Well, the day arrived and I'd asked to be at Pearson Airport in Toronto at least 6 hours before my departure to allow for any delays along the way. I remember the last time I was in Canada and returning to the airport we encountered an accident on the opposite side of the freeway which caused a traffic jam due to rubber-necking. This was a wise decision as we drove into a very big thunderstorm on the way to Toronto. Making use of Waze, a community based map, traffic and navigation app were able to divert thus avoiding a traffic hold up on the freeway.
By the time we got to the airport the rain had stopped, and we said very quick goodbyes so as to avoid any tears. Glynis we must only say goodbye once, then go, ok? Only a wave from the car will be allowed!
I couldn't drop off my luggage right away as it was too early, so I went to a quiet end of the airport to watch the planes. Nearby was a film crew with video cameras, but I didn't take much notice of them until I left to check my bag in later. When I walked past them I noticed they had Canadian Broadcasting Corporation logos on their neck ID cards, so I stopped and introduced myself as a video editor from the SABC and where I was from. They were filming a Dutch program called "Hello/Goodbye" and I was told they had a camera person with them a few days ago who came from the same city where I work. Curious, I asked who he was but didn't know him although I knew of his father who had been living in Toronto for some time. What a small world!
Eventually the time arrived to move to the departure gate for my Lufthansa flight to Munich at 23:05. Once there I noticed a couple and their young teenage son in the lounge. The wife was quite a buxom woman wearing a stetson and very short pants and looked, imo, top heavy. I noticed that she went to change into jeans, which (again imo) looked more appropriate! I am an observer of people, that's all and an airport lounge is a place where this can happen quite easily.
Anyway, soon it was time to board. I wish all airlines would use the boarding method Air Canada and KLM use, ie, boarding in zones, starting with priority then for economy, in blocks of rows starting from the back to the front. It makes it easier for people in the back rows to get in without having to move past people in front faffing while they get seated. I think I'll write to the airlines to make the suggestion.
When I checked in the day before the seat next to my window seat was still vacant...would I be able to sleep across 2 seats like I was able to on one of the legs coming over? I hoped so. But it was not to be. The husband and wife I had observed in the lounge sat behind me and their young son sat next to me. It could have been worse, I suppose.
They were German and he was a very pleasant kid, and spoke English quite well although slowly and deliberately. He was a bit oblivious to personal space and reached across me with his cell phone to take a video through the window on my side. I asked him if I could rather hold his camera for him and he thought it a good idea. I said I would video for him as we took off, which I did. He seemed to be very interested in flying and showed me a photo of him sitting in the pilot's seat on another flight he was on. He told me they had just flown from Cancun in Mexico and had diverted round a tornado near Detroit. I told him we had driven through a very big storm en route to the airport. We were lucky we'd not been in the same storm as the tornado although it may have been behind us as the weather radar images we looked on the net while driving showed very big cloud and storm activity coming up over the Lakes from the Detroit area.
As we took off I videoed the take off for him, we had supper, and settled down for as best a sleep as we could.
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| FlightRadar24 and Google Maps showing route |
I found lying far down in my seat with my legs crossed on top of the fold down meal tray the most comfortable way to sleep (sounds impossible, but I can do it), and I must have slept a bit because I awoke and looked out the window and although we'd only flown about 3 hours of the estimated 6 hour flight across the Atlantic to Munich in Germany, the sun was about to rise. That's the thing with air travel crossing time zones, it gets a bit disorientating.
It was about 6 am local time in Munich, and I tried to watch the new Star Wars movie but couldn't get into it as I kept wanting to doze off. Soon we were served breakfast and afterwards I saw we were overhead Ireland. For the rest of the flight I sat staring out the window, every now and then checking where we were on the route of the aircraft on the video display. We past London which was on the left side of the plane. We flew over the White Cliffs of Dover and I was reminded of a television documentary Glynis and I had watched a few days before about how England was once joined to Europe at Dover by a land bridge and the soft chalk rock was eroded away by glacial melt waters which were dammed up and suddenly found a way over the land bridge. Evidence from scans of the floor of the English Channel shows rocks scarred by massive amounts of rushing water and debris, similar to the area known as The Scablands of the northwest United States. I find this sort of thing fascinating.
My flying companion, whose name I forgot to get, was really an enthusiastic flyer and loved playing on the flight simulator on his computer. He was videoing inside and outside the plane. Again during the approach and landing I volunteered to film through the window for him. I noticed as we were doing the touch down he was simulating the landing himself and counting down the imaginary voice commands the on-board computer gives as it counts down the feet to the runway. No he wasn't mad, just keen. I hope he learns to fly one day, and I told him I have a microlight license.
We departed and I had an 8 hour wait in Munich airport for my connecting flight to Johannesburg later that night.
My flying companion, whose name I forgot to get, was really an enthusiastic flyer and loved playing on the flight simulator on his computer. He was videoing inside and outside the plane. Again during the approach and landing I volunteered to film through the window for him. I noticed as we were doing the touch down he was simulating the landing himself and counting down the imaginary voice commands the on-board computer gives as it counts down the feet to the runway. No he wasn't mad, just keen. I hope he learns to fly one day, and I told him I have a microlight license.
We departed and I had an 8 hour wait in Munich airport for my connecting flight to Johannesburg later that night.
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