Day 01 - 02 Rochester to Hamburg

Day 01 - 02: From Rochester NY to Hamburg, Germany

Date	02 - 03 Dec 2025
Total Jutlandica:	(tbd) miles.
Total Germany 2025	(tbd) miles.
Total Spain 2025	245 miles
Total All Roads:	2353 miles
Airplane:	$ 1020
Total Airplane(s):	$ 1020
Travel Insurance:	$ 132
Buses / Trains / Taxis & Rides:	$ 26 Lyft to airport $ 4 S-Bahn
Total Transportation:	$ 30
Food:	$ 6 Dunkin' 10€ Madrid arpt
Total Food:	$ 18

Taking Lola and Gimli for a walk before my ride gets here

On the Road

In the morning, a quick stop at the YMCA for a workout. Just to loosen up a bit. 

American Airlines is scheduled to take off it 3:30 p.m. Hoping for problem free traveling. 

1:15 p.m. arrive the airport. Pretty quick check-in with American Airlines. Although just received a notice that my plane is already delayed 30 minutes to Philadelphia. That's why I'm glad I I chose the flight with a 3-hour layover.

1:30 p.m. Through the TSA checkpoint. No problems.

3:30 p.m. Should be on the plane to Philadelphia, but maintenance issues at point of origin means there's no plane here. 

5:00 p.m. Our plane finally arrived 2 hours late. After a few minutes to get the plane ready, we are boarding. Expectation is a landing about 6:15, hopefully at the gate at 6:30 p.m. which means I'll have to hurry but I can make the terminal change and get to the gate for my plane to Madrid at the last minute. 

5:30 p.m. Plane is going thru de-icing. With luck, I will be running thru the Philadelphia airport by 6:45 for the 7:05 boarding to Madrid.

6:50 p.m. In Philadelphia Airport. Deplaned and now waiting for the shuttle to the terminal A. Flight to Madrid boards in 15 minutes.

7:15 p.m. Made it to the gate for my flight to Madrid. Boarding has already commenced. Waiting for my group to be called. 

7:45 p.m. The flight attendant just offered to move me from a row with three people where I had a window seat to a row of two seats with only me. This is a no-brainer because it's also in the next class forward in the cabin. I don't know what I'm sitting in but it's better than where I was. LOL ... I see what's going on, it's weight distribution on the airplane.

9:00 a.m. Arrive Madrid. 

10:15 a.m. Sitting down for a Cafe Con leche and depostre (dessert) in the terminal for Madrid Barajas Airport. 

Once again it was providential that I booked a long layover. Downloaded the Iberia app so that I could get my boarding pass for the flight from Madrid to Hamburg. I was able to check in but the boarding pass would not download. 

So I had to exit the passenger area, go up to the check-in counters and get a paper boarding pass up there. 

Then I had to go back through security here. 

If I had scheduled a tight connection, I would have missed it.

The information for my flight to Hamburg will be posted in about half an hour.

One of the things I enjoy is my Spanish skills. Every thing I've done in the airport from dealing with the Iberia personnel over the boarding pass, talking with security, to ordering my little breakfast is all in Spanish.  Not going to English at all here. 

That's about to change as soon as I land in Germany. lol

12:00 p.m. Boarding for the flight to Hamburg. 

During the flight my travel companion was a delightful young woman from Germany, Anna.

We chatted most of the flight, switching between English, Spanish and German as we needed the words.

It made the last leg interesting. She just moved back to Hamburg after working in Madrid for the past 10 years. 

3:15 p.m. Arrived Hamburg, Germany.

4:15 p.m. On the S-Bahn S1 line and heading to the hostel.

Another chance to test out my German when I needed info about validating my S-Bahn Ticket. 

5:00 p.m. Reached the youth hostel. Travel is done. Little bit of rest and then out to see what's to see

Meaningful Moment

Negotiated my first speaking German conversation here. Wasn't sure if my rapid transit ticket was validated, so I asked a guy in German about the ticketing procedures. And he got it all explained to me and I understood.

Random Thought of the Day

Yesterday I called the hostel in Germany where I want to spend two nights and did the entire conversation in German. Was absolutely proud of myself. My language abilities are getting better. Absolutely not claiming fluency, but I am feeling functional.

Met Dan at the airport in Rochester, who is a fellow Osher Irish Literature student. What a coincidence!

He's headed to Barcelona for a cruise with family, while I'm headed to Hamburg to begin solo backpacking through Northern Germany. 

Morning breaking over Spain. Less than an hour to Madrid. 

On the ground in Madrid