Thanks to Natasha B the new itinerary was business class all the way, two flights on Lufthansa and one on Ethiopian Airlines. This gave me access to the Lufthansa BC lounge in both Boston and Frankfurt. This is not to be confused with the Senators Club, which is the name of the first class lounge, apparently reserved for royalty and famous sports stars. Sort of a red carpet/blue carpet thing. Plenteous and fresh food and open bar (as in help yourself), and in Frankfurt, a shower. I wish I had known about the shower part.
This best part about BC though is the lie-down-to-sleep part. The seats adjust endlessly, including into a flat platform for sleeping. All kinds of coloring books are provided--personal screen for TV, movies, learning things, listening to music with actually comfortable head phones. It seemed they were serving three course meals (in courses, not all on one tray) every couple of hours. Choice of welcome water, OJ or champagne or a combo. I finally realized I could say "no, thank you."
As they say ion Georgia, I was totally "lyin' to fit in." The flight from Frankfurt to Addis involved a stop, unbeknownst to me ahead of time, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was an offloading only stop for refueling and onward passengers were required to stay aboard and in our seats. I think this counts as being in Saudi as much as my layover in Hawaii en route to New Zealand counted many years ago!
As we taxied out for take off to Addis, the pilot suddenly stomped on the brakes and announced a medical emergency. EMTs arrived with kits that included a two liter bottle of Coca Cola--the universally recognized antidote for everything imaginable. Soon they were helping a young man walk off the plane and into an ambulance waiting below on the tarmac. And we were underway for Addis, rewarded for our constancy by a bright orange and gold sunset over the Red Sea and then a blindingly bright full moon as we approached Addis.
Deplaning from the quiet of an almost empty business class cabin into the arrivals hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is an assault on all senses. Crowds, noise, the smell of meat being grilled, colors, many languages in frenzied chaos. Thankfully, Ethiopian Airlines staff are to a person happy in their work such that each one is approachable and helpful and smiling. I did not hesitate to ask the first one I found where I needed to go for an overnight transit visa and a hotel.
One line and $70 later, and amazingly zen compared to Tuesday, I held my hotel voucher (included transportation, breakfast and dinner) and transit visa in hand and proceeded through immigration to baggage. On the way I had to wait while some young adult male travelers had a good time playing and throwing their bags down an escalator while taking videos of each other. If I thought the scene was chaotic before, the baggage and customs hall topped it all. Long lines of people with unimaginable amounts of luggage waiting to have it screened to enter the country. I had been told enough times (to be slightly anxious about it) that I needed to get my own two heavy bags and transfer them to an EA desk for the morning flight. But they did not show up on the carousel. Consulting a young man who appeared to be about12, I was assured the airlines had already transferred them. Another lesson learned about wasting energy on worrying.
And great relief that my bags, which contained an amount of liquid in excess of the allowance, did not have to go through the screening machines. I approached the security supervisor (also very young) and said I had nothing to declare and wondered where I was supposed to exit. He laughed and said, "You mean you don't want to stand in the queue?" and then opened the way for me to walk out. I found the hotel coordinator and eventually was grouped with others going to the Panorama Hotel.
Within a half hour we had been transferred by van to the hotel, taking a route that first involved a modern highway and then dirt roads in very bad condition through an area filled with construction (as much as we could see).
At this point, my only and obsessive thought was about a hot shower. And I was a happy camper when I discovered hot water, a big towel, and a bar of soap. Thanks to EA I got a good night's sleep before the final leg of my journey from Addis to Brazzaville, where the Embassy expediter and my dear daughter, all decked out in her very Congolese business suit,were on hand to welcome me. I had started in Vermont on Tuesday and arrived in Brazzaville on Friday afternoon. Whew and hallelujah!
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