Back is the U.S.S.A.
Well, it was a fun week, but I'm back in the USA now. Woke up at 2am on Saturday morning in Tel Aviv (that's 7pm EST Friday night), got to the airport for a 5:30am flight, got to Frankfurt at 9am and then waited. And waited. And waited. Because my flight to New York wasn't until 5pm, meaning I had eight hours to kill in the airport.
What does one do during an eight-hour layover in Frankfurt? Not much, really. I considered going into town and walking around for a little, but it was in the 30s and I didn't have any heavy clothing. So then I thought about doing a little gambling at the airport casino I had seen some signs for. Unfortunately, the "casino" was about the size of my bedroom and looked supremely depressing. Then my eye caught the "Goethe Bar" and I considered going there until I remembered that I shouldn't be drinking alcohol because I'm getting over mono. So I settled on the Lufthansa lounge, which I got in to courtesy of my dad's United gold card. And let me tell you that you could do a lot worse than the Lufthansa lounge. Comfortable seats, free food and free drinks. If I wanted to do some boozing, I could have gotten absolutely smashed on all the free liquor and beer. But I kept myself in check. Anyhow, for those of you who have an eight-hour layover in Frankfurt, head straight for the Lufthansa Senator Lounge. Not the Business Lounge -- the Senator Lounge. Good times will be had by all.
By the time my flight to New York came around, I was nice and relaxed. Unfortunately, that ended very quickly when I sat down on the plane and the guy next to me was essentially forcing half his body onto my seat. Never mind the fact that his wife was on the other side of him; for some reason he felt he needed to lean on me. Not the most pleasant of flights, and I began to regret not drinking heavily in the lounge. Seven hours later, I was in New York, finally making it home at 10pm. For those keeping track at home, that's 27 hours door to door, with about two hours of sleep. Needless to say, I crashed upon arrival.
Anyhow, the trip was really great. The last few days were spent fairly locally, in Rehovot and Tel Aviv, which is a beautiful city. It was warm, it's right on the Mediterranean and we had some great food. I only wish we could have spent a little more time there, but I guess you can't have everything when you're trying to see all of Israel in a week.
Not sure when I'll be back, but hopefully soon. Apparently I may still be able to do one of those birthright trips, although my window of opportunity seems to be close to expiring. So maybe, just maybe, next year in Rehovot??
What does one do during an eight-hour layover in Frankfurt? Not much, really. I considered going into town and walking around for a little, but it was in the 30s and I didn't have any heavy clothing. So then I thought about doing a little gambling at the airport casino I had seen some signs for. Unfortunately, the "casino" was about the size of my bedroom and looked supremely depressing. Then my eye caught the "Goethe Bar" and I considered going there until I remembered that I shouldn't be drinking alcohol because I'm getting over mono. So I settled on the Lufthansa lounge, which I got in to courtesy of my dad's United gold card. And let me tell you that you could do a lot worse than the Lufthansa lounge. Comfortable seats, free food and free drinks. If I wanted to do some boozing, I could have gotten absolutely smashed on all the free liquor and beer. But I kept myself in check. Anyhow, for those of you who have an eight-hour layover in Frankfurt, head straight for the Lufthansa Senator Lounge. Not the Business Lounge -- the Senator Lounge. Good times will be had by all.
By the time my flight to New York came around, I was nice and relaxed. Unfortunately, that ended very quickly when I sat down on the plane and the guy next to me was essentially forcing half his body onto my seat. Never mind the fact that his wife was on the other side of him; for some reason he felt he needed to lean on me. Not the most pleasant of flights, and I began to regret not drinking heavily in the lounge. Seven hours later, I was in New York, finally making it home at 10pm. For those keeping track at home, that's 27 hours door to door, with about two hours of sleep. Needless to say, I crashed upon arrival.
Anyhow, the trip was really great. The last few days were spent fairly locally, in Rehovot and Tel Aviv, which is a beautiful city. It was warm, it's right on the Mediterranean and we had some great food. I only wish we could have spent a little more time there, but I guess you can't have everything when you're trying to see all of Israel in a week.
Not sure when I'll be back, but hopefully soon. Apparently I may still be able to do one of those birthright trips, although my window of opportunity seems to be close to expiring. So maybe, just maybe, next year in Rehovot??
posted by Andy at
11:55 AM
