Tuesday, January 21, 2020 - Part Two


On to the hotel

The flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul is only three hours long and I’ve got a great book that Beqi recommended, The Starless Sea.  It’s not a full flight and the seat next to me is, once again, vacant! They serve us a chicken sandwich on sunflower bread!!  And when I just ask for water, the flight attendant asks if I don’t want some wine;  they have a lovely German riesling!  So how could I refuse!

We land almost exactly at six p.m., as advertised!  The signage is terrific and getting through passport control is a breeze.  Along the way I get a call from our driver, confirming that he’ll meet us at Gloria Jean’s Coffee Shop.  Baggage claim is also easy to find and there’s a big digital board telling which carousel goes with which flight.  I’ve just started watching the bags go around when someone behind me puts his arms around my neck!  I hadn’t even had time to wonder how we were going to meet!!

The new Istanbul airport is beautiful and efficiently laid out, with great signage!


My bag shows up, we go to the coffee shop and pretty soon our driver appears!  We ride in his big Mercedes van to the Sura Hagia Sofia Hotel, clear across town, and check in to our large room with a big bed and even a spare one on which to spread out our stuff!  Life is good.

Comments

  1. MarilynJanuary 21, 2020 at 11:53 AM

    So happy to read all the updates at once and see that you had a good flight with room to spare. Lufthansa takes such good care of its customers. Thinking of you often. Love you lots. Be safe and have a grand time.

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