It was a long flight, but I slept for seven of the nine hours!

Here is the recap.  On the night of the 31st, we all left for Heidelberg.  For those who do not know it, Heidelberg is the epitome of a cheerful little German town.  We walked around for a few hours, but our ultimate destination was Frankfurt.

Back on the train, we opened the wine we had bought earlier.  The only way to describe it is:

Mix one part Shiraz with one part cooking wine.  Add some gin.

It was dreadful.  The five of us could barely finish one bottle, so most of it went to waste.  When we arrived in Frankfurt, we went to the Irish pub across from the station.  Why? Our flight left at 10:00 the next morning, so there was little point trying to sleep.  Besides, it was New Year’s Eve, and getting around later would probably be difficult.  We ordered Guinness and were somehow challenged to a game of pool by a group of women from the Army.  The joking wager was that we would buy them drinks if we lost, while they would buy us drinks if they lost.  We were not entirely sure which outcome we preferred.  Thankfully, we lost when someone sank the eight ball.

Around midnight, we went to one of the large bridges to watch the celebrations. A nearby group launched fireworks from the bridge, sending them in every direction, which was exhilarating but alarming enough to make us keep our distance.

At about 6:00am, we said goodbye to friends who were returning to Spain.  Three of us went to the airport, ate some surprisingly good McDonald’s, and dozed in an airport play area until children arrived to reclaim it. It was quite a wake-up call after a long night.

Eventually, the three of us wandered to the gate, checked in, and boarded.  I was fortunate enough to sleep for almost the entire flight.  It felt like a teleporter.

This trip was tremendous fun.  Our travelling companion was wonderful, it was excellent to see our friends, and we met so many remarkable people.  I did not stay in touch or show my appreciation as much as I should have, but I hope they know how much they added to our trip.