Eurotrip Day 10 - Headed Home
(Last part of a series.)
Our scheduled departure from Frankfurt airport was around 7am. The tour guide reminded us that breakfast won't be served anymore, and that we will have to eat inside the airport or during the flight.
It was the usual getting home rush--make sure your bags are packed, load the luggage in the bus, get on the bus, get inside the terminal, check in, fly... Our tour group was actually earlier than the check-in counters so we queued up and waited. The funny thing was, there was an even earlier group of Southeast Asians that are most likely Malaysians or Indonesians and they queued up their bags, too. LOL.
Anyway, the check-in was smooth. It was a two-hour process from waiting to check-in to immigration clearance and actually boarding the plane. I think I just had a croissant and a coffee because DK confirmed that food will be served for the flight. And even that I can't remember what food we were served because it all happened so fast. And I was too sleepy but I was fighting the urge to sleep.
While waiting, I convinced DK to upgrade the Abu Dhabi to Manila leg of our trip. It was the same length leg; it would take around 8 hours of flight time and that we would arrive in Manila at 2pm local time, which is 7am in Frankfurt. Talk about another time skip. DK arranged the upgrade and we got approved. That would be another exciting flight. Good thing we upgraded there, too. Because we got lounge access in Abu Dhabi airport. Since there would be a three-hour interval between the flights, the lounge would be comfortable. And plenty of food, too.
And of course, DK made her shopping. I was happy to be able to buy DK what she liked. This is a rare opportunity, after all, to be able to do shopping in Abu Dhabi airport.
Travel Tip
At this point, I'm done living in the Frankfurt time zone. Upon arriving at the Frankfurt departure lounge, I was monitoring Manila time. So in that sense, I know that it is only around 2pm in Manila. I resolved that if ever I'm awake past midnight Manila time, I'll only take power naps. I'm living Manila time, after all. This is to make sure that I won't get jet lag.
Upon arriving in Abu Dhabi around 7pm local time, it was midnight in Manila and the date is February 17th. This is where it gets confusing, because practically when we were in the lounge, it was around 2am Manila time. I really forced myself to stay awake. When we boarded the flight, I just took some power naps to make sure that by the time we arrive in Manila around 12pm local time, I'll be wide awake. It's just what I told DK: "it's just similar to staying up all night".
My effort to push myself to Manila time paid off. I enjoyed the business class really well. I got the exclusive drinks, ate a lot of food and saw the view. I think I used an in-flight movie as a background noise and that helped me stay within power nap hours. I was peeking at DK and she was sound asleep. She was the one who's alert when we arrived in Manila.
Back to reality
So yeah, there I was. Around 8 days in Europe and Schengen area. I saw plenty of places I only saw in the movies, ate European food and then some, experienced the air and the weather, saw the people, made some friends, and created memories.
A few days later, I went back to work like nothing happened. I told some stories and showed pictures to curious friends, but that's just that. I really can't tell much about my Eurotrip. After all, the world's the same. It's just me who just changed. Even for a little bit, for the better.
Will I go back? Sure. I want to. I want to see more of the world.
--Raisondetroy
