Greetings from Germany

So it's just after 6am in Frankfurt. It's dark outside and I've just landed after travelling for something like 28 hours from home.  I don't speak the language, I don't know where my hotel is and I'm not sure how I'll get there - and I can't even check in for another 7 hours. Oh, and it's 5 degrees outside.  But none of that matters and I can't wipe the smile off my face. It's good to be travelling again!

A remarkably smooth trip this time, despite the fact that I came straight through and flew two different airlines along the way. There was an empty seat next to me on the sector to Singapore and the time flew by really easily. I paid to have a shower at the hotel in the airport, had a meal, a big walk and then a nap in the tranquility lounge. The sector to Frankfurt was in premium economy and let me tell you - it was worth every penny. Super comfy seat that reclined further than a normal seat and had a nice footrest. I lucked out and got the front row so there was no one in front of me and only one other chair. I actually got some sleep!

Now I'm sitting in a cafe with a cafe creme and watching the airport come to life around me. The woman at the table next to me is doing the crossword and some Asian tourists behind me are chattering away at a million miles an hour. Across the concourse, I can see people waiting around the arrivals gate for friends and relatives to arrive. A couple of young men have a homemade sign for someone they are meeting. It's pink and sparkly and they are holding it up high as they peer through the gaps in the gate to look out for their arrival. A tall guy in jeans and a hat is standing waiting with a single, long stemmed red rose. Who ever can he be meeting? My guess is that he has been conversing with a girl over the internet and she is flying out to meet him. He looks too shy for it to be someone he knows well.

The girl at the cafe is from Greece and we just had a lovely chat while she made my cafe creme. She tells me she's been here two and a half years, but while it's good that she can make money here, she needs the sun too much and she's going to go home at the end of the summer. What interesting lives people lead!

I'm going to linger over my book for an hour or so and wait for the sun to come up and then catch a taxi to my hotel and leave my bags while I go out for a wander around the city.

Update: the hotel let me into my room early which is just the best bonus ever. So now I can have a shower and clear my head before going out.  A very good beginning :-)