Lufthansa BHX - FRA 10th June (business) and back
Posted: 14 Jun 2006, 00:10Arrived at Birmingham airport at the ungodly hour of 05:30 to check in for the 06:50 flight out. Business check in was empty so took advantage and also checked in for the return flight later the same day.
On up to the 'business' lounge which was how shall I put it....
average. Coffee machine, selection of cold(ish) drinks and 3 yes 3 newspapers. Ah well onto the plane which was a 737-500. Seated in 12A. pushed back at 06:55 and wheels up at a little after 07:00 (fastest taxi out I've had in a long time). Atmosphere on the plane was great, half the passengers also going out to watch England - No singing / shouting or anything, just a really good buzz about the plane.
Landed bang on time at 09:25 local time and straight through immigration and down onto the lower level S-Bahn station.
This is the end of the 'flight' bit............
German rail transport really puts ours to shame. 13 euro's for an all day pass for 4 people and the trains are clean and run bang on time. Travelled into Frankfurt and had a look around before stopping at a cafe / bar to sample a local brew. Then onto a nice outdoor restaurant for a bite to eat before soaking up some of the atmosphere in the centre.
All to soon it was time to head out to the Commerzbank Stadium and once again, considering the volume of fans making their way out the train transfer was superb.
Won't go into details of the match suffice to say England won 1-0 and it was HOT.....Very Hot, I got through 5 litres of water just watching the game.
Arrived back at the airport a little after 20:00 for the 21:45 flight back. Jeez by this time I was tired (having been up since 03:00 the previous morning). Business lounge was as equally unimpressive as Birmingham's, although much larger and really lets Lufthansa down.
Flight back on 737-500 seat 9D can't remember much as I slept for the duration. Landed at 22:10 local time and still had a two hour drive home.
Remember stopping for strong coffee twice on the way home and fell into bed a little before 01:00am
Was it worth it?....... Yes just for the experience of seeing a World Cup game
Is Lufthansa Business class worth it?........ No, but then the Company paid so who am I to complain
Nuremburg next - at least this is an overnighter!