After the Jet Lag: Germany 2019, pt. 3

After an adventurous trip to Germany from June 14 - 15, we needed some rest!

Read part 1 and part 2 of our travel journal if you want to catch up.

We slept in a little on Sunday morning (June 16) then had breakfast and coffee with my aunt.  Our *cousin arrived to pick us up around 11:00 a.m. - and we began our trip south towards München (Munich).

*this cousin is actually my mother's 1st cousin, my 2nd cousin, and my children's 3rd cousin (I suppose you'd call it?) ... but she is my age, and we are very good friends.

The 4 hour drive went by quickly as we talked and caught up on each other's lives since we'd last seen each other last August at my house.  We had lunch at one of the rest stops along the Autobahn.  German rest stops are almost always very nice - and large with various options for food - and clean rest rooms (which also cost 70 cents to use - but you get a coupon for 50 cents in return to use towards any purchases you make while there).

I ordered Rindswurst and Pommes (french fries) for lunch, which I shared with my son.

We arrived at our hotel (that I had booked a head of time on booking.com) in a suburb south of Munich called Oberhaching.  The hotel was called Abendruhe, which translates to mean evening-rest/stillness.  It definitely lived up to its name.  The kids and I got a room for 3 - which was on the top floor, and my cousin got her own room.  

We got settled in, then walked to a Greek restaurant that my cousin found via an app she has to find local resources while traveling.  It was a good recommendation!  The weather was pleasant, and we also enjoyed our walk to and from the restaurant.  

We sat on the balcony of my cousin's room until 10 p.m. because we were having such a nice time together ... but finally we said "good-night".   It was my son's last night with us before joining his study abroad group the next evening.  He reorganized his suitcase, and we got a good nights' sleep.

Gute Nacht! 

We met up again for a wonderful breakfast the next morning ... and were ready to hit the road again by about 10 a.m.

Andrew, our cousin Stefanie, and Anna

Next stops:  Holzkirchen & a side trip to Tegernsee.

More about our day at the beautiful Tegernsee (Tegern Sea/Lake) in the next post, Part 4.

Part 5

After the Jet Lag: Germany 2019, pt. 2

Our journey to Germany from June 14 - 15 was a little eventful - but we still arrived safely and only a couple hours delayed.  You can read about it in part 1 if you want to know more.

Upon landing in Frankfurt on Saturday late morning of June 15, we immediately took our cell phones off airplane mode - and my son's iPhone immediately connected.  My old version Android took its sweet time - and at first, I wondered if I'd even be able to roam and make calls, despite having talked to my phone provider (Ting) and confirming I could connect internationally as long as a cell tower connected with my phone.  (It took me a day or two to figure it all out!)

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TRAVEL TIP:  international roaming and calling charges are EXPENSIVE (at least with my service).  Since my son was going to be in Germany for 7+ weeks, we got him a German SIM card ahead of time and activated it the day before we left.  We got his card from Modal.  He has been in Germany for 15 days at this point- and it has been THE BEST THING!  He has no problems using data, calling, and texting.

Also, we use Whatsapp to communicate with each other - and with some of our German relatives, which provides us with free texts, videos, and calls - if you have WiFi or data connection.
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A cousin of mine picked us up from the airport in Frankfurt.  By the way, I just have to say customs/immigration was a piece of cake in Frankfurt!!  Granted the well-armed Polizei were watching, but we went from our plane to baggage claim through a custom's check point very quickly and efficiently (contrast this with our experiences later at JFK airport on the way home - total opposite!).  

Our cousin was waiting, and we soon were on the Autobahn, headed to my aunt's apartment in Eschersheim, a district in northern Frankfurt.  The view from her balcony is directly of "my" tower, a television tower built in 1979 in Ginnheim, where I spent all my childhood summers with my grandparents. (I wrote about it briefly in this post.)

