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Published: April 18th 2019
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This year's odyssey officially began with wheels-up at 8:30 yesterday evening from Orlando International Airport, when our Lufthansa jumbo jet climbed skyward as the sun started to set in the west. A little over 8 hours later we touched down in Frankfurt, slightly ahead of schedule, although by the time we exited the plane, walked for about 20 minutes to reach customs, and then baggage claim (where our suitcases were the last ones on the carousel), our pre-arranged taxi driver believed we were "no-shows". Fortunately, the driver returned to the arrivals area to check again, whereupon we made contact. Thus all ended well, as we were delivered in short order to our small hotel in the western section of the city.
After checking into our hotel we walked to a nearby pizzeria for a bite to eat, where both of us were impressed by the food. Dee ordered a small pizza, while I had a piping-hot dish of lasagne. Neither one of us could finish the gigantic proportions we were served by the very friendly proprietor, with whom we chatted while we ate. The weather upon arrival has been surprisingly pleasant, with mostly clear skies and temperatures in the low-to-mid-70s,
Palmengarten
Photo courtesy of a kind German man who offered to take our picture. so after lunch we decided to push our weary limbs and muscles by walking to the nearby Palmengarten, a 50-acre botanical garden that dates back to the 19th-century.
I recall visiting this botanical garden 50 years ago, when I was stationed in Frankfurt with the U.S. Army. Its beautifully landscaped grounds boast several themed gardens, with continuously changing floral displays, and several exhibition buildings with various tropical plants and cacti. Although the rose garden was not yet in bloom, we did enjoy a riot of colorful tulips and other flowers spread throughout the grounds. After meandering around a small portion of the gardens, and saying hello to an enormous white swan, we decided to hobble back to our hotel, where we tried to rest our aching bones before hitting the sack around 9 PM.
Before signing-off, we must express our heartfelt thanks to daughter Kristy and son-in-law Frankie for their gracious hospitality. They put us up at their home, near the Orlando airport, the day before our flight; and poor Frankie played the role of an "Uber-driver", delivering us to the airport after collecting his sister and family from the airport the same day!
Dee's comments: Several
Lufthansa Big Bird
Boeing 747-400 at the departure gate in Orlando. days before our odyssey began, Mitch wrenched or strained some muscles in his back while trying to weigh our suitcases with a handheld spring scale, and he's still hurting. We struggled keeping the bags under the prescribed 50 pound allowance, and figured we'd be charged a $172 surcharge by Lufthansa at the airport. By some miracle, when we did check-in, both bags made it under the wire (how we do not know). TSA security at Orlando was a breeze---no need to remove shoes, belts, liquids from carry-ons etc. The plane was very large, but cramped seating for us way in the back (row 55); plus the cabin temperature was on the warm side throughout the flight. Food was pretty miserable, too.
Arrived on-time in Frankfurt, but the long trek from the plane to baggage claim seemed like a 5K challenge! Thank goodness our taxi driver waited for us. Our hotel is very nice, with a lovely balcony. Got settled-in, then ventured out to a local pizza place, where the portions were huge. Afterwards we walked a few blocks to a lovely botanic garden, which was a very nice way to finish our first day. While walking around this pleasant
Departure Day
At Kristy and Frankie's house, Orlando. residential neighborhood, the architecture was quite interesting; also observed no dog poop or litter along the sidewalks and streets.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Beautiful photo
Looks like your trip is starting off very nice.