The odyssey began as all decent odysseys should: with champagne at an airline lounge. In this case the newish Lufthansa Senator Lounge at Dulles. We toasted Matt’s birthday for the first, second, third and fourth time (on our way to infinity, it appears) as we passed the time with German pretzels and cheese. 
Before too long we boarded our flight to Frankfurt. On Lufthansa 747-400s the first class section is on the upper deck. This leads to a far more intimate feel than some other airlines, but we did comment that we felt right at home after all the time we’ve spent on United Airlines 747 upper decks in business class. The FC seats on Lufthansa are infinitely superior to other airlines that utilize ‘suites’ for First Class seats in that passengers traveling together can actually converse while sitting up…AND while reclined. The IFE was just so-so, but a few rounds of interactive Who Wants to be a Millionaire did distract us for a time, as did a weepy weep-fest called The Time Travelers Wife. The only question was who was weeping more when the credits rolled. Of course, the caviar starter was excellent as were the mains and the service, contrary to many stories we’ve heard, was warm and friendly in addition to being efficient and pampering.
Arrival in Frankfurt was smooth. There was a bit of a wait for the free shuttle to the Kempinski for our day room that was included with the Lufthansa FC ticket since there was a 12-hour layover. But it being Matt’s birthday we took it in (exhausted) stride. The Kempinski is a very, very nice hotel in the forest outside of Frankfurt with, supposedly, some nice walking trails. But German weather conspired against us, and instead of taking a leisurely stroll through the freezing mud we decided to spend the day ignoring the time zone change and then celebrating Matt’s actual birth day (as opposed to his birthday week) by mostly sleeping.
Before too long we boarded our flight to Frankfurt. On Lufthansa 747-400s the first class section is on the upper deck. This leads to a far more intimate feel than some other airlines, but we did comment that we felt right at home after all the time we’ve spent on United Airlines 747 upper decks in business class. The FC seats on Lufthansa are infinitely superior to other airlines that utilize ‘suites’ for First Class seats in that passengers traveling together can actually converse while sitting up…AND while reclined. The IFE was just so-so, but a few rounds of interactive Who Wants to be a Millionaire did distract us for a time, as did a weepy weep-fest called The Time Travelers Wife. The only question was who was weeping more when the credits rolled. Of course, the caviar starter was excellent as were the mains and the service, contrary to many stories we’ve heard, was warm and friendly in addition to being efficient and pampering.
Arrival in Frankfurt was smooth. There was a bit of a wait for the free shuttle to the Kempinski for our day room that was included with the Lufthansa FC ticket since there was a 12-hour layover. But it being Matt’s birthday we took it in (exhausted) stride. The Kempinski is a very, very nice hotel in the forest outside of Frankfurt with, supposedly, some nice walking trails. But German weather conspired against us, and instead of taking a leisurely stroll through the freezing mud we decided to spend the day ignoring the time zone change and then celebrating Matt’s actual birth day (as opposed to his birthday week) by mostly sleeping.
No comments:
Post a Comment