Day 1

Friday, August 11, 2006

DAY 1
Friday August 11, 2006

These are from the Toronto airport

Oh well - at least it’s stuff that’s easy to replace... - though the girls didn’t have the same perspective as me... After the layover in Toronto - we’re off to Frankfurt - where there is a definite increase in the presence of Police & Security. The flight over is pretty uneventful - other than watching the crew of Lufthansa Airlines work like crazy. I don’t think they stopped serving or cleaning during the entire trip. The plane was a 747 - which held over 500 people. The passengers beside me were interesting. On my right was a lady flying to the Congo (she is from Calgary & owns her own cake decorating business) - for her Aunt’s Funeral - and on my left was a female Danish journalist - it was a pleasant flight... Our gate for the flight changes about 4 times within the 2 hour layover we have there - until finally they pick a gate - only to have us board a bus at the gate (I thought this was a flight to Kyiv - I gotta start reading the itinerary closer) - where they drive us out to the tarmac for an airplane waiting for us. Off to Kyiv...

So my plane leaves at 6 am out of Regina. It’s 1:30 in the morning & I’m just getting ready to leave my house in Saskatoon. As usual my plan to get some sleep before I head for Regina fails & I end up being awake until we hit Ukraine - with periodic naps on airplanes... I get to Regina around 3:45 am - park my truck @ my cousin’s house (her & her daughter are also flying out as part of a larger tour group from Regina) - and we grab a cab to the Regina airport. We check in - luggage is taken away to the mystery back space of the airport & we’re off to Toronto - the first stop on the trip. Toronto entertains us with a 5 hour layover - then it’s off to Frankfurt Germany. While in Toronto - I bump into the Mr.& Mrs. Blumers from Saskatoon. What’s interesting is that the last 3 times I’ve seen these people - it’s been in airports - either Saskatoon or Toronto. .. To make life a bit more interesting - as I’m driving into Regina in the middle of the night - there is an International Terrorist Alert. This means that there will be delays (which is OK). They start canceling & delaying flights out of London & surrounding airports in Europe - including Frankfurt - where we are off to first. Oh well - at least if I get to Frankfurt - I could entertain myself in Germany for a couple of days! Needless to say - the group I’m traveling with is concerned about the possibility of danger to us travelers. I - on the other hand think the raised level of terrorist alert is good... (huh?). My thoughts were that with the increased security now being activated - if there was ever a time to fly - this would be it - because ain’t nothin’ nasty gettin’ through! For added value - the cardinal rule of traveling fails. As a rule - when you travel long distances - it’s a good idea to pack on your carry on - stuff you need to get you through a couple of days - in case your luggage is temporarily redirected to some Third World Country you had no intention of visiting on this trip. Generally one would pack such things as toothpaste, deodorant, personal items & maybe some clean underwear. With the heightened alert in place - all travelers are asked to discard anything in liquid or paste form - from their carry ons - since the entire alert was brought on by the discovery of liquid explosives. Even the airports stopped selling liquids for a couple of days...