Day 1: Getting to Europe

Planes, trains, and taxis - he he

We took a United flight from Cleveland to Frankfurt (stopping in Washington, D.C.), with the last part managed by Lufthansa. This was an overnight flight that arrived around 7AM local time. We had dinner and breakfast during the flight. We ordered the vegetarian option, which was excellent (a teriaki dish for dinner).

The high-speed ICE train to Bonn (from the Frankfurt airport) felt like a James Bond movie. We took a taxi (unbelievably clean) from Bonn to Bad Godesburg, where Sacha works. In Bad Godesberg, we stayed at the Hotel Zum Adler, walking distance (a few blocks) from Media Tenor (Sacha's employer).

Hotel Zum Adler is a three star hotel. There are five stars total (deluxe, excellent, comfort, tourist, economy). Adler was truly comfortable and clean. It is a three hundred year old building but the inside was totally restored with what I would call a sleek and high-tech and very updated bathroom in our room. The down comforters were outstandingly comfortable. It was what people called "cold" with high temps in the 50s.

Bad Godesberg reminds me of the opening street scene in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The whole thing felt like I was in a movie. There's the baker, the shoemaker, the innkeeper ... and a great hustle and bustle of people walking and on bicycles. Godesberg is the castle on the hill that is the center point of the city.

[On the trans-Atlantic flight we saw Lives of Women (starring Meg Ryan), which was an average movie (with Meg Ryan battling breast cancer throughout). Blades of Glory with Will Ferrell and Napoleon Dynomite was funnier than I expected. Will Ferrell goes through a transformation similar to Anchorman, where he becomes a better person in the end. Napoleon Dynomite and Jen from The Office fall in love.]