Friday, October 18, 2013

Arriving in Germany

After the Ethiopian Airlines marathon, I finally stepped into German soil. I barely got off the plane and already started being offended by signs that said, right to my face, things like Einschiffung, Sicherheitscheck, Endgerät, Flughafen, Gepäckausgabe...

Gepäckausgabe is yo mama!

I regained my composure after the initial impact, focused on the drawings and ran to the passport control. Purpose of the haste: I had scheduled another flight from Frankfurt to Berlin that same day, in less than three hours.


















Bad idea? I agree, but the other cheap flight was only on the next day and backpacking causes a weird side effect in my brain: it goes into "travel mode" and makes all unnecessary risks that may result in time saving seem a much better option than the safety of well done planning.

The result was arriving breathless at passport control and therefore getting the first suspicious look of the trip.


"Purpose of this trip?"
"Much deserved vacations."
"How much time in Frankfurt?"
"A couple of hours - but in Europe, 28 days."
"Do you have a return ticket?"
"Sure ... just a sec."

I opened my very messy handbag and pulled out a bunch of papers. Luckily, the return flight was the first. The controller examined it, confused with the amount of connections and stopovers. It seemed like I was going around the world.

"Do you have a receipt of your accommodation in Germany?
"In Berlin I will stay with a friend, but I have the other cities'."

As I browsed the papers, I narrated what I found to save time.


"Here: hostel in Prague, Dubrovnik, Krakow, Budapest travel tips, Oktoberfest guide..."

I realized my hurry was making the officer exasperated. She said ok and stamped my passport, probably relieved to get rid of me.


I ran to the baggage claim area only to find that all my haste was in vain: it was empty and I had to wait with all the other passengers until they decided to release them. And I thought Germans were efficient...

The backpack was easy to spot: it looked like a baby alien, all wrapped up in green plastic. I didn't want to unwrap it because I had another flight soon, and I couldn't get a trolley: it costed 2 euros, I only had BRL and there was no ATM in sight. The result? A clumsy Brazilian running through the airport grabbing a backpack in her lap as if it were a child. Extraterrestrial, just to top it off.


Luckily I got to the right terminal on time and checked in. Hands-free, I could finally focus on more mundane things like withdrawing money, going to the toilet, eating.


Already in the departure lounge, I tried to confirm the right way to my gate with an employee:

"Is Berlin this way?"

He replied with no hesitation:

""Yes... But Frankfurt is that way, if you decide to stay." And finished it with a wink.

My trip's first pick up line, with a lot of style.

From then on everything went smoothly, I boarded and, with a Prosecco in hand, I eagerly awaited landing in Berlin and officially beginning my adventure.

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