Canicus in Athens – very briefly: Day 11 (20 September 2013)

Well, I did wake up in time – a few minutes before the wake-up call. Got dressed and walked over to the airport – about a 15 minute walk. While the airport was just across the street, the Lufthansa counter was at the extreme end of the building. I was surprised to find them opening up at 3:45 AM. I have had the experience in Paris and Rome of arriving at the appointed time, finding no one there and having to wait a half hour before anyone showed up. Baggage check was quick.

I arrived at the security check about 15 minutes before they were open for business. I was told there was nothing to eat or drink on the other side, so if I wanted to eat I should do that before going through security. I chose not to. It turned out that there was actually a place selling bottled drinks, coffee and pastries next to the gate where I was to board. I did get an expensive bottle of water. But decided not to get food or coffee. That would be free once I got underway.

The flight to Frankfort was uneventful. A breakfast was served. An odd combination of scrambled egg, potato, broccoli, and tomato. There was butter for a roll; but the butter was unspreadable.

We arrived in Frankfort in light rain. We arrived at terminal B, with my departure from terminal Z. Not promising. But I really did not have to go through terminals C through Y to get to Z. There was a passport check on the way that had a fairly long line. Otherwise no big problem.

Waiting for the plane someone seated next to me asked where I was coming from. Good grief, I was wearing a tee shirt that had ΕΛΛΑΣ and a Greek flag emblazoned on it. I told him I had been in Athens and he asked about the riots. That was the second time I had heard about riots in Athens. I had seen a peaceful demonstration on Thursday and the taxi detoured from the area on Friday. But as far as I knew there were no riots. Nor were riots on the news when I got home. But the news was all about the crazy Republican plan to defund the Affordable Care Act or else shut down the US government. Maybe it’s time for riots in the US. The issues are not all that different, after all. Both have to do with burdening the 99% to pay for the follies of the 1%.

The plane was not full. There were two empty seats next to me. So it was a comfortable flight. Except for the baby that cried all 11 hours of it. I did bring my MP3 player filled with the complete organ music of Bach and the symphonies of Schubert, Mendelssohn, Bruckner and Rachmaninoff and earphones which helped. They served dinner, which I deemed a Hobbit’s second breakfast. Free wine went with meals and the in-between snacks.

Lufthansa joins my list with British Airways as my favorites. (American and U.S. are my least favored. They are merging. They deserve each other.)

My check in bag came down the carousel fairly soon after the priority stuff. This trip has blown my previous complaint that my luggage was always the last to be unloaded. Immigration and customs went quickly. The beagle sniffed and didn’t detect any contraband.

Apparently we towed the Frankfort rain to Dallas, as it was raining in Dallas. The SuperShuttle ride home was quick. A quick trip to the grocery for some fresh veggies and milk. I now have the makings of Greek salad, although the veggies are not as nice as those served in Athens – particularly the tomatoes.

I’ll try to get the photo journal for Wednesday up tomorrow. There were no pictures on Thursday or Friday. I’ll also try to clean up the video of the changing of the guard and the entertainment on the cruise and try again to upload. Maybe with cable I can get faster uploads of video, although nothing is likely to speed up Photoshop Premiere, which I find a real pain.

Canicus Modius.