April's Last Layover - Germany... Part 3

As my most recent layover was practically a deja vu of the same one two weeks earlier, I contemplated whether a blog was necessary. However, I knew that some of my loyal blog followers would get quite upset with me if I neglected to write one. Ahem... Grandma, Ryan, and especially Brandon.

I've just returned home from beautiful Munich, Germany once again. The trip was great to begin with. I entered the briefing room to find that I'd flown with 3 of the crew in economy before, and that my lovely batchmate Ashleigh was on the same flight. Aside from my supy flights, I've never flown with any of my friends, so I was excited for what was sure to be a great 6 hours. The entire economy crew consisted of new staff, the most senior having been flying only 2 weeks longer than me. Despite this, we managed quite well. Ashleigh and I headed to the cockpit to escape the cabin for a few minutes, taking in the sunset on the horizon. Once we'd landed and got our passports stamped, we headed to the hotel where I retreated to my room for the evening. I awoke bright and early the next morning, with thoughts of the amazing buffet in my mind. I could already taste the bacon and the hazelnut bread. In the past two weeks, I've been told by two separate people that I've put on weight. I must clarify that in their culture, this is considered a compliment. However, being born and raised in Canada, the land of soaring obesity rates, I found it a bit hard to say "thank you" for the kind words. There is no denying that my cheeks are a bit puffy, but on a recent layover I stepped on the scale to find that I've gained 3 pounds, at the most. If you've ever been on a longhaul flight, perhaps you've experienced the bloating that comes along with it. By the time that you land, your feet are swollen like a pregnant woman's. My life consists of flights, so I'm blaming the chubby cheeks on my constant bloated state. I've been reassured by a fitness guru and fellow cabin crew member that this goes away after a few days on ground. However, getting back to my original topic... I've still had quite terrible eating habits lately and knew that if I ate at the buffet I'd stuff myself full until I felt ready to burst, trying to make sure that I got my every Euro's worth. I reluctantly decided against it, instead ordering a breakfast wrap and smoothie from room service... both which were incredibly delicious, despite being healthy. I had planned to meet the rest of the economy crew early in the morning to head into the city. I was feeling sleepy as I slowly got ready for the day. I was actually quite relieved when Ashleigh called me, informing me that she was unable to drag herself from the insanely comfortable bed, and that she'd head into the city 2 hours later. I happily agreed to join her, and crawled back into my own bed. The two of us met downstairs later in the morning, bought train tickets and headed to town. I felt like a pro, knowing which station to get off at and where to go. Quite the contrast from the last time, where we'd spent several minutes staring blankly at the subway map. It was a beautiful spring day, and for the first time ever, I was not wearing a jacket in Europe. The sun was shining and it was the perfect temperature for walking around outdoors. Using eachother for moral support, Ashleigh and I browsed an amazing bakery full of beautiful cakes, leaving with only a healthy mango smoothie. We did what I do on every layover... wandered the streets aimlessly, took photos, stared longingly at the desserts in the windows of the many bakeries, and browsed interesting shops full of random quirky knick knacks. Wanting to allow ourselves plenty of time to relax before our flight back to Dubai, we caught the train back to the station near our hotel. Before returning, we made a stop at, you guessed it... the supermarket. I fell in love with this store on my last layover and Ashleigh and I agreed to take our sweet time filling up our shopping baskets. I stocked up on blueberries, raspberries, fresh lettuce (you can not find good salad in Dubai!), bread, the same cabbage rolls that I'd left in my hotel room last time, and of course... chocolate. Despite my new "I'm only eating healthy" plan, I couldn't resist the many aisles devoted to chocolate. I compensated, buying some dark chocolate to allow for binging with slightly less guilt. Once I'd purchased the maximum amount of food that my suitcase had space for, it was back to the hotel. Somehow, Ashleigh and I had both misjudged the time and came back earlier than planned. To make use of my excess free time, I ventured back towards the supermarket, stopping at the bakery next to it to grab a fresh baked pretzel... or "bretzel". I couldn't resist such a yummy traditional Bavarian treat. I went back to my hotel room where I spent some time relaxing and watching British cooking shows on one of the very few English stations on TV. It was time to go back to Dubai, and as I sat on the bus, I watched a beautiful sunset over endless flat fields. It reminded me of home, and I remembered how beautiful Alberta is, even if I've spend a great deal of my adult life finding ways to move to foreign countries. The flight home was the most quiet of any that I've worked so far. The passengers slept, and the call bells were so infrequent that I wondered if perhaps they weren't working. Myself and the rest of the crew sipped coffee to stay awake until we finally landed in Dubai at 6 in the morning. I sleepily headed home, content with a great layover to end off an amazing month full of adventures. So long Germany, for another 2 weeks.