On the Road Again!!

Well, it's THAT time again! Time to gather up my stuff, pack up my old kit bag and hit the road - so to speak. I am off again for more "fun in the sun". Once again, I tried to get a ticket on Emirates but they are still way overpriced in comparison to other airlines. Emirates is still asking for $8,500 USD for a round-trip business class seat!! Qatar Airways, which now operates a non-stop flight from Houston to Doha, is also considerably overpriced ($7,000 USD). Given the depressed US economy, the low, low oil prices and the need to cut costs within our company, I must choose my itinerary carefully and can only select from a list of 'approved' airlines (i.e., the cheaper the better!!). The airline I had to choose - once again - is good 'ol Lufthansa which is charging my company $5,000 USD. A relative 'bargain' in comparison to Emirates and Qatar Airways! Too bad ... I would have loved to try a different flight routing! Ah well, such is life!

I am packed, I got my sunscreen, wide brimmed hat, sun glasses, light weight clothing - all the essential items anyone needs for a visit to the summer-time desert climate of the Middle East. And of course I have printed out copies of my travel itinerary. Used to be I had to also carry along the actual plane tickets but I haven't used paper tickets anymore for the last few years! Everything is now electronic (except for when I had to have a paper ticket for a flight to Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia in 2007). Has anyone had to use paper tickets recently??

Wish me luck and a pleasant flight! I shall check in with everyone at some point once I am settled in and rested ....

Some good news: I managed to snag an upgrade to FIRST CLASS using some of my United Airlines frequent flyer miles. Having a large seat in first class sure helped with the overnight portion of my journey ... although as usual I could not manage to sleep on board the flight.

We arrived in Frankfurt at precisely 9 am local time (7 hours ahead of Houston). Total flying time from Houston = 9 hours + 7 minutes.

I checked in to the Sheraton Hotel (as I have many times in the past). The Sheraton is across the street from the main terminal building. Very convenient!

Once again I had to use one of Lufthansa's famous toilets with a view!! Unlike the toilet I encountered last November (see Nov. 8, 2008 post) on another Lufthansa flight, this toilet (or "lavatory" in airline speak) had a lot of room .... a true walk-in affair .... almost enough room for two people! (Not sure why I mention that!)

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PS: Before concluding this posting, I couldn't resist taking this photo of a giant saxophone outside the front entrance of a now closed and bankrupt Houston restaurant near Richmond Ave. and Fondren Rd.