14.12.18 Berlin-Frankfurt-Beijing

Friday 14.12.18

At 0°C, I walk with my 21kg bag, backpack, and body bag. The airport is packed. Due to an incident, the security is paralyzed and the queue is about 100m long. Two LH flights have already departed and dozens of passengers for these flights are still ahead of me in the line. I actually want to fly at 14:45, but I'm standing in line at 13:15 and have to "skip" some people at some point. I position myself right in front of the entrance and when passengers are allowed in bit by bit, I slide through. The plane departs with a one-hour delay, partly due to this issue and a delayed arrival. Therefore, I only land at 17:00 in Frankfurt. I have to pick up my luggage here and then check in at Air China. My cheap business fare (€1760) on Air China wouldn't have made sense from/to Berlin, as I wouldn't have been able to book the flights in different classes. Therefore, I also have to abide by the baggage restriction of 23kg, as the domestic feeder flight is a normal economy fare and the generous baggage allowance on Air China doesn't apply to checked baggage. But I can't fit much in the camper anyway, and it always makes sense to limit oneself. A number of things will stay in New Zealand, as I only brought them for camping.

I have over 2 hours until the flight to Beijing. The luggage from Berlin arrives after 35 minutes, the way to the Air China check-in is only one floor up, and I'm sitting in the Lufthansa Business Lounge at 18:00 finally treating myself to a liter bottle of mineral water.

Now I'm taking a Dreamliner, a Boeing 787, for about 11 hours to Beijing. Unfortunately, the Chinese food on the menu is very Chinese, including the starters, and I decide against it and order the western meal instead. After watching 1.5 movies, I doze off and sleep until breakfast. The plane lands buttery smooth at 11:50 on 15.12.18 in Beijing at -2°C.