by Catherine Kendall.
We prepared for a wonderful day of 2 approximately 10-hour flights with a 3-hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany. The first flight was with Air China and the second with Lufthansa. Each flight provided similar accommodations and services but 2 unique meals.
Midnight CST struck as we were shuttling to our terminal at the Beijing airport.
The terminal relatively empty. The environment was extremely calming at such a late hour. The bathrooms were so beautiful you could lick the floors if you wanted to.
Our first 10-hour flight was with Air China. The flight attendants were collectively relatively young and predominantly female. They provided their services as trained with a slight lack of genuine enjoyment and enthusiasm.
Air China had a large selection of Chinese movies and shows with a smaller pool of American TV.
I woke up from deep sleep startled by the meal that appeared. They offered crustless, fluffy sandwiches and a dense, crumbly muffin. I was unsure of the flavors but sure they tasted Asian. My guess is ham on one sandwich and liver paste on the other. They also provided a yogurt bottle where you stab a straw through the lid and drink it like so. I believe slurping sounds woke me up.
For breakfast, they offered “Western” and “Chinese” options. The Western breakfast’s main entree was scrambled eggs, sausage, and home fries. They also gave a croissant with jam on the side, diced watermelon, and another drinkable yogurt.
The Chinese breakfast was congee with some pickled radish and a marinated egg. They served a milk bun, diced watermelon, and another drinkable yogurt on the side. I opted for the Chinese breakfast to fully immerse. I was disheartened when my egg rolled on the floor.
We landed in Frankfurt and went straight to the toilets. Similar to China and unlike America, they offered dual-flush toilets. Water consumption is reduced by picking the appropriate flush dependent on your needs. The eco-friendliness was interesting.
With tons of time to spare, I explored their shops for a bonus, mini cultural experience. The airport had some really expensive stores in there. I spent the majority of the layover browsing their overwhelmingly fine chocolates and wines. There was an exciting selection of products generally not available in America even for brands common in America. However, some products were similar but just under a different name; the Bounty bar is exclusive to Europe but basically an American Almond Joy, and the Mars bar is marketed in America as a Milky Way. The desire for every single exclusive product settled and I eventually walked out. Next time I’ll get Maltesers.
For the sake of being parallel, there was a bakery on the way to the terminal with items like soft pretzels and sandwiches.
The terminal was nice and busy.
Our second 10-hour flight was with Lufthansa. The flight attendants were much older than Air China’s but had a gentle, approachable touch.
The plane was fairly empty with rows of unoccupied seats. The seats were comfortable, but the display screen was painfully slow. The selection of American movies was solid. The movie experience was unique and special.
They offered chicken or pasta for the first meal. The chicken meal had a warm entree of juicy chicken and creamy mash. With the entree came a nicely stiff bun with butter and brie cheese, marinated chickpeas and carrots, and beautiful strawberry cheesecake square.
At the end of the flight, the attendants passed out a cold, cheese sandwich which was nice for the weather.
After a long day of flying, we landed at RDU around 2pm EST. Once we experienced an extended process of baggage claim, we reunited with family. I didn’t particularly miss them, but I was delighted to see their faces and catch up on missed time. When I got home, I had an American meal and then crashed on the floor and slept for more hours than fingers I own. My exploding suitcase is tomorrow’s problem. The immersion was wonderful.