Zombie me, still flew most of the day. The Condor flights were pretty good. But very uneven. The first flight was over 9hrs (groan) but I had a meal and morning pastry (yay) and the second was about 45mins., nothing really needed for food anyway. It felt very Hawaiian Airlines-like, so dependent on short leg and longer leg travel needs. It made complete sense but I was zoning out so bad by the time I got on the second leg.
What was new, hearing the agents call us all to the main gate to board for the second leg because the plane was ‘remote’, which meant we had to travel by gate shuttle to it because it was further down (in the middle of the tarmac) lined up with some other planes, also remote.
Also, Brexit really changed how UK travels across Europe as well (shared Day 2 insight while talking to my Bolt driver and talking to someone behind me in the Day 1 line to the shuttle to the domestic terminal) they had to also go through passport control when we landed in Frankfurt. And because the travel was European, I had to catch my flight on the domestic side instead of the international terminal, which I definitely clocked because I was thinking international, given the process and me moving through different countries. Basically I was worried I was going the wrong place because my first leg had been delayed long enough my connecting was making me nervous.
Positives, I got my stamp (the new Schengen electronic/fingerprinting system was new and they happen to process me the old way and so I didn’t have to do it) and once I landed in Prague, I just grabbed my bag and walked out of baggage claim into Prague. The second plane, although smaller, was less than full so the three-seater I was in only had someone at the window and me in the aisle. The kindness of strangers … telling me to be careful of keeping my bag unzipped.
Negative, it took me essentially the whole weekend to get here with 3 planes and I didn’t feel human when I landed.
Retro insight that I believe is completely connected to this experience of Journee. Gut reaction to question if you made the right decision in doing it whenever any of the things that happen doesn’t go according to ‘plan’. The feeling that I had to go when normal life surprises and tensions make you question whether you should cancel at the last minute and how you have the brainspace to actually think through choices when you do feel locked in more.
Some things I did to ‘plan’ for myself. I knew I was going to be somewhere in Central Europe (thanks chatgpt), so I pre-loaded apps Bolt (Uber), Wolt (DoorDash/BiteSquad/Foodease). And did some hunting for SIM options when I touched down. I went with Vodafone, though interestingly enough, I think I saw t-mobile?? (Condor used it, too). Both carriers were about 10-15 minutes walking distance from the hotel so I was setup with an unlimited 7 day pass to cover me here and 15gb data roaming for the month in the countries I was traveling to with a SIM plan I didn’t have to deactivate at the carrier before I left Europe.
Yummy drink, Matcha Dalgona!!!
Monkiyo's Musings 