Now in Frankfurt

We arrived in Frankfurt after an uneventful flight from Almaty on a Lufthansa Airbus A-340 jet.

The number of people touting taxis and assistance with bags at Almaty airport is fantastic. We fell victim to a couple of fellows who took our bags from our hands as we arrived at the airport. They put them on a baggage cart before we knew what hit us. We had to pay about 2000 Tenge to ransom our bags, about $15. One suspects that the government security officials at the airport are friendly with these sorts of people.

The check-in clerks helpfully assigned us seats right in the front of our section, so that a bassinet could be installed on he wall for Alexey and so we would have more space. The cabin crew was fantastically helpful. They talked to Alexey, played with him, and catered to our every need. Right after takeoff, when the Captain turned off the seat belt sign, a couple of flight attendants came and put in the bassinet. But this wasn’t just a basket. It had a real mattress with sheets, a blanket folded so that Alexey could have it under and on top of him, and a real honest-to-goodness miniature pillow. It even had a little roof over the head.

We put Alexey into the bassinet and he fell asleep almost instantly. He slept for almost five hours. We actually had to wake him up.

Upon arrival in Frankfurt right on time at 5:55 AM (ugh), we waited to deplane for almost 25 minutes because there were no stairs available for the plane. Passengers were growing restive, especially those with imminent connections. But soon we were underway, speeded on our way after a 15 minute bus ride to the terminal.

We had hoped to spend our 8 hour wait in the hotel attached to the airport. But a little oversight on our part meant that we couldn’t leave the security area. Alexey is travelling on his Kazakhstan passport. The German Immigration Police representative politely reminded us that citizens of Kazakhstan need a visa to enter Germany. Oops. We opted not to make a break for freedom given the presence of a second police officer toting a machine-gun backing up the front-line officer.

So we are now spending our time relaxing in a lounge in the secured area of the airport itself.

On the bright side, we are still able to feed and change Alexey here in relative civility. Alexey has been snoozing for a good two hours on Mama’s chest. Ivan the Bearrible is keeping them company.

We expect to be leaving for Toronto in only another hour or so. Then it’s a short two-hour wait in Toronto before a one hour flight to Ottawa. Then our 41 hour odyssey will be over.

And then a new one will begin.