Ever the optimist

I flew with Air China from Sydney to Frankfurt. The flight was surprisingly cheap, especially given the time of year, and the fare also included one stopover in Beijing. Arriving in Shanghai, we were lucky enough to spend a substantial amount of time on our feet thanks to a requirement of having to go through customs, rather than simply transferring straight through.

Our good luck streak continued when we were given the opportunity to watch the start of the Socceroos vs Germany game. This came about because rather than jump straight back on the same plane we'd arrived on and set off within the planned hour transfer time, we were delayed by seven hours due to inclement weather in Beijing, our next port of call. I didn't see the whole game, but did get to see the second goal, which will surely be one of the best goals of the Cup.

This delay meant I missed my connecting flight to Frankfurt. Dealing with Air China was a pain. Several of us had been booked through on the same flight to Frankfurt. Your typical airline would notify you before you disembark what you have to do in order to continue on, but not Air China, oh no. I could say though that the headache involved in dealing with the uncommunicative Air China was good preperation for what to expect upon my return to China in August.

Given a further eight hours to wait until the next flight to Frankfurt was a perfect opportunity to really appreciate the architecture of Beijing airport. It really is an incredible space. I got a quite comprensive view of most aspects of it in the hours wandering and sitting. Some congee went down a treat, too.

By the time I got on my flight to Frankfurt I was beginning to realise that 30 hours of air conditioning (and counting) is not good for us humans. I like to think that this observation merely furthered my preference for the natural world over the built environment. I should point out that my time at Beijing airport also gave me a chance to go outside and breathe some, uh, smog.

Not having my own movie screen for the 10 hour leg to Frankfurt provided an opportunity to draft this post. Great.

I won't say anything about the disgusting consumeristic nature of all the airports I went through, because that would just put too negative a spin on this post. Nothing positive I can say about it really. Maybe: "good to see the economy's going strong!"

And then Germany. Ah, familiarity. How easy it was to be here, just another western country where most people speak English. How lazy of me! It's brought back the 'language guilt' though - I hate having to ask everyone if they speak my language, seeing as I don't speak theirs.

I spent the night in Frankfurt. At a comfortable hostel a stones throw from the station. My perception that euro hostels are full of Australian guys who's primary interests whilst travelling are getting drunk and picking up, reinforced while at the reception/bar, was somewhat dispelled when I discovered my room mates to be a South African teacher and a German fella who was jetting off the following morning to St Petersburg for a chess tournament. Out on the street, World Cup fever was evident at all the bars, each one of which had a TV facing onto their outdoor seating. I liked that the Turkish restaurant was broadcasting Turkish commentary, the French hangout French (bien sur!) and I think I saw an Italian joint at one point.

I'm now staying with a friend in Ljubljana (Solvenia) after getting a train here from Frankfurt. It feels good, after three days in transit, to actually feel like I'm at the start of my trip.