Sunday, March 27, 2016 - Berlin to New York
Sunrise in Berlin
A week goes by
fast. Sigh. The last day of our familiar early morning routine. Get up. Get
ready. Get out. The Sofitel had croissants, coffee and juice in the lobby for
those getting an early start. Nice touch. Twenty minutes or so later we arrived
at the completely old and outdated airport. After haggling with the taxi driver
over cash vs credit card (he won), we exited the cab and entered the terminal.
This was a familiar refrain from all the taxi drivers and, in an odd way, made
me feel right at home since NYC taxi drivers also prefer cash.
We made our way
to a dark, cramped check-in area. Berlin Tegel Airport was
built 40 years ago to handle just 6 million passengers a year and now handles
20 million passengers annually. It was scheduled to be replaced in 2012
by a new shiny airport, Berlin Brandenburg.
Delays due to construction incompetence bordering on fraud means Berlin is
still a long way away from saying goodbye to Tegel.
Thanks to our
seats in United BusinessFirst, we had our own check-in area. Additionally,
because I have lifetime Star Alliance Gold status, we had access to the
Lufthansa Senator lounge. Airport lounges are a great place to avoid the crowds
in the terminal, and this lounge was no different. With a view from above we
watched passengers walk by, and watched patrols from the now familiar armed
police.
Mom Tip: He said
it before and now I’ll say it again - status matters. The check in line for
BusinessFirst was 8 persons long; the check in line for everyone else was too
long to count and moved very s-l-o-w-l-y.
After a nice
breakfast in the lounge we went downstairs to the security check. All elite and
business class passengers were funneled through a separate immigration and
security check (with only one security machine!), which took a very long time.
And yet again I
was pulled out for a thorough security check. Darin said I lit up like a
Christmas tree when going through security. Again?!* One person puts your bag
on the conveyor belt. Another person looks at the bags through the security
screen. A third person searches you (thoroughly). A fourth person searches your
suitcase. My inside tip is don’t have Dr. Scholl’s gel insoles in your shoes
when going through airport security. My second tip is pray for the new Berlin Brandenburg to open.
Shortly after
getting through security we were allowed to board our bus to the remote stand.
A beautiful day to fly with clear blue skies, we drove onto the tarmac and
pulled up to our flight. Up the stairs and into the cabin we were warmly greeted
and, with menus in hand, settled in our comfy seats for the 9 hour trip back
home.
The flight was
mostly smooth and, with the exception of being served a completely raw steak
(which was noticed and quickly replaced with a delicious thai shrimp dish), 9
hours zipped by. There’s really no other way to fly and you can’t beat the
comfort and service on a long flight.
We arrived on
time into Newark Liberty International Airport and thanks to Global Entry, we
were through immigration and customs in minutes. No lines. Eight years ago we
also zipped through immigration and customs but this time was different. Now
there was a kiosk into which we stared and placed our fingertips and passports.
After it scanned our iris and our fingerprints and confirmed our passports, we
were waved through by a human being. Welcome Home, he said. Crazy cool!
We settled in the United Club Lounge to wait for our connecting flights. I was
able to grab a shower in the lounge and get refreshed for the 5+ hours to LA.
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