So anyway, business class from Detroit to Paris was all right. I have to admit, having a plane seat that can recline to almost horizontal did make sleeping a bit easier on the plane. Jeana didn't sleep at all, her body denies her the opportunity to do so at 30,000 feet. Anyway, they pamper you with hot moist towels and offer you champagne every hour while you're awake. I found that amusing. To be honest, I'm not sure having that comfortable a chair would be worth the extra $2000 cost for business class(we got these with frequent flier miles). Then again, I can sleep almost anywhere, don't need a glass of champagne every hour, and definitely don't need a hot towel or special socks to put over my other socks so they don't get dirty. If they can figure out a way to pressurize a cabin with a titch of humidity so it doesn't take 48 hours to get my sinuses straightened out, then I would be willing to throw down a bit more cash.
The Paris airport was busy, laid out in a confusing fashion, and just generally annoying. We cleared passport control and it spit us into the non-security area of the airport, after which we learned that the SkyClub we had free passes to was in the secured section and in a gate area separate from where we were leaving... so we couldn't access it anymore. We found a smaller SkyClub outside our gate, but were denied use of the passes, for a really stupid reason. The conceriege desk said we could only use them if we were departing on an Air France flight. Which we were, but because it was a codeshare purchased through Malev Airlines, they wouldn't let us use them. So we flew across the Atlantic on Air France (codeshare with Delta), were leaving CDG with Air France, but could not use the Air France salon because the departing flight was not purchased on Air France (mind you, we used Orbitz for that segment of the trip). Not only that, but I wrote the date on the passes, and we were denied, they now became useless if I wanted to use them anywhere else. Needless to say, Delta will be getting a crabby letter when I return.
I paid $15 for a wireless connection, which worked only where I paid. It didn't anywhere else in the airport, though we were welcome to shell out another $15 to sign on to a different wireless network elsewhere in the airport. What a scam. I eventually gave up and just logged in on the 3G network for a minute or two at a time to send emails and such.
Our flight from Paris to Budapest was scheduled to leave at 8:20. We would have a one-hour layover in Budapest, then a 3-hour flight to Tel Aviv. However, the French air traffic controllers apparently are striking, and as a result we left an hour late. Somehow, the gate attendant upgraded us to business class (I think so we could exit the plane quickly due to the lost layover time), which was nice in that we got the personalized attention and more leg room, but it was only a 2-hour flight to Budapest, so I didn't really care one way or another.
When we hit the ground in Budpest, it was 11:15... and the flight for Tel Aviv left at 11:30. They had called ahead, as there were about 10 people on our flight making this connection. All of us had to run through the airport. The Budpaest airport is divided in two halves with a 1/2 mile walkway between them, and no people movers. So we got our exercise for the day. We jumped on and they closed the plane doors, and that was that.
We arrived in Tel Aviv about 4 AM. Apparently, the Israelis like to schedule most of their arrivals and departures in the wee hours of the morning for security reasons. But let me tell you something, Ben Gurion is the most beautiful airport you will ever see. It is laid out so that it makes sense, with many of the gates coming off a center hub. Kind of like MSP, but more compact and efficient. Where there is no carpet, they either used beautiful marble or ergo-like stuff, and it all is just gorgeous. The whole facility is an engineering masterpiece. I've included a photo of this really amazing ramp leading down to the baggage claim, next to which there is a 60 foot wall.
Have had very little time here thus far. We just met Claire, Kirstin and Frank's baby, and I'm sure I'll get a picture or two of Jeana holding her. She is a very happy and energetic baby, and didn't cower from me like most babies seem to do.
I guess I never thought about it much, but upon arriving here I pulled out a phone book and was amazed at the number of Marshak's in it. It's obviously a pretty rare name around the US, but I've always known this name comes from Jewish families in Russia. I would imagine I am somehow related to most of them. Can't say I've ever been someplace where the likelihood of meeting somebody with my surname was likely.
Below is a photo out of our bedroom window at Kirstin & Frank's apartment. It's sort of depressing with an endless view of apartment buildings that all look almost the same. But then again, Israel's population continues to grow and it's not like they have a lot of land to build on.
Hopefully I'll have more to post as we work through the day. Shalom for now.
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