This past Friday was the one day over the trip I did absolutely nothing of importance. I slept in until almost noon… then checked out of my current hotel room into my new one. It took several hours for the hotel staff to move my bags into the new room, due to a confusion in their system. I had Burger King for breakfast/lunch; a chicken sandwich with french fries. I’ve noticed that but mayonnaise tastes different in Germany than it does in America. Perhaps they tend to use more egg yolks? That would explain why it’s more yellow in color, as well.
Afterward, Stephen treated us to ice cream, and that was about the end of my day. The next day, trying to get home was quite an adventure. I checked out of the room and took a taxi to the Frankfurt airport, as planned, and went through airport security, and noted that in the Frankfurt Airport I was not required to remove my shoes, as I was in Boston Logan. The fun part of my trip started right as I printed out my boarding pass; it had no seat number assigned. I talked to a few staff members at the airport and they told me my flight was “overbooked” and that I might have to re-book a different flight, most likely at an additional cost, or upgrade from economy to business class, which apparently has free seats available, but would cost 900 euros to do so, which was more than the initial cost of my ticket. After explaining my problem to the Lufthansa service desk, they told me I could still book take the flight anyway if I ask for a seat at the gate, and that it “looks good” if I were to do that. After walking to about 4 different locations, talking to several clueless staff members, going through security and then reaching the gate, I was fuming when the gate staff offered me a flight the next day at 6am as an alternative to the flight I had already booked 3 weeks prior. Trying my best to contain my anger, I kindly told them that would not work, as I had been exhausted being away from home for two weeks and was really hoping to go home that day. They told me that they “are working on it.” The situation became even more frustrated when I briefly lost my CBG kit. Thankfully, the gate made an announcement over the intercom about 10 minutes later about a lost item, which happened to be my kit. After I picked it up, they also informed me that they assigned me a seat on my original flight after all. After the frustrating day I had already been having, the relief I felt at that moment was indescribable.
Despite my failed attempts to take a nap in the plane, the 8-hour flight I had to the Boston Logan International Airport felt more like 4 hours. The bus ticked I printed out had surprisingly little helpful information. Even though it says right at the top, “Boston Express,” the bus I ended up taking at 10:30pm was a Concord Coachline, after missing the 9:30pm bus because I didn’t think it was my correct bus.
My parents picked me up at the North Londonderry bus stop in New Hampshire, thankfully bringing water and ibuprofen for my aching throat, as it was extremely sore after an entire day of coughing, due to what seems like an oncoming sinus infection. All in all, it was a very fun and eventful 2-week trip. Definitely one I will remember for the rest of my life, and I look forward to traveling around the world again some day ✌