I was a bit concerned about my flight from Beijing to Frankfurt because Lufthansa had a one-day strike yesterday. I was imagining the full load from yesterday showing up today to compete with us for seats.
Turned out to be one of my best days on this trip, for the taxi ride was uneventful. Well, actually, after a few minutes I had to remind the driver to run his meter, which he did. Checking in to Lufthansa was a breeze, the Air China First Club Lounge was serviceable, but their internet system did not allow entry into this blog site. Maybe the St. Regis was an exception.
I previously flew Thai First Class from Bangkok to Narita on an Airbus 380 (that giant plane). The Lufthansa version was much, much better.
Before take-off Champagne Alfred Gratien was served with really fresh macadamia nuts:
I then had a La Guita sherry. Served was caviar (I think the stewardess said was from Italy, but I might have misheard):
Grey Goose was the vodka. It is made from French wheat, distilled five times and cold filtered. There were also dishes of beef carpaccio, cod fish and a caprese salad with basil oil. My main course was roast lamb loin with polenta, spinach and ratatouille:
The white wine was a 2011 Kamptal Gruner Veltiner Reserve, while the red was a 2006 Chateau Olivier Cru Bordeaux.
The dessert was a French apple tart, accompanied by two blue cheeses, which I had with a 2008 Niepoort Port:
I watched three movies, one each from China, Hong Kong and Korea, and just had to have a Johnny Walker Blue Label Scotch on rocks. The restroom was three the times the normal size:
This was a nine hour flight, so after lunch came dinner. First a pan-fried tuna with caviar and red pepper jelly:
The main entre was a braised beef cheek ravioli with porcini mushrooms, plus a glass of beer and a Cognac Lheraud Cuvee 30:
What a waste, but I had one ravioli and a sip of cognac. I skipped the dark chocolate fudge cake.
You know how tedious it can be to fill out those immigration/customs forms, then stand in line to get to your baggage? Well, entry into Germany involved no forms and a quick glance at your passport. Then, I did not have to fend with taxi drivers, for the Sheraton is a mere seven minute walk away.
Tomorrow? I might train into Frankfurt to have a frankfurter.
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