September 19, 2008 - First days in a not-so-foreign land
This photo above captures Caleb's general mood since we arrived in Hungary a few days ago. He is excited about the new places, the new people, the new activities that being here has brought. He has been a wonderful traveler - LOVED the airplane - and has been just as amazing since we got off the plane.
The first flight we took was a small, 50 passenger plane, which was carrying only about 20 people, so Caleb got his own seat next to me. Buckled in, he looked more like a 3 year old than a 1.5 year old. At first, he thought it was a CAR! as we taxied down the runway, but was soon surprised by seeing the sunset and the lights of the city down below. This flight actually only took 30 minutes to get to DC, because it left late and needed to make up the time.
The DC flight left around 10 pm and I thought that surely by this time, Caleb would be so ready to settle down for the night, but he was very excited about the new turn his evening was taking and was up until about 11:30 pm, playing with the TV screen in front of our seat. This actually worked out well, for just when everyone finished eating (not I) and turned out the lights to sleep (also not I), he was ready to go to sleep and he did so promptly.
Do I need to talk about what it was like to hold him on my lap in a tiny seat for 7+ hours? Let's just say, there was a lot of shifting and repositioning. And a lot of counting down the minutes and the miles, which was made convenient for me by the TV screen with map and all the mileage/time information right in front of my eyes. Every so often I closed my eyes, and oh yeah, I also sipped a bottle of water, but mostly I just counted down the minutes and the miles. And shifted and repositioned. Trying not to get a blood clot.
Actually, it was a pretty good situation overall (except for the physical strain on my body from holding a 28 pound child in the tiniest seat known to man). The man next to us closed his eyes and fell asleep the moment the plane took off and slept until the moment we landed. He never once complained when occasionally Caleb startled in his sleep and accidentally bumped him on the leg. Afterwards, he remarked that Caleb was "very good." Of course he was. My child was quietly happy when awake and quietly sleeping the rest of the way, while at various parts of the plane, there was persistent crying from babies and shrill screams from toddlers who were obviously looking for their toddler beds. When he saw us coming, he may have thought: "Oh no, my intended pastime for this redeye is doomed, I will not be able to sleep now." But it was not so. He was able to and he was actually the perfect seat-mate, if there is such a thing. One that didn't bother us one bit, not even to go to the restroom.
The man across the aisle on our left spoke to us at the end of the flight and it turned out his wife was Hungarian and he was going to Budapest. (He wanted to know if I was speaking Hungarian to Caleb.) We struck up a conversation and he told me the gate number to the Budapest flight, which was very helpful, as you will see in the rest of our story.
Frankfurt as a place of transit is a disaster, people. I have flown into Frankfurt before, but I don't think I have ever transferred there. I don't know if they were under construction or what, but instead of going in through a tunnel to the airport terminal and walking over to your gate, in Frankfurt you must board a bus on the tarmac, be bussed into a part of the airport where Information tells you "I am closed," never mind that it's 11 AM their time, everyone is standing around with a look on their face that says, where did these people drop us? A hundred able-bodied persons are waiting for the elevator, because Information is Closed and they cannot find the escalators, (or who knows, maybe they're just lazy), finally you are told that you must go through Passport Control and Security yet again, and Welcome to Frankfurt, but good luck trying to catch your next flight.
Our situation was complicated by the fact that we did not get our Boarding Pass at the beginning of our trip for this last flight, and it turned out that our Flight Number as well as the Airline had changed. I would have not known which gate to make my way toward had the man with the Hungarian wife not shown me his boarding pass. Because, remember? In Frankfurt, INFORMATION IS CLOSED. And they drop you off a bus at some abandoned part of the terminal where there is no information. You're on your own!
So after I figured out that I can get my Boarding Pass at the magical B2 gate, there we are standing in line at Security, and it is a painfully slow-moving line, many others are nervous about missing their flights. (It was comforting to hear that their flight was leaving at 12:25, whereas mine was leaving only at 12:55.) Some are asking the attendants about the wait... and what about their flight... Nothing against Germans, but these people were the LEAST HELPFUL BUNCH here, in Frankfurt. And DISORGANIZED, too. Please remind me to never transfer in Frankfurt again.
I had God on my side. I breathed a quick prayer about not missing our flight and what do I notice? The gate that we're supposed to be going to is right in front of us, past Security. It wasn't too much longer and we were at the gate, getting our Boarding Pass, being asked if we want to drop off our stroller right there, because they are ready to start boarding right now and we can be first. Well, well... this is a different turn of events, isn't it? A few minutes ago I thought I might not even be on this flight.  It took 2 hours to get through the airport to catch this flight. The bus again takes us out to the airplane, we board, and since we were first in line, we have time to get some water from the stewardess and use the restroom before the flight takes off for Budapest. Perfect.
Caleb was very tired, but very good on this flight too, finger-playing with the elderly gentleman on our right, smiling at everyone, and devouring a sandwich and a chocolate granola bar with Mama. Upon landing, the man with the Hungarian wife showed up just in time to help me carry the stroller down a long flight of stairs and that was basically the end of our sojourn. We were home.
Caleb took to his Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Barbara right away, the same way he took to his other grandparents last month. He is becoming such a social butterfly. Cheerful too, right off the long flight, enjoying the rest of the afternoon with the family, happily playing with all his new toys. Exploring his environment. Enjoying the attention.
We rested the next day and went out today to Margaret Island, where he had SOOOO MUCH FUN running around in the garden, feeding all kinds of birds at a little bird sanctuary and playing on the playground. I have pictures and am trying to figure out where to upload them. My Photo Album is just about full. Stay tuned, I may just upload them right on this page.
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