa trip.  It’s just as well because we have a lovely chat with Suzie, the ticket agent.  She adores Poland and tells us to be sure to see a church in Krakow with the twelve apostles on it and to eat at a restaurant that has an angel above the door.  It is all lit by candles!  She also waxes poetic about the salt mine and might, maybe, have convinced Marilyn that she can do it!  We’re supposed to come back to her when we return and tell her about our trip!  Oh!  She also says that when we see a little door to a church and think it will be nothing inside, we have to open it because she promises they will all be beautiful!

Our TSA precheck is right there on our tickets and there’s even a special Precheck line at this airside (A).  We zip through and get to our gate with lots and lots of time to spare.  That’s because we had hoped to meet the Poles when they got off their plane;  but their flight is delayed.  Best laid plans and all that.  Then we realize that our flight is delayed, too!  It wouldn’t matter except that we only had a little over an hour to make our connection and that’s now been cut down to about fifteen minutes!  Marilyn talks to the man at the gate and he swaps our lovely exit-row seats that Suzie had given us, for ones that are much closer to the front of the plane and will get us off faster.

The flight is uneventful and as we approach our destination, Dulles Airport, the flight attendant tells us that she is going to move a young woman into the third seat in our row because she’s in a “white hot mess to get to her connecting flight”.  We respond that we are, too, and there’s a long discussion about the best way to get to our new gate, which is a LONG way away from where we will land!

It turns out that there are several of us trying to make it to the Munich flight and we head the way we were told, running and hoping, when we stop a man with a cart.  He says we should be going the other way and for us to hop on.  Gladly!  He drops us off at the shuttle, which takes us across to the other airside and drops us at the exact opposite end from where we need to be in, on about five minutes!  We find our way to the train, which eventually drops us at the “B” gates and we are the last few people for the flight!  Ah, but nothing is ever simple.  Marilyn’s boarding pass is just fine;  but mine no long has a seat assigned to it.  Yea, there’s one on the pass but United canceled it and now it belongs to someone else!  There’s a lot of discussion and talking to other Lufthansa personnel until finally I have a seat but it’s not next to Marilyn!  At that, we’re still better off than the police officer who has a TSA issue(???) and the other gentleman who’s pass never had a seat on it!

We board the plane and wait around for someone to figure out what to do with all of us.  Finally I just take the seat they gave me.  It’s on the aisle and my seatmate it s boy of about ten who is probably German but speaks enough English to order his dinner and beverages.  He is not at all interested in chatting and I’m content to watch movies and read my book.  I finally get to see “Interstellar” and dip into “Whiplash” and the first half of “A Beautiful Mind” which I always enjoy.

Did I mention that we paid extra for seats with extra legroom, only to be told by the flight attendant that there aren’t any such seats on this flight! Boy is that going to be some letter to Lufthansa – but not as interesting as the one to United!

During the flight we are first given snacks and beverages, then a full dinner of sweet and sour chicken, rice, veggies, salad, cheese and crackers and a brownie with whipped cream and a strawberry half.  The lights go down and the shades are closed and people are starting to sleep.  After all, we boarded the plane around ten thirty in the evening and dinner appeared around midnight!  Thank goodness for the non-stop movies!  I catch a couple of cat naps but I’ll never know how people really sleep sitting up! 

In addition to movies, you can also watch TV shows or listen to music.  Some of the more unusual channels include Mandarin Jukebox, Rhythm of India and Popular Arabic!

An hour before touchdown the lights gradually come back up and a light breakfast of fresh fruit, a muffin and a granola bar is served.  I have coffee and water with mine and it takes a while to choke down the coffee.  “Lots of cream and sugar, please” resulted in one container of each – not nearly enough!

We land on time and there is plenty of time to go through the passport check and follow the signs to our next gate. That gives me lots of time to catch up on the blog!  It’s not good to get behind this early in a trip!!  Lufthansa provides newspapers and a hot beverage station with hot chocolate and all the flavored coffee drinks that Starbucks has made popular!  The Munich airport has lots and lots of glass and we get a good view of all the solar arrays!

The last leg is the best.  We ride a bus out to our plane that boards from both the front and back and we actually get the seats on our passes.  Marilyn finally has a window seat and can start taking photos for her blog!

Although it is a short flight, they pass out apple cake and the beverages include free wine!  

This is really good stuff!

We arrive on time and find baggage claim and then it all comes to a halt.  Bags come and go, people claim them, mine comes around and we snatch it, and then…nothing.  There’s no sign of Marilyn’s suitcase.  We do meet up with Monica, who is best friends with Paulina who is staying in Marilyn’s house with her husband and two kids.  We all schlep to the log-baggage office and Marilyn fills out paperwork. Hopefully her bag will show up tomorrow and be delivered.

We get to Monica’s car, load up what baggage we have, and she drives us the half hour to our newest home-away-from-home.  

Once there she spends a lot of time going over all the directions and information that Paulina has left for us, including the care and feeding of the cat and the rats.  The cat has a name but doesn’t answer to it and the black and white rat can’t go in the bottom cage because he’ll nibble on the other rat’s feet if he’s above him!

Getting to know the neighbors!

Paulina's apartment is the entire third floor.

New next door neighbors are coming!

When we reach sensory overload Monica leaves to check in with Paulina’s mom and we eat the yummy dinner that she has left for us.  It’s a bit like beef stroganoff and is delicious.  When our dishes are done and Monica has returned, we drive Paulina’s car to the Biedronka, a little grocery store, for some staples.  It lets Marilyn get to know the car and the lay of the land.  We also explore the tram stop and the tram station and learn how to buy tickets from the machine.  You can buy a twenty-minute ticket for 2.80 Zlotys.  It only takes seventeen minutes to get to the city center.

Back home we thank Monica for all her help and send her home for some much needed rest after dealing with us!  Marilyn makes us some coffee in the French press we found in the back of a cabinet and we settle down at our computers.  In addition to blogging, we are trying to find out why Verizon isn’t letting us use our phones.  I’m kind of annoyed with companies taking our money for nothing!

Oh well.  The weather is cooling off nicely and the cat has come in from the balcony (be still my beating heart!) and it’s a lovely full moon!