Saturday, 10 April — the flight back

Getting ready to leave the hotel; car is booked for 11:30. Soft rock muzak is invading my head… I’ve heard 10cc more times this week than in the preceding year! A couple of last souvenir errands, goodbye to the hotel, and we’re off to the airport. In the VIP lounge of the Lviv airport, there’s a plasma TV in the corner showing lots of air wreckage on the news — not a nice way to get ready for your flight! The various airport personnel come in from time to time and check out the news as it breaks. I can see that the accident is in Russia, just a few hundred miles from here; I can make out something about catastrophe, president, and Poland… (Later I learn that the President of Poland has died in the crash, along with much of the Polish leadership and intelligentsia. A terrible day for Poland.)

For the most part, the ambiance of the waiting room continues as normal; people getting ushered through the security and across the tarmac to their waiting planes. Eventually it’s my turn, and I put my bag through the scanner. I’ve got two bottles of liquor, which I didn’t put in the checked luggage (already on the plane) to prevent breakage. The security lady asks me “You have two bottles? What is it?” I say it’s cognac and vodka; is that a problem? “Problem. Only can have 100ml.” Doh! I’d forgotten about the recent fluid limits — I should have checked the bottles! “Don’t do it again.” She says, and waves me through. I thank her very much; but I mention how this is going to create a big problem for me at security in Munich: “Is something I can do?” she shrugs, and I thank her once more.

Quick little Lufthansa flight over to Munich; at passport control the officer asks in German about why I don’t speak much German with a name like Fuchs. (He has a point…) At the security checkpoint I explain in my broken German how I forgot the vodka in the bag, and can I exit to the Lufthansa checkin? Not a problem, he indicates the exit and I go the long way around, checking my laptop bag with the bottles in it. The laptop itself and some other key valuables/breakables come with me in a shopping bag that I had handy.

Only a few glitches remain. While waiting in the Munich airport I go to get a caffe latte — but realize that I have no Euros. So I find the bank, change a twenty, and then go relax with my latte until it’s nearing boarding time. After unexpectedly long lines for boarding pass control and yet another security checkpoint (they’re scanning every single passenger by hand; is this related to the Russian crash?) I finally get to the gate just as it opens for boarding.

I didn’t have a seat assignment until I got to the gate, so I get the very last seat: 58G. It’s an aisle seat, in the very last row of the airbus. Way back there in the tail it’s a bit of a bumpy ride, but otherwise it’s just fine. A long flight — over 11 hours — and so northerly that we pass completely north of Hudson bay and enter the USA over Spokane! Off the plane, through customs, onto BART, fighting to stay awake, and my son picks me up from BART to drive me home. The dogs are overcome with joy, I hand out the mitbrings, and take a nice hot bath. (Aaaaahhhhh.)

Great trip, successful for work, and it’s great to be home and go to sleep in my own bed again. I’ll happily do this trip again if needed.