Sunday, September 5, 2010
Hey, where's my Bag?
So we landed in Krakow and standing around waiting for the bags. I always have fears that mine won't show up - worse that Zosia's won't show up. Well, mine didn't show up. The lost bags department was very helpful and took our information. They gave me a care kit with a white tee shirt and toiletries. When we got to the hotel they called and said that they couldn't locate it, and if it takes more than 24 hours I could spend up to $100 on clothes to tide me over. So I put on my clean white tee on and we went to downtown Krakow by bus for dinner. I really wanted a beer. We hit a fabulous 125 year old restaurant with lively music and a fun crowd. Well morning came and I called the airport - they had located my bag in Washington and it would be there that afternoon, except we were driving to Austria within the hour. So they would have to deliver it to our Friendship force family in Austria. No problems - so we were off to Austria - we ran into two horrendous traffic jams in the Czech Republic, but made it to Innmanzinger a couple of hours late but in time for a fabulous dinner cooked by Frankie. Our Austrian hosts were fabulous and we stayed up late planning our day in Vienna the next day. Joseph - Friday, Sept 4.
Oh, No, the dreaded long layover in a German Airport
Munich is one of the busiest airports in Europe and I had visions of arriving there after a long flight and having a four and a half hour layover being a terrible experience. This came from my experiences in O'Hara, Atlanta, and Dallas. I remember from previous stopover in Frankfort of 8 Euros for two cups of coffee. Oh, but what a pleasant surprise when we arrived. We did have to walk many corridors, but many with moving sidewalks. Immigrations was a snap - 10 minutes. Ah, but I expected that this was where the problems would begin - we had to go through security again for our transfer to Krakow. I knew we were in for trouble because I was carry two jars of Texas salsa we bought at the Austin airport for our cousin. There were only four people in line for security, and yes they flagged me. But security was not only friendly but very helpful. They said I could toss the salsa or repack and send one of our carry-on as luggage. They guided me through the process: Zosia waited as I went out to the checking area. Ten minutes later I was back through security, happy as could be.
We picked up our free carts for managing our carry on's. We passed by fabulous shopping along the polished granite floors, past the multiple food vendors with their delicious seafood, salads, and meats on display. I was shocked at the reasonable prices, and friendly helpful vendors. We weren't hungry so we proceeded to our gate - it was far in the expansive airport, but moving sidewalks made it easy. The airport is lit by natural light and sails to reflect sunlight. Everywhere was glass, polished chrome, and white sound absorbing panels. Of course, everything was spotless including the abundance of attractive uncrowded toilets. At every gate area there was free coffee/Cappachino/tea machines and free daily newspapers including many in English (USA today, times international, and financial times).
You know how you are constantly bombarded by crazy, loud, threatening announcements in most airports - not here. Every five minutes a tone would sound with a clear voice announcing the board of the next plane in your area. There are no crowds here as there are many seats and tables for all. And, good use of electricity - lights come on when someone is in the room, sidewalks stop moving when no one is present. There are wide screen TVs in certain areas with a reasonable volume that can only be heard by those that sit near them. For those that still smoke, they had small glass cages with good circulation systems for their smoking pleasure.
And the people - Most are smartly or fashionable dressed. Most are thin, at least much more than in the US airports. The workers are all dressed like workers - most had some kind of uniform indicating their duties. Most of the workers are young - all in good shape (still trying to figure that out).
Of course, this excellent experience is really appreciated after the eight hour flight in the cramped seat on the Luftansa flights. I feel incredibly fat during the flight, particularly when I had a center seat. But the nice Terriaki beef and free drinks/wine, and choice of nine movies, made it pleasant experience - thank you kind and courteous flight attendants.
We picked up our free carts for managing our carry on's. We passed by fabulous shopping along the polished granite floors, past the multiple food vendors with their delicious seafood, salads, and meats on display. I was shocked at the reasonable prices, and friendly helpful vendors. We weren't hungry so we proceeded to our gate - it was far in the expansive airport, but moving sidewalks made it easy. The airport is lit by natural light and sails to reflect sunlight. Everywhere was glass, polished chrome, and white sound absorbing panels. Of course, everything was spotless including the abundance of attractive uncrowded toilets. At every gate area there was free coffee/Cappachino/tea machines and free daily newspapers including many in English (USA today, times international, and financial times).
You know how you are constantly bombarded by crazy, loud, threatening announcements in most airports - not here. Every five minutes a tone would sound with a clear voice announcing the board of the next plane in your area. There are no crowds here as there are many seats and tables for all. And, good use of electricity - lights come on when someone is in the room, sidewalks stop moving when no one is present. There are wide screen TVs in certain areas with a reasonable volume that can only be heard by those that sit near them. For those that still smoke, they had small glass cages with good circulation systems for their smoking pleasure.
And the people - Most are smartly or fashionable dressed. Most are thin, at least much more than in the US airports. The workers are all dressed like workers - most had some kind of uniform indicating their duties. Most of the workers are young - all in good shape (still trying to figure that out).
Of course, this excellent experience is really appreciated after the eight hour flight in the cramped seat on the Luftansa flights. I feel incredibly fat during the flight, particularly when I had a center seat. But the nice Terriaki beef and free drinks/wine, and choice of nine movies, made it pleasant experience - thank you kind and courteous flight attendants.
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