I am writing this on the flight from Frankfurt to Toronto. We have had as smooth a day so far as it is possible to have when flying. We dropped the bikes off at the airport first thing this morning. A staff member from the Sheraton came with us and demonstrated how to take the bikes down the escalator on a luggage cart. No messing around with teeny tiny elevators for him! We couldn't believe it. He knew exactly what he was doing. He stuck with us, helpfully translating, until the bikes were safely deposited at oversize luggage. The Sheraton has provided us with first class service.

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There came the only unpleasant surprise. Lufthansa charges 100 Euro per bike, no way around it. That Is about 150 Canadian dollars. Air Canada charges 50 dollars. So my heart felt advice is DO NOT fly Lufthansa with your bike. Ouch! We were pretty philosophical about it though.

Once we recovered from that financial surprise, we headed out for breakfast and then back to the hotel to relax until we needed to start the long process of boarding the flight. Well guess what? We must have timed things perfectly because there was absolutely no line up at security or passport control. Security was an experience for me though, with Keith sitting in a chair waiting and killing himself laughing. Thanks a lot, because it was his fault!

Back in the room I remembered the jam which had been given to us as a gift in Auggen. I wanted to give it to the front desk at the hotel. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be allowed to take it on the plane. Keith talked me into taking it..."What is the worst thing that can happen? They will confiscate it." And that is exactly what they did, after subjecting me to a pat down which was more like a Thai massage, and removing every last object from my carry on pannier and handle bar bag. Honestly! Keith got in a little trouble too though, as he took a picture of the shenanigans and the police were all over him. So he showed them the blurry picture and offered to delete it. He forgot to tell them he took two. I must say though, both the police and the security personnel were as nice as could be, and the poor guy who had to confiscate the jam repeatedly apologized. I really wasn't worried about it. Keith enjoyed the whole show!

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Everything has been as smooth as silk since, including the flight. We have internet on the flight, but the entire plane must be using it because it is working about as well as it does on BC Ferries, which means not well at all, so I will post in Toronto if I have time.

We are in the departure lounge in Toronto waiting for our next flight. On the last one we were seated in an exit row which was great for Keith and gave us lots of room. There were also only two seats which was lovely for us. Toronto airport has been easy as well.. We waltzed through Customs with no line up, picked up the bikes, dropped them off again and have been relaxing since.

The Air Canada flight home was on time and eneventful until we were on our final approach. Fog. Lots of it. So we circled and circled and circled, with Keith and I fervently hoping we could land. A night in Vancouver wouldn't have been that terrible, but the thought of collecting those big boxes, just to recheck them in the morning for a twenty minute flight wasn't a positive one. Just when I really felt we were toast the pilot announced a break in the fog and that he was going to "shoot the runway". Hmmmm. Well, he landed that plane, and everyone on board broke out in spontaneous applause. I guess we weren't the only ones happy not to be spending an unexpected night in Vancouver.

Our eldest son picked us and the boxes up with his truck, and we fell into bed about midnight, which was 9 AM Frankfurt time. We will be writing some reflections on the trip in the next day or so. It was a fantastic ride.