European Adventures - 2. First Day in Europe

2.  First Day in Europe

Does it count when we are still in the air but flying already over Europe, to be IN Europe?  The time difference of 6 hours always gets to me. And like you read in yesterday’s blog, flying to me is a chore.

Even Carol, a very patient person and being Canadian so a very polite person, got annoyed about the SCREAMER just behind us on the flight. For literally 1 and ½ hours this kid screamed in a full voice. Constantly, full force this about 6 year old boy screamed his head off. It was painful. Phew, I am glad to be off this flight and Carol was glad to have her earplugs.

We landed about 11 AM local time on May 23, 2018. Now we had to pick up our luggage and then to get through customs, then pick up our rental car, etc. We pre-booked our rental car on line with Budget.

Knowing how large FRA airport is, we tried to get a wheel chair for Carol but after we waited for some time, too long in hindsight, she had no option but to walk. Nobody seemed to know where to catch this wheel chair. 

Now of course we had the luggage, too. Luckily we found a cart rental station. You need exactly a one Euro coin to release a luggage cart from the rack. We had 5, 10 or even 20 Euro bills, but of course, the machine did not give change. Credit card or exact cash only was my choice. OK, I used my credit card to release one of those push carts for suitcases, but this setup of getting a push cart was already  a great distance from the normal exit. We were searching for the rental car counter. I asked of course, asked where the Budget Rent a Car counter is and after 3 shoulder shrugs by some people I was directed to a long, long hallway. I could not see the end of this hallway. The guy who showed me the hallway said go as far as you can see, there is the Budget Rental Cars. Hmm, is that really so far? I looked at Carol and we decided to walk this long hallway for a while and ask again down a ways. Yes, we were confirmed, down this hall. 

By now I could tell Carol, not the best walker, would not make it this far. So, I sat her on top of the luggage cart, on top of the suitcases and had an instant ‘wheel chair’. I am sure we where a sight but it worked. We made it down the long hall only to find out we went a little too far. We had to backtrack and yes, there is the counter for Budget, in a kind of alcove, semi-hidden, no push carts allowed into that section. A long line of people greeted us, all staying in line waiting to get their car. The counter had 2 sections, An Elite counter and us, the regular guys. Nobody was at the ‘Elite’ counter so I went and told the lady I had a reservation. Ha, she was so indignant that I dared to even approach her… I had to go back to the ‘regular’ line up. NO way would she help out, no way would she even give us anything since we are not the Budget Rental Car ‘Elite’. 

Wow, welcome back to Germany. I ALWAYS ‘hated’ (yes, hated, not dislike) these stuck up Germans and their snobbism and elitism.

We had to wait for 45 minutes in line to get our rental agreement signed and then, of course, had to walk back to the ‘long hallway’ this time without the lost push cart for the luggage and find our rental car.

Our Rental Car, a KIA Cee'd

By now it is close to 2.30 PM. 

It took us close to 3 ½ hours just to check out of the airport and get into the rental car. Luckily we received a good rental car, a KIA Cee’d, a model not made for the American markets. When I say ‘good’ I mean it was good for me, it was not a good car for Germans, way too under-powered on the Autobahn as I would find out soon enough, but it was an OK car for what we needed.

So now at 2.30 I have to drive to Krefeld where I was born and grew up; at least a 2 ½ hour drive going north.

Without a GPS we could not have done it. I was glad the car had a built in GPS and it was set up in English. It made it a lot easier to navigate. We became slaves to this GPS machine, did as we were told. The GPS had a ‘strange’ way of calling a Highway a ‘dray’ but otherwise we got along just fine. 

 

Arriving in Krefeld I had to find the hotel we booked for the night. A smallish place named Niederrheinischer Hof. (Don’t you love those short names)? Well, Hof is short.

The owner was an Iranian but of course he called himself Persian. The room was ok for one night but no A/C, it was hot in Krefeld. We left the windows open and slept on top of the covers but still it was hot. Yet, after our flight and being up and about for close to 40 hours we finally slept.

Oh, dinner that night was a sandwich from the bakery nearby. It was 6 pm when we got our sandwiches. I know for sure because I had to talk the lady in the bakery into giving us the sandwiches, they were just being put away; the shop closes at 6 pm sharp. You know, Germans are punctual and do not allow for any exceptions. I also ordered chocolate croissants, I am sure I paid for them, too, but when we got to the room they were not in the bag. I could not go back and complain since the shop was now closed. Was it sneaky?  Or was it just forgetful?

Enough for day 1, good night!