I left Greenville on Monday at 2:00 and flew to Washington Dulles. It is a huge airport and I felt like I was walking forever to my next gate. When I arrived the 777 was already there and ready to make the flight to Frankfurt Germany. Boarding was quick and easy due to the fact that my company covers the upgrade to economy plus (more legroom and earlier boarding). For some reason after everyone had boarded we were still not leaving the gate. This was due to a passenger’s pets creating an issue in the holding area of the plane and they had to be removed. After the pets were removed the owners wanted to get off the flight. I guess federal regulations requires that no luggage is allowed on board unless the owner is also on board so then we had to wait for the airline to find the pet owners luggage. Finally after a short 30 minute wait we were on our way (not too long of a wait but it later caused my luggage to miss my next connection). The flight was not too bad but as usual I was not able to sleep very well. I had a window seat and resting my head on the freezing wall wasn’t working too well.
Tuesday morning we landed in Frankfurt after descending down through a snow cloud. Frankfurt airport is also very nice with a huge mall area right after security. I cleared customs with my Dutch passport (no lines for EU passports) and quickly found my next gate. After a quick hopper flight I was in FMO (Flughafen Münster Osnabrück). Due to the prior delay issue with the animals and the owners and their luggage, my luggage did not make it to the plane during the shorter layover. I filled out some paperwork and hoped that it was only in Frankfurt and not still somewhere like Greenville, SC. Luckily I packed some extra clothes in my carry-on. I picked up the car (VW Touran – almost like a minivan looking car so not the most glamorous) and headed to work in Dielingen.
I arrived at work shortly before lunch. I checked some email and started to get acclimated to my new surroundings since my new boss was still on the way back from a skiing trip to the alps and was not expecting me until Wednesday. For lunch I had a large meatball (no sauce) with pommes frites and apfelsaftschorle. The rest of the day was filled with meeting new co-workers and getting set up with my new job.
That night I checked into the hotel where my bags were waiting for me! Shortly after, I met up with Philip (a good friend who was an intern at ZF Duncan the same time I was and also flew across the Atlantic to come to our wedding) and we went to Historischer Weihnachtsmarkt Osnabrück (Christmas Market). It is a ton of Christmas vendors and decorations all throughout the city of Osnabrück. It is best known for Glühwein which is a warm wine with spices. Very good for the cold nights. Afterwards we went to a Tapas Restaurant and I got the meat platter with Chorizo, some other meats, Olives, Bread and Cheese. Everything was delicious. After I returned to the hotel and promptly fell to sleep.
