Madison—Grandma's house—O'Hare—Frankfurt—Addis Ababa—Lusaka
Our Big Journey started with a 2-hour delay at O'Hare (that occurred after we'd already boarded on the plane) thanks to the storms across the Midwest. The good news is that airlines have finally figured out how to start their video programming before you achieve cruising altitude, so at least we had entertainment... The bad news is that the delay spelled doom for our planned day-trip to Heidelberg during our 11-hour layover in Frankfurt 😞.
No worries — we took the train in to Frankfurt to enjoy the sights, walking along the river, and even take in a river cruise and a nap in a park at the river's edge.
Then on to Addis Ababa where, unfortunately, all we got to see was the inside of the airport (and the beginning of the Sweden-Netherlands game) before heading on to Lusaka.
The entire journey lasted 45 hours (!!) from our house in Madison until our arrival at our home in Lusaka. One never really knows how long one has actually slept on an airplane flight but it was pretty minimal by any standard.
Thank goodness for comfortable beds, earplugs, and a good eye mask! I slept from 8pm until 11am with only one (short) awake period in the middle of the night. Even the crowing roosters and barking dogs had minimal impact on my sleep. Feeling a lot better this morning. Will be interesting to see if/how jet lag kicks in—sometimes I think that, with that long a journey and so little sleep, the sheer exhaustion gets you back on track reasonably quickly...
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| Theo in Römerberg plaza |
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| Rich and napping Theo on our Main River cruise |
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| The "love locks" of the Eiserner Steg (footbridge) |
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| Inside the dreikönigskirche (Church of the Three Kings) |
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| The pulpit of the dreikönigskirche |
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| The park along the river was a lovely place for a nap |
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| Napping with greylag geese |
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