1st Day 20.06.2022 Arrival

After having several events in the past few days, 17.06. Pauline's graduation ceremony, 18.06. Abiball in Hamburg, 19.06. Pauline's concert visit to the Hamburger Stadtpark, we prepared for the trip 'on the side'. Fortunately, from 12.06. the obligatory corona test for entry into the USA was cancelled. Nevertheless, there were various forms to be submitted and printed. As there had been problems with handling at Hamburg Airport in the past few weeks, due to lack of staff and long queues at the check-in counter and security check, we decided to bring the suitcases to the airport the night before. Marie arrived from Passau on Sunday, 19.06. around 5 p.m. Anne and I then went to the airport with the 4 suitcases around 7 p.m. There was already a considerable queue and only 2 counters for Lufthansa. We joined the line and slowly moved forward. Fortunately, we had already checked in online and only had to drop off the suitcases. After about 1 hour, it was our turn and it went smoothly. Next to us at the counter, there was some commotion about cancelled flights. But we were lucky and our flights were scheduled to depart on time. Then we picked up Pauline from the concert in Hamburg and we were home around 11 p.m. to get about 4 hours of sleep. We left for the airport at around 5 a.m. As expected, it was very crowded and we had to wait for about 1 hour at the security checkpoint. Since we had allowed enough time, it was relaxed for us. We could have a coffee and then we boarded the plane to Frankfurt. Due to heavy traffic in Frankfurt, the plane unfortunately took off 1 hour later than planned and then we had to make 3 loops through turbulent air masses. We were able to land around 9:30 a.m. Then we went to the departure gate to New York, where the plane, a Boeing 747-800, was already waiting. After a short waiting time, we were able to board the plane. Here, too, the departure was 1 hour later than planned, around 12 p.m. But after 7.5 hours we landed on time at New York - JFK Airport. When disembarking, I found myself at a different exit of the plane than the other three, so I waited in vain at the exit and panicked slightly as I didn't have a passport with me. After no one else got off, I continued to the immigration control and luckily found the others again. After about 30 minutes of waiting and the immigration interview, we were able to collect our suitcases and leave the airport towards the Air Train. We then took the Metro lines A and G to Clinton_Washington_Ave in Brooklyn. Then a 12-minute walk to our Airbnb. We got into the apartment, which was on the top floor, without any problems. We looked around and unpacked the suitcases. The apartment had a bedroom with a large rooftop terrace, an open kitchen, and a living room with a couch and futon bed, which had enough space for two people. Unfortunately, Anne was not feeling well. After we arrived, she had to lie down in bed due to severe headaches and weakness. The rest of us grabbed our backpacks and cameras/phones and went out to explore Brooklyn. We walked along Myrtle Street towards the Brooklyn Bridge. After 30 minutes, we arrived and admired the panorama towards Manhattan. We didn't cross the entire bridge as we had planned for Wednesday. After taking some photos, we headed back. On Myrtle Ave, there were some shops where we bought breakfast items. Then we got 2 jumbo pizzas from Domino's Pizza and went back to the apartment, where we ate them on the terrace (at least half of them, the rest went in the fridge). During dinner, we saw some birds on the tree in front of the apartment, including a red one that looked like a phoenix.

Unfortunately, Anne still didn't feel well, and now she also had a fever. Get well soon! We went to bed around 10 p.m. and quickly fell asleep.