Well, we didn't log any cycling miles today, but give us the hardest day on the bike anytime. Sitting on an airplane is so much tougher!!
We will once again take advantage of the incredibly efficient and fast Ice train to get us to Frankfurt airport. Rather than fighting the heavy traffic, potential gridlock on the freeway and stress of driving, we can get to the airport in 15 minutes and we arrive in the lower level of the airport. Cora and Clara will drive us to the train and then the journey home officially begins.
Saying farewell to the Reitz family and their home is always a time of mixed emotions. We have enjoyed the privilege of being welcomed into their lives and we are sad to go, but we will return. It is always fun to chat with Berte in our jumble of German/English. Laughter and hand gestures seem to help.
This part of the day is easy - a quick train ride (only Mary Ellen gets to sit down as Barry is holding the bags), and take the elevator to the airport level. Now if we only didn't have to get on a plane....
Yeah, we are free of our big bags and we are off to security which happens twice in this airport and then find our gate. Our flight is full we have learned. Thank goodness we were able to get two seats on the side on our own.
A magnificent piano - this C Rechstein model is made with sterling silver parts and is so beautiful. Frankfurt airport is featuring displays like these which feature German made products.
We will have 2 flights - one on Lufthansa to Montreal and then we will fly on Air Canada to Vancouver. By the time we reach Vancouver, we will have been in transit for about 20 hours. On the upside, Mary Ellen can now "pop" her ears, which should make the experience more comfortable. The first flight went well - as usual Lufthansa provided good service and tasty food. We both watched movies on the in-flight screens and the time went quickly.
Our plane is waiting for us. Meanwhile, the agents are repeatedly asking for volunteers to give up their seat for a cash bonus as the flight is overbooked. We would, but an extra day would put us over the allowed 90 day stay with the Schengen visa.
Montreal Airport is busy and huge but user friendly with an abundance of staff available along the way to help tired travellers make their way to security and find their connecting flights. The downside of flying to Montreal, is that it adds a lot of time to the journey. Normally, we fly on the northern route and change in Alberta or Vancouver, but flying to Montreal means that we then have to cross Canada which takes an additional 5 hours. Since we booked our flights relatively late this year, we had no choice, but we won't choose this route again.
Since Air Canada's route is domestic within Canada - no food is provided. The clerk in Montreal assured us that with the fare we paid, we would have food provided, but she didn't explain that we would have to purchase food, nor that it was pretty bad. Four dollars for an instant cup of Kraft soup - yuck. Thank goodness we had nut mix with us. We declined to consume any of their "bistro" offerings. When we arrived in Vancouver we were pretty exhausted and we stumbled to our hotel, which is located in the airport - yeah! and fell in to bed. We have asked for a late check out and we intend to get full value out of our room, sleeping as much as we can before we tackled the 3 hour ferry ride home.
