Sunday, December 17, 2006

A tale of a (semi)long trip - Part II/II

The real challenge of the trip began just as I thought I was about to board the plane that would take us from Caracas, Venezuela to Milan, Italy. Instead of hearing the common announcement of "Passengers with children, please step forward", I was asked to step in a different line and had to give EVERY single detail of the purpose of my trip. The pages of our passports with our German visas were scanned and after a long questioning I was told to wait aside (while the rest of the people made a line to board the plane).

I thought I was getting special attention and that soon, a crew member would escort me to my seat. In the meantime, I recognized a couple of Indian men who were also being questioned throughly. The instructions were being shouted at them and it made me mad to see that immigration officers didn´t realize that the Indians were not deaf...it was just that they didn´t understand Spanish. I got really mad when I saw that the Indians had to wear a special reflector vest, that looked like it was necessary to point them out from the crowd. "That´s racism!", I thought. But then my real surprise came when I was told to wear the same vest...and I started to get really nervous when someone from the airport staff warned me not to let go of Fabi for one second. I thought he meant that Fabi could be taken away from me (kidnapped?) if I was not holding him at all times.

A young airport staff member gave me and the Indians some instructions. We were to follow her -always walking directly behind her in a straight line and to have our luggage keys in our hands. I translated for the Indians and they obviously felt very relieved, but I think the staff member felt more relieved because she didn´t have to use her poor English anymore when addressing the Indians. I still didn´t know what was going on and everytime I tried to ask I was given a very short reply to "wait for one moment, please".

After a very uncomfortable wait, the airport staff member lead us down some stairs into the airport runway! In the middle of all those airplanes and buses and luggage carts! No wonder we needed reflector vests! No wonder we´re suppossed to stay together - in a straight line behind the staff member! No wonder I´m not suppossed to let go of Fabi! But....why are we on the runway (when everybody else is comfortably bording the plane upstairs?)

Well...because we were "randomly" chosen to undergo an extra luggage check...in the presence of army soldiers! (I have to mention here the fact that in Costa Rica there is no army and that the sight of a soldier right next to me holding a huge rifle while I opened my suitcase with one hand and held Fabi with the other one, was very intimidating!)

Luckily, my suitcase was not too messed up once it was opened. And I was glad to get help while closing it again. The other (Indian) passengers also successfully passed the check and we were guided back to the waiting room where the rest of the passengers where boarding. By the time I had to go back up the steps with Fabi and my hand luggage I thought I was going to loose grasp of something...everything was just too heavy and I had to slow down the pace ---while the others just watched!

I could not believe when I realized that we were being guided to the end of the (very long) line of people who were still boarding the plane. The split second I was just about to react and protest, someone tapped on my shoulder and said: "You just came back up from the luggage check at runway level, didn´t you? You don´t need to stand at the end of the boarding line. Go ahead and walk into the plane and find your seat." Ah! Finally someone who makes sense!

The long flight from Venezuela to Italy was very pleasant (actually, *ANYTHING* would have been very pleasant after the horrible experience at the airport in Caracas). When we reached the airport in Milan, I had to collect my luggage and wait for a few hours before my flight to Frankfurt. I was able to put all my luggage in a cart and leave it in a storage room during the time of my wait. I don´t remember what I paid to have my luggage stored, but it was expensive. However, to me it was worth every cent because it allowed me to only worry about Fabi (his food, his diaper change) and it made it very easy for me to get familiar with the airport as I needed to find the place where I had to check in for my next flight.

Fabi and I walked up and down the airport in Milan for hours (actually I ran after him most of the time). We spent so much time at the airport in Milan that I was starting to feel at home. I don´t regret the decision I made to travel without a stroller, and the idea of having him strapped from his waist to my wrist at all times was a complete success!

By the time I was checking in for the 3rd flight of our entire trip, Fabi had slept on my shoulder. However, I didn´t have trouble getting help from a German passenger to hand in my heavy luggage at the Lufthansa counter. Even later, when we were boarding our (4th!) plane from Frankfurt to Nuremberg I was surprised to see so many kind gestures of German gentlemen helping us.

Finally when we reached Nuremberg, we met Ishan who was waiting with a cab that would take us to our temporary apartment in Erlangen center. I was very curious to see Fabi´s reaction towards his father after six long months. But he recognized him immediately ("Papa! Papa!") and walked straight into his arms. I was very happy about that, especially because that meant I could go to the toilet *all by myself*. :)

And that, my loyal reader, is the end of the long story of the trip that brought our family together in Erlangen, Germany in the middle of December of 2006.

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Saturday, December 16, 2006

A tale of a (semi)long trip - Part I/II

When Fabi was 15 months old, I travelled half way around the world with him from India to Costa Rica. The trip lasted 35 hours and everything went very smoothly.

By the time we were scheduled to travel from Costa Rica to Germany, Fabi was a little over 20 months old and I was very anxious about the trip eventhough we were travelling a "shorter" distance.

We had to fly from San Jose, CR to Caracas, Venezuela to Milan, Italy to Frankfurt, Germany to Nuremberg, Germany. Due to the fact that I was not able to change my destination on my return ticket from Mumbai to Frankfurt, I was simulating to stay in Milan for one day (in order to get my luggage), so I could catch a flight from Milan to Frankfurt with another flight ticket.

My biggest concern was...how was I going to deal with a 10+kg baby and 40 kgs distributed in 2 different pieces of luggage in Milan and manage to catch a flight on time?

Well...as it turns out...that should have been the least of my concerns!

Our trip started off very smoothly. Monday, Dec 4th at around 7am, my parents went with us to the airport in Costa Rica and we had plenty of time to say "Good Bye". Our flight left at 10:30am and we reached Caracas about 3 hours later. We only had a snack on the plane.

Once we reached the airport in Caracas, I took a wrong turn and by the time I found the correct line for the check-in of our next flight, I had to wait for my turn hoping Fabi would not run out of patience. I had to hold him for a long time to avoid him from running away from me, so my right arm was already numb from holding his squirmy weight.

Little did I know that the next part of the trip was going to be the real test! Normally they ask passengers who need assistance or with little children to be the first ones to board the plane. But in this case...it looked like they were trying to do the total opposite.

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Saturday, December 09, 2006

Survived a long trip!

I found an Internet Cafe right around the corner from our apartment!

Short version: Fabi recognized his Daddy immediately on Tuesday evening when MasalaDad met us at the Nuremberg airport.

We are staying in the heart of Erlangen. All is very familiar..but there are many things to discover.

It is not as cold as I thought it would be...but 8 to 11 degrees is cold enough. Surprisingly...no snow!

I have a bank account and have done my registration in the city (anmeldung). I have to keep this short, because I have lost practice typing in a german keyboard and in a few minutes Fabi MasalaDad and I will be on our way to the Christmas Market in Nurenberg.

I would like to describe all the details of the long trip ... but that I will do later...as soon as possible.

Thanks to all who have been keeping an eye on this blog for updates. I have many more things to share...for now, I just wanted to say that we reached fine and we are doing ok.

Tschüß!

Monday, December 04, 2006

Leaving on a jet plane...

..don't know when I'll be back again (more here).

I finished packing 5 hours before I had to leave my house. Not bad...

But I'll tell you what's bad...having to say 'Good Bye' to your (first) family...again!... Damn hard!

Sunday, December 03, 2006

I'm almost done packing...

...all I have to do is ...start!