After the initial delay, flying from SFO to Frankfurt, Germany was relatively uneventful. The boys mostly played their PSP and ipod touches. Baby slept.
Caleb was playing his PSP and suddenly declared, “I’m done.” He got off my lap and curled up on the floor like this and went to sleep. I contorted myself across the free seat in all sorts of different ways, but I don’t think I actually ever went to sleep. Since the airline seats are contoured and the armrests didn’t go up all the way (?!) there was always something digging or poking into my body. Oh well, we’re almost to Germany. Only a short layover and a 4 hour flight left and then I can stretch out in my own bed.
Remember how I promised a picture with a camel? There was one on the cover of the in-flight magazine and since I haven’t seen any in real life yet, this will have to do.
Ah, coming into Frankfurt. It looks like a winter wonderland.
We got off the flight to find out that our connecting flight had been delayed by 5.5 hours. Not so bad, except the Frankfurt airport was FREEZING. Oh and the baby had projectile vomited all over me as we were descending and then 6 more times all over herself and her car seat as we came in for our landing — she looked like a fountain that kept bubbling over. So before we could do anything we had to find a bathroom and I stripped her down and gave her a bath in the sink in the Frankfurt airport.
Thankfully I came prepared with several changes of clothes for her and a set for myself so while Josh put clean clothes on her I tried to get the rest of the yack out of her car seat. Then we spent many, many cold hours waiting in the airport.
Winter? Yes. Wonderland? Not so much.
It was so cold inside the airport that you could see your breath in some places. People were walking around in hats, scarves, and ski jackets like it was totally normal to be experiencing the great outdoors indoors.
Here is where our lovely little plan fell apart. The older boys had stayed awake and we were going to make it through to Cairo by 6:30pm, go to our apartment and sleep all night and wake up on Cairo time. But we were so cold and tired that we just huddled up in these chairs and tried to stay warm and sleep so we didn’t have to think about how cold we were.
There’s a reason why Josh is the Marine. Compare his picture to my picture. Sing with me: “One of these kids is not very pretty, one of these kids looks kind of insane. Can you guess which kid wishes she were doing her own thing? Now it’s time to play our game.” Ok, enough Sesame Street — the point is, he was a much better sport about the temperature than I was.
About 3 hours before our flight we decided to head to our gate and find a place on the floor to sleep for a little bit since I can not sleep sitting up. At all. I figured I’d rather be cold and stretched out than cold and cramped up. After we passed through security, I suddenly heard angels singing and I saw . . .
cots! Lovely, gloriously flat spaces to lie on. It looked like a refugee camp in there, and I was happy to be a refugee with a cot.
All the smokers were contained inside a plexiglass room. I did briefly wonder if it was warmer in there and if lung cancer was preferable to frostbite . . .
babyholding bonus: she’s a portable heater!
a very cute heater.
