Day 2 - In Transit from Chicago to Russia

I boarded my United Airlines flight UA 952 at 5:45 pm for a 6:15 pm departure to Munich, Germany. I have a rear facing seat in business class. I forgot why I didn’t like facing backward. I am staring straight into the coach cabin and see all the faces of the economy passengers squashed together for this 8 hour flight. The business class seats across the aisle are 2, 4, 2. I am in a 2 on the right side aisle which means the fellow in the window seat has to climb over me at night when I am sleeping. He looks tall so that is an advantage. I have had short people on the inside seat that literally crawled over me.

One of the perks of flying business class is a complimentary pass to the United Club. I let my United Club membership lapse when I retired. They have a buffet and open bar as well as comfortable seating. The United Club in the C concourse is closed for renovation so I went to their location on the B Concourse. It was crowded because the main club location was closed.

Upon arrival at my seat on the plane I am offered a beverage and given an amenities kit. I used to collect the amenity kits and donate them to homeless shelters. The dinner menu is quite nice. For staters there is smoked salmon and fresh seasonal greens with tomatoes, Kalamata olives, carrots and croutons with a choice of salad dressing. The main meal choices are grilled pork chop, Osso-Buco-style breast of chicken, fillet of Turbo and spinach cannelloni. For dessert there is a choice of a cheese selection and/or gelato with choice of toppings to make an ice cream sundae. Prior to landing there will be a fresh fruit selection served with granola, yoghurt, and breakfast breads.

About 45 minutes into the flight the hot towel arrives followed by the warm ramekin of nuts. The drink cart is next with a full selection of premium beverages. Soon the starter and the salad arrive. I chose the pork chop for my main. It was 1.5 inches thick. It reminded me of Patti’s restaurant in Grand Rivers, Kentucky near Green Turtle Bay. We had dinner at Patti’s while we were on the Loop. Tony Forns and I ordered the signature dish the 2″ pork chop. I knew I would probably never be there again so go for it.

Airline food – no so bad.

With an 8 hour flight you have time to catch up on movies. My first choice was the movie Revenant. A story about voyageur type trappers being chased by grizzly bears and Indians. My second movie choice was Anthropoid about WWII spies in Prague attempting to assassinate a top German SS officer. However, by the time I finished dinner and watched two movies there was not much time remaining for sleep. That is the advantage of a 12 hour flight to Asia. There is plenty of time to watch movies and still get several hours sleep.

We landed n Munich on time. I went to the Lufthansa lounge to wait for my next flight LH 2564 to St Petersburg. The person I am meeting in St Petersburg posted on Facebook that he is on his way. I had a gate change from L22 to L10 but it was not a long distance to the new gate. I boarded the Airbus A320-200 and took my seat 3C in business class. Lufthansa’s idea of business class is three coach seats across and leaving the middle seat empty. About the time we were supposed to take off the pilot made an announcement in German but I pickd out the word “problem.” Then he repeats the message in English advising there is a problem closing the cargo door. It will be fixed quickly. Thirty minutes later the pilot advises the technicians need another 15 minutes to analyze the problem.

My most indispensable travel item is my Bose noise reduction earbuds. I used to travel with the Bose headset but it is bulky and my ears got hot. The earbuds are very efficient and light weight. I wear them all the time especially when I am sleeping. There is a lot of air and engine noise at 35,000 feet. They last at least 10 hours on a single charge. Priscilla and I used them on Changing Latitudes when we were off watch. The whine of 980 HP turbo diesels was a bit loud when we were cruising at 25 mph.

An update – one hour after our scheduled departure time the cargo door is fixed. I arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia at 5:40 pm. I quickly cleared immigration and customs and met Zurab at the baggage claim exit. He hired a driver to take us to the Majestic Boutique Hotel Deluxe. There is a foot of snow on the ground. Winter is coming.

Bonus photo – nothing says welcome to Russia more than a carafe of vodka and two glasses.