We're on our way back to Canada

July 15, 2019

Well, the time has come. We are heading home to Canada after an incredible trip. We love being on the go, travelling on our bike to familiar and new places, being independent and self sufficient, pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone while amassing new memories and perspectives of distant places. It seems that with every passing year, the joys of long distance air travel are becoming less and less. It goes without mention that security at airports and the endless lines are daunting. We have learned strategies to manage and we know what seats to book for leg room for Barry, but the experience does take a toll. It doesn’t help that airplanes seem to be getting less spacious and that the aisles are shrinking. We remember the days when one could walk down the aisle without sidling along at an angle. I guess it doesn’t help that we aren’t getting any younger, but this will not deter us from taking more trips. We just accept that once we get home we need time to recover. Or, perhaps we’ll win the lottery and travel business class or take the train and ships instead. No matter what, we remain committed to our chosen lifestyle of travelling as much as we can and for as long as we can. It is such a good thing to share a passion for travelling the way we do. As the expression roughly goes...”have bike, will travel” and that is what we will do.

Packed for the car ride to Frankfurt Airport.

Saying farewell to Georg’s mom, Berthe. Barry and I have enjoyed our many interactions over the years with Berthe with neither side understanding what each is saying. Somehow it doesn’t matter..

Navigating the labyrinth of roads to find a drop off point at the airport.

Frankfurt Airport is immense and one of the busier airports in the world. It has always been functional and efficient, yet it didn’t feel user friendly and lacked the aesthetics to make it feel welcoming. Recent upgrades adding more bathrooms, places to fill your water bottles and comfortable seating areas have made a difference. Even though we are used to the different approach to smoking restrictions in Europe, we are always taken aback to see smoking lounges which are sponsored by big tobacco companies behind closed glass doors. We realize that it must be equally strange for Europeans to fly to Canada and discover our zero tolerance to smoking anywhere in Canadian airports. We look forward to flying through Vancouver as we enjoy its many art installations, wall-sized salt water aquarium and other welcoming features that celebrate Canada and British Columbia. Similarly, we also love Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport.

And so the line ups begin. The airport is busy today.

The first of our meals on our Lufthansa flight to Vancouver.

Unfortunately, on our return flight to Canada we were unable to secure the extra leg room seating that we prefer. Poor Barry, he has to contort his 6’3” frame like a pretzel into his seat. So, we chose the best we could and are sitting at the back of the plane in one of the three rows that have 2 seats across instead of 3. This gives us a bit more room.

As usual, we are very impressed by the excellent standard of service, professionalism and cameraderie of the Lufthansa flight crew.

We are just about home as we board our flight to Victoria in Vancouver. After this, we will take a ferry to Saltspring Island.

Oh so close...we are flying over Saltspring. It will be another few hours before we actually get to the island.

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