7 June 2010

Because we wanted to have plenty of time to drive to Frankfurt to the airport, our day started early. The hotel had set out breakfast for us, as we were leaving before the normal breakfast time.

The drive to Frankfurt was OK without too many traffic delays or problems. The GPS even got us to the rental car return without a hitch.

Then the fun started. We were unable to do a normal check-in at the machines, because Lufthansa couldn't find the reservation. It even took the agent much time and effort to find it. The problem was we had booked an Air Canada flight on Expedia, but the flight was actually a code share on a Lufthansa plane. The Expedia booking number did not work nor did using a passport for ID. When the agent found Dick's ticket, he had been put on stand-by as the flight was over booked. But she was able to check his bag through to Portland, even without a boarding pass for the second leg. Karen's came through with the seat assignment and all the way to Portland, though that took some effort. And Dick's bag was overweight, so she combined the two bags for weight. She was very helpful and spent a lot of time with us.

At the gate we were able to replace Dick's boarding pass with the correct seat assignment, and on to Portland. A major hurdle down!

The flight was blessedly uneventful. As is normal for international flights, there were two meals, complimentary wine, and lots of water offered. We watched the movie Invictus, about Nelson Mandela. There was a bit of stuff about Africa, especially South Africa because of the World Cup, in the magazine. (Karen watched a couple other movies, too.)

When we landed in Vancouver, we needed to go through Canadian immigration and customs, recheck our bags, and go through US immigration and customs. The baggage carousel jammed, and it took a very long time (45 minutes) to get both our bags. Then we had to find our way to the ticket counter area to come back in and re-check the bags and go through security. By that time we had less than a half-hour before our flight to Portland left, and a long way to the gate. When we got to the gate, they had not even started loading, since it's a small plane. But it was a bit hectic!

The flight to Portland was smooth and uneventful, like a flight should be. From the airport, we took a taxi home, and thus ended our latest great adventure.