Just rolled in to Munich International at the chipper hour of 1:30 AM EST, 7:30 AM local. I'm sure it's just the giddiness of being in Europe for the first time, but I'm big on Deutschland already. The customs guy was young, friendly, and talkative. I wasn't really sure if he was quizzing me on my destination (student, Budapest, usually study in the US, "semester abroad?"... "you study in a different country for a semester" "ah") for the sake his duty or his desire to break the early-morning monotony with some conversation.
I'm most immediately surprised by the prevalence of English in the airport. I suppose its use is unusually heavy here given the international airport, but surprising regardless.
Within about five minutes of touching down in Germany, I found my way to their "WC" and admired the dry humor of their urinals -- a painted fly resting just above the drain (flies of two different sorts, depending on your urinal. Presumably a collectors series for frequent visitors.).
Fresh out of the customs line and amused by this detail, I cluched my passport and boarding pass between pursed lips, soon to discover you should use this technique with the fold facing outward. Down fell the ticket, but without gratuitous detail, the boarding pass emerged unscathed, caught by a quick hand, the passport remained safely between my teeth, and I began my 3.5 hour stay in Germany with the most ancient of male rituals -- spraying new territory.
I had to pass through security again and made a few observations. First, everything sets off the German metal detectors. I was in a line of about 10 people, and maybe two got through without setting it off. If you have anything more than the iron in your hemoglobin (I suspect the button and zipper on my Levis were to blame), get ready for the wand. Second, the Germans are okay with you keeping your shoes on. They'll get the metal detector wand anyway.
After wandering through the duty-free shopping trap, soaking in the foreign details, and generally feeling like an idiot for speaking nothing but English for about 10 minutes, I found my concourse and, with it, the detail that really sold me on Europe (or just Germany and Lufthansa): the free miniature espresso/hot chocolate/hot water/tea machine.
Liquid joy
Equally fascinating for the miniature scale, myriad of drinks, and it's free-ness. I scoured the area for a price tag and observed several people serve themselves and walk off before I was convinced this amenity was actually free. More surprising still (okay, not really more surprising -- nothing is more surprising to an American than free stuff at an airport), my cappuccino was good.
Delicious cappucino, enjoyed in...
this awesome lounge.
The Germans have also tackled the greatest humanitarian challenge of our generation; that is, indoor smoking. The airport provided "smoking lounges" inside the concourse, which were basically big glass rooms.
The ventilation was well-designed, and I hardly noticed any smell from the lounges. After several cups of free coffee (a cappuccino, a mocha, and an herbal tea) and a nap on top of my luggage, my 3.5 hours of Munich bliss were up. We had a smooth takeoff, and 1 hour, several NYT articles, and a bizarre bologna/cream cheese baguette later, I arrived in Budapest at Ferihegy Airport. Anna, the student coordinator, was in the lobby to greet me after I passed through the desolate customs line (no one in the airport looked at my luggage, my passport, anything. I seriously got off the plane, picked up my checked baggage from the carousel, and walked out the doors along with everyone else).
To quickly summarize Budapest thus far, the taxi ride from the airport was crazy (snowy, narrow roads, lots of merging and tailgating), our first apartment was a little dumpy, and we swapped apartments for another, which we actually like much better. Dinner for the past two nights has been from a Greek (I think?) restaurant, which sells gyros for 500 HUF (1 USD = 190 HUF right now, so about $2.50).
Delicious gyro
Tomorrow we start the two-week language course, and I think the first day starts with a tour of the city. A more complete "Budapest initial impressions" post to come. I'll leave you with an amusing trash can sign from Munich and a view from our first apartment.
Glad to know Munich International has my paper coffee cup taken care of.
Snowy Budapest
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