After some visiting and a snack of German bread, meat and cheeses, the kids and I took a nap.  We didn't want to sleep too long, but after an almost 24 hour trip, we needed it!  We got up and got ready for dinner.  My aunt wanted to take us out - and because she doesn't drive, she called a taxi to take us to a charming restaurant in the Niederursel-district called zum Lahmen Esel (literally:  to the Lame Donkey), which was founded in 1807.  (The website has a lovely history of the restaurant - and a poem about the donkey it was named after - and how he came to be lame.  All in German, however.)

photo source

Frankfurt is knows for its "green sauce" - a traditional sauce made of 7 herbs with a sour cream or yogurt base.  This sauce can be put on anything from boiled eggs to fried potatoes or meat.  My aunt, son and I opted to order Wiener Schnitzel with green sauce and fried potatoes.  My daughter stuck with the traditional Schnitzel with just a little lemon juice.

[I wrote a post with a more detailed description of Grüne Sosse <<here if you are interested.]

photo source

It was a wonderful start to day 1 in Germany!  We were glad to get to our beds that night.  The next day (Sunday, June 16), we were going to start our trip to take my son towards the region around München, where he'd be for his study abroad time.  

More about that in the next post.  

LOOKING BACK:  Part 1

LOOKING AHEAD:  Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

After the Jet Lag: Germany 2019, pt. 1

Isn't time a funny thing?  You anticipate an event, a milestone, a vacation - and then suddenly, it's over and gone - and all you have is memories. 

But thank goodness for the memories!!  My son, oldest daughter, and I flew to Frankfurt on Friday, June 14 - and arrived around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 15 (a few hours late, due to some mechanical problems before take-off in New York/JFK airport, which caused us to sit ON THE PLANE for almost 4 hours while they examined and tested some issues with the brakes.  Believe me, while it was somewhat inconvenient, I am thankful they are thorough when it comes to the gears and mechanics that stop a super-large air bus after it lands!).  

As is fairly common for my family, the trip wasn't without its "adventures" - or rather misadventures.  It started out with some excitement at our little regional airport early in the morning.  We had a 5:30 a.m. departure.  

In the past, you have to know, that when we've flown out of this airport, there have NEVER been any lines at TSA check - or at least any significant lines ... and the airport is pretty tiny so getting to your gate takes all of a 5 minute walk.  NO BIG DEAL, right??

Well, something about summer travel and perhaps business travel changed everything on this particular morning of our take-off.  First of all, my suitcase was a little overweight (don't get me started on a CERTAIN AIRLINE'S baggage/weight policies!!!!!) so we had to transfer a few items to my son's suitcase (delay #1).  After that excitement, we went upstairs to TSA where the line was SUPER SUPER LONG - longest line I've ever seen there (delay #2).  But we made it through - and by 5:20 a.m. we were headed to our gate -- it was IN SIGHT!  

However, as we were almost there, the gate agent (not seeing us), turned around, went into the passenger boarding bridge to airplane, and locked the door behind her.  And she disappeared .... 

Stunned, we just stood there at her empty podium.  No other airline personnel in sight.  She did eventually come out - 10 minutes later - as the gangway was pulled away from the plane, and it taxi-ed back from the gate.  I immediately started into her with my questions ... and she just took our boarding passes and began to type as my son tried to talk me down a little (I tend to get a little - ahem - excitable in situations like this!).  

Silently (no kidding), she handed us new boarding passes to a later flight to Charlotte and then on to NYC-JFK airport.  The one-and-only consolation was we were actually given seats together which wasn't the case initially.  Thankfully, we had planned long lay-overs to get us to our international flight (which was booked through another airline - Delta, which is my preferred transporter anyway).  

So, we were able to "enjoy" the Northwest Arkansas sun rise ... and were on our way to Charlotte, NC within two hours - and quickly connected to New York/JFK --- and arrived in plenty of time.  

The transition to Delta airlines was easy as our suitcases were already waiting for us in NYC, having flown on ahead with the 5:30 a.m. flight!  Thankfully, the airline did send us a text where we would be able to reunite with our luggage.  

We still had over 3 hours to kill in the airport, so we got through the next security check just fine - and then checked our bags into Delta at another terminal - where we had NO OVERWEIGHT BAGS nor baggage fees (thank you, Delta!).  We took a little breather from all the excitement and had over-priced - but delicious - burgers from Shake Shack.  

The skies were clear - and it was a beautiful afternoon and evening to fly ... except that our 7:40 p.m. EST flight couldn't depart until almost 11 p.m.  ... but after that, it was smooth sailing ... ummm, flying!  

More adventures to share in the next blog post ... 

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5