Getting there
The last time we accompanied Randy when he went to Europe on business, we flew in and out of Frankfurt, Germany. This caused us a bit of a hassle at the end of our trip because we never counted on not being able to buy train tickets out of Italy to get back to Frankfurt. This time Randy was in a better scheduling position being that it was May (and not late summer), so we flew instead into Barcelona, with our return to China flying out of Munich instead.
This plan meant connecting through Frankfurt to get to Barcelona on Lufthansa, the German airline that flies the new Airbus 380 on this route.
Wow it was big
More after the jump
I had read a lot about the A380, and even watched a program about it on the Discovery Channel, but I had yet actually to fly in one. Looking at it sitting at the end of several jetways, I could not believe how much larger it appeared now that I was planning to board it than just admire it from afar.
There's already been so much written about this aircraft that I can't possibly add anything new. I now have a greater appreciation of all the promises Airbus made with this plane, except for the service in business or first class because we were in economy. I never felt as though I were on the lower level of a double-decker, nor was I as cramped in economy seating as I am accustomed to being on long-haul flights. Further, I was amazed how good I felt when we deplaned in Germany. I was a little tired, of course, but I didn't feel like I had been trapped on a plane for the last nine hours. I'd fly it again.
On the flight I spent a little time talking with a Chinese woman who was also going to continue on to Spain. Rather than sightseeing, her main plan was to go shopping. An earlier shopping expedition took her to Paris for a few days. Occasionally in the next week I would bump into other Chinese women whose main goal it was to shop their way through Europe.
We changed planes in Frankfurt for Barcelona. In the course of one day, I would speak Mandarin, German, and Spanish, none of them quite as completely as I would like, but at least I made the attempts. I would have plenty of time in Spain to speak Spanish (or I should say Castilian) and Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to speak German. And of course, Chinese. For at least the first half of the trip, I still had numerous opportunities to speak Chinese.
This plan meant connecting through Frankfurt to get to Barcelona on Lufthansa, the German airline that flies the new Airbus 380 on this route.
Wow it was big
More after the jump
I had read a lot about the A380, and even watched a program about it on the Discovery Channel, but I had yet actually to fly in one. Looking at it sitting at the end of several jetways, I could not believe how much larger it appeared now that I was planning to board it than just admire it from afar.
There's already been so much written about this aircraft that I can't possibly add anything new. I now have a greater appreciation of all the promises Airbus made with this plane, except for the service in business or first class because we were in economy. I never felt as though I were on the lower level of a double-decker, nor was I as cramped in economy seating as I am accustomed to being on long-haul flights. Further, I was amazed how good I felt when we deplaned in Germany. I was a little tired, of course, but I didn't feel like I had been trapped on a plane for the last nine hours. I'd fly it again.
On the flight I spent a little time talking with a Chinese woman who was also going to continue on to Spain. Rather than sightseeing, her main plan was to go shopping. An earlier shopping expedition took her to Paris for a few days. Occasionally in the next week I would bump into other Chinese women whose main goal it was to shop their way through Europe.
We changed planes in Frankfurt for Barcelona. In the course of one day, I would speak Mandarin, German, and Spanish, none of them quite as completely as I would like, but at least I made the attempts. I would have plenty of time in Spain to speak Spanish (or I should say Castilian) and Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to speak German. And of course, Chinese. For at least the first half of the trip, I still had numerous opportunities to speak Chinese.
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