Arrival and first day in Havana at the Cementerio

After the stress of moving and the hustle and bustle of preparations, it was finally time for us on Thursday to head to Cuba, the three of us (Chris and I, and my dad) from Frankfurt. The approximately 11-hour flight with Condor in Premium Economy was very pleasant and uncomplicated.

However, Havana welcomed us very Cuban-like shortly after landing. Our plane taxied from the runway towards the parking position, but there was no parking space available for our plane because a Eurowings aircraft was still standing on our spot and was not ready to depart yet. The pilot kindly asked us for a little patience in a friendly announcement, assuring us that we would continue in 5 minutes. After half an hour, the pilot addressed us again, apologizing profusely and saying, "If you could see what I see in the cockpit, it's like a slapstick comedy." He informed us that the Eurowings aircraft was now ready, but the small vehicle with the marshaller had mistakenly driven away and now both our plane and the other aircraft could not continue. After a full hour (and many impatient Germans in our plane), we were finally able to roll into our parking position and disembark.

At passport control, we had to wait in line for quite a while because a plane from Miami had just landed and many Cubans with full hand luggage also wanted to pass through the control. But everything went well there, and after a while waiting at the baggage carousel, we were relieved to see that all our suitcases had arrived safely.

Fortunately, Cubans are used to waiting, so even two hours after our official landing, my two uncles patiently waited for us to pick us up. So there was the first little warm family gathering at the airport. We were told that my uncle is a kind of Uber driver and we weren't expecting an old rusty Lada to pick us up, making the ride a bit adventurous with five people and three large pieces of luggage.

Shortly after midnight, we checked into our accommodation centrally located in Havana, across from the famous ice cream parlor Coppelia. The furnishings are far from European standards, and the toilet flush had to be repaired with a few tweaks, but the location is great and we even had a refrigerator. Since my dad was so excited to be back in Cuba, we walked to the Malecon promenade even though it was late and we were tired from the long flight, and then we fell into bed.

The next morning, it showed itself in its most beautiful way, even though it wasn't as warm as expected. Then we decided to exchange money and buy water at a small supermarket. The selection in the store was typically Cuban, very limited, but we at least got 5-liter bottles of water and a few cookies. Afterwards, we enjoyed a cozy breakfast with a beautiful view from our fancy balcony.

Then my uncle picked us up and drove us to the pickup point for our rental car. When we arrived, there were only two tiny cars in poor condition in front of the entrance, making us fear the worst. Fortunately, there were more cars around the corner, so we got a relatively new Peugeot 301, albeit in a simple version. After a bit of back and forth with the payment (we'll see if we were tricked when we return the car), we drove leisurely along the Malecon towards the Cementerio (Cemetery).

It was particularly important for me to go to the Cementerio on the first day in Havana and visit my late grandfather's grave, as I did not have the opportunity to attend his funeral at the time. The cemeteries in Cuba have white above-ground stone graves, and the Cementerio in Havana is particularly beautiful with its many memorial graves and monuments. For this reason, it seems to be a new tourist attraction, as soon as we arrived, it was clear that tourists are brought here in masses by buses and there are many guided tours. For us, who want to visit deceased family members on this cemetery, this hustle and bustle seems somewhat disrespectful. It was nice to visit my grandfather's and grandmother's graves there together with my dad and Chris, and we also placed a small bouquet in remembrance. After that, we strolled through the avenues of the Cementerio for a while, and a little further away from the main entrance, everything was quiet again.

Back at the accommodation, we had a typically Cuban meal at the small bistro next door: Ropa vieja (similar to pulled pork) and vaca frita (fried beef) with Congrís (rice with black beans) and delicious juices.

Since we wanted to see more of Havana today, we first leisurely walked to the Malecon, then continued to the promenade/avenue Paseo del Prado almost to the beginning of Havana Vieja (Old Havana), and as a reward for the walk, we each treated ourselves to a Mojito with live salsa music at the Hotel Inglaterra.