We planned the major portion of this summer's travels - a seven-night safari in Kenya - back in February 2024. Once the details were finalized, we were able to build the rest of the trip around those dates, starting with figuring out how we were going to get to Nairobi, which is where we were to meet the safari tour company. C researched cities that offered direct flights to Nairobi and we ultimately settled on flying to Frankfurt for a few days before continuing on to Kenya. Then came the decision of where to fly from to get to Frankfurt, with the two most reasonable options being Washington or Toronto. Since we would be driving Avalanche up for summer camp at C's parents' house, we decided to fly out of Toronto because not only would that mean we wouldn't have to drive back to D.C. after dropping Avalanche off in Canada, but we'd be able to visit a little and we'd be in Canada on Canada Day, which has only happened once or twice over the past 25 years or so!
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we took Avalanche to the CN Tower
for the first time |
We flew out of Toronto to Frankfurt on Wednesday, July 2 on a red-eye flight on Air Canada. The flight took off more than two hours late, but we were able to hang out in the airport lounge, which always makes things like delays more tolerable! For the flight, we sat in premium economy because of the 2-3-2 seat configuration; having only two seats together is just about the only thing I care about on a flight! The flight was about 7 hours and with the time change, we ended up landing in the early afternoon, so our room was ready when we arrived at the hotel, which is not always the case when you fly on red-eye flights and arrive early in the day! We spent one night at the Hilton Garden Inn right at the airport, which was super convenient because after we got settled in our room, we were able to take the train from the airport to the city center to wander around Frankfurt for a few hours.
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this rainbow Dachshund
was a gift from a treasured friend
and she comes with us on our
international trips |
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there was no gate available when we landed
in Frnakfurt, so we parked in the middle of nowhere
and they brought a staircase to the plane |
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| once off the plane, we took a shuttle to the terminal |
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| this little friend was beside me on the train |
We got up pretty early on Friday morning, checked out of the hotel, and went down to the car rental area to pick up our car for a little driving adventure. I've written on multiple occasions how much easier it is to rent a car in Europe than in America, so I won't belabor that point again, but the experience was as simple and straightforward as always and the employee we got was amazing. He asked where we planned to drive and suggested a different car than the one we'd reserved and he was absolutely correct - it was such a smooth ride that it made all of the hours in the car beyond enjoyable! We're still not used to the stretches of highway with no speed limit and it's crazy to be driving 150 km per hour and have cars zoom past you as if you're standing still!
We had the car from Friday morning until Saturday night and the main purpose of renting it was to drive to Fussen, but on the way there we stopped for a visit to the Porsche Museum and on the way back to Frankfurt, we went to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. As you'll be able to tell by the sheer volume of photos below, I much preferred the Porsche Museum (although the Mercedes-Benz Museum was worthwhile as well!).
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the best car in the whole place:
Sally Carrera |
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| Lewis Hamilton's car |
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| the museum had the coolest elevators! |
After we dropped the rental car off on Saturday evening, we checked back in to the Hilton Garden Inn at the Frankfurt Airport because our Lufthansa flight to Nairobi was this morning. We were able to spend a few hours in the lounge after dropping off our bags and in a weird coincidence, this flight was also two hours behind schedule. We sat in premium economy again and it would have been wonderful if not for the passengers in the row behind us. I'm sure I'll suffer long-term hearing loss because of how loud I had to play music in a feeble attempt to drown them out. They were bothering everyone in the general area, including the flight attendants when they were serving drinks and food throughout the flight, and yet not once were they told to get themselves together. From the agents at the baggage drop off to the agents at the gate, to the flight attendants, I was absolutely unimpressed with Lufthansa. The difference in service between what we experienced only a few days ago on Air Canada and what we experienced on Lufthansa today was striking and it didn't help that it was a daytime flight. I know red-eye flights can leave you tired the next day, but the expectation is silence, with all of the lights in the cabin turned off, and I really love red-eye flights for these reasons because they are peaceful and quiet. This kind of daytime flight where people are loud and demonstrate little regard for others around them is for the birds as far as I'm concerned! Give me an overnight flight any time!
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I don't know why Frankfurt Airport can't
manage its gates, but we had to take a shuttle
back out to the middle of nowhere and use stairs
to board our flight to Nairobi |
Germany, at least what we've seen of it around Frankfurt on this trip and around Munich back in December, has some of the most lovely countryside we've ever seen. We even drove through a small part of Germany back in 2019 when we visited Brussels and Luxembourg and thought back then how great a trip it would be to drive throughout the whole country, so we'd love to come back for a longer visit in the future!
Happy Tails to you!
