The airport run
We landed at the Frankfurt airport around 10am local time Thursday morning. The place is colossal. The journey from our arrival gate to our European departure gate was a 20-minute walk that included stairways, an underground tunnel, and as many twists and turns as a Robert Ludlum novel.
Once we figured out where we needed to be, I had a couple of hours left to get my run in. If I didn't do my Thursday run at the airport, I'd have to do it after dark in the tiny Spanish town where we spent our first night. So I changed into the running clothes I had brought in my carry-on and packed my passport, boarding pass, and a few euros into a ziploc to take with me.
I had done some research ahead of time, and also asked around at the airport, so I knew there was a forest with trails nearby. I found my way outside and started running on a sidewalk that led from the arrivals area to a nearby freeway. By the time I got to the freeway underpass and found the entrance to the forest, I didn't have much time left, as I had told Dave I'd be back in an hour. That included all the walking to get out of the airport and also getting back through security.
But still, I got about 10 minutes of solitary running time in this beautiful forest in addition to the time it took me to run there and back. It was a pretty cool way to spend a layover.
I had to spend a good 20 minutes waiting to get through security, of course -- and even though I put my passport baggie and my camera and even my running watch into an X-ray bin, I managed to set off the metal detector. The woman controlling traffic there gave me and my running outfit a very puzzled look and then directed me to the woman with the hand scanner.
Only later, as I cleaned up and changed, did I realize I had forgotten to take my heart rate monitor strap off before walking through. Oops.
I really liked the little bit I saw of Germany. Everyone we encountered at the airport was very cool and friendly. I'd like to go back some day. And not just on the way back to the U.S. from Spain.
November 9, 2007 10:48 AM
Dude, that's impressive.