Flying to Germany

When I checked in for the flight, I was given the option of upgrading to business class on the DTW-FRA segment for $800 or 80,000 miles. I grabbed the chance. It turned out to be one of my better decisions. We ended up spending a lot of time on the plane before it even left the ground and I'm glad I wasn't squeezed into one of the regular seats. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

The flight out of Minneapolis was smooth. Again, thanks to TSA Precheck, getting through security was a breeze. The flight to Detroit was on time. The trouble started on hitting Detroit.

After relaxing in the lounge for about 40 minutes, I headed to the gate and found the flight was already boarding, but apparently, I had to check in at the counter to show them my passport before I could board. I was briefly admonished by the gate agent who said in the future, for international flights, I should just stop by the gate agent and get my documents checked when I get to the gate. Anyway, boarded and settled into my Delta One cubicle.

After a while, we were told that there was a storm moving in and since the ground crew cannot work with lightning, they had been called inside. They cannot come out until 15 minutes after the last lightning flash is seen. Soon, it was sunny again and boarding resumed. After everyone boarded and before we could leave, the captain told us that while we were ready to leave (about 30 minutes late at this point), there was another line of storms moving in and the ground crew (including the people who have to push back the plane) had been called in. So, it would be at least another 30 minutes.

The flight finally left about 1.5 hours late and I settled in to eat and drink for the flight. I had the dinner they provided (the Halibut I had requested turned out to be all out and so I had to go with BBQ chicken). I then watched the last episode of Downton Abbey and tried to sleep for a bit. At this point, there were only about 4.5 hours left in the flight.

I managed a couple of hours of sleep before I awoke for breakfast. By the time I was done with breakfast, it was almost time to land.