Lufthansa: It's A Love Affair, People.

The One.

I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to my new girlfriend, Lufthansa.

She's hot, she's classy, she's unexpected. God, she's good. Holy cow. I had no idea flying could be like this. I am holding a coach ticket, nothing out of the ordinary, and yet... Lufthansa has treated me so incredibly well. So well, in fact, that I'm not totally sure how to describe it. But I shall try. Because this trip is already epic. And I'm only in the air so far.

// There she is, landing like a pro in Munich // Clutching my passport for the first time in YEARS // Stevie sporting good ol' Elliot Hunt's gear - thank you so much! // Plane planning with the travel gospels. Rick Steves preaches the good news, on travel, that is. // Wine, Pellagrino and movies. What more is possibly needed? //

Talk to Me.

First of all, everything on this darling airline is in German. How grand. I've seen enough of Delta's safety videos, so it was a nice break to not understand a THING on this flight. Gee golly, thanks so much for not speaking English. Seriously. I am happily ensconced in my RS travel books and this throaty, exotic language is just icing on the Euro cake. The flight attendants just smile at me and all I see is blonde. Girls who speak foreign languages are hot. And Lufthansa is no exception.

She Feeds Me.

Second of all, Lufthansa fed me like a queen. We are talking big time. After 2 glasses of wine, dinner, dessert, tea AND a digestive in the form of Baileys (all complimentary!), I was about ready for bed. In my sweet bulkhead chair. With my chic Euro yellow and gray blanket. Let's be honest, that's all anyone really wants in this world. A warm blanket, a hot and tasty meal, a sufficient buzz and falling asleep to a good ol' Hollywood entertainment (over 64 movies available for my viewing pleasure!) And now I've fallen in love. Oh Lufthansa.

PS - The video below looks a little trippy, but it should straighten out once you hit play. Hee hee hee.

Lufthansa, How I love thee. from Kristen Hale on Vimeo.

She Leaves Me Be.

It's time. I'm off to sleep. The soft Lufthansa lights have dimmed and I'm feeling warm and tucked into airborne Heaven. Stevie is already snoring next to me. His movie finished a good thirty minutes before mine (Let's be honest, Melissa McCarthy, I love you, but Identity Thief was far too long, k?) and now its my turn to, well, turn in. I shall probably dream in German. How enlightening. First stop, Munich! Only a few hours to go...

Adventure: Getting Air

Teeny Tiny Plane.

That's what I took a ride in. Do you see the smallness of that precious, tiny airplane?? Oliver, who is a dear friend and classmate of Stevie's, offered to take us (and our other good friend, the beautiful Andrea) up in the sky for a leisurely flight over the city. Because apparently some people fly planes as a hobby. I watch movies, bake treats and lick the cookie batter off the beater. Those are my hobbies. But Oliver, well, he flies planes. He spent his youthful years in Germany studying and training in order to get his pilots license, and now he's the guy that says, "Well, on Saturday I'm planning on flying over Boston. Wanna come?" I literally laugh everyday at the amazing people that I've met over the past year and a half. Oliver is one of those amazing, talented people. Coincidentally, so is the beautiful Andrea. (I like Andrea so much that I wrote

an article

about her. It's a real girl crush.)

Map.

Oliver chose to fly Sky Hawk on this particularly gorgeous day. Does that sound like a James Bond movie to anyone else? Apparently Sky Hawk is his favorite plane in the plane park (I clearly have no idea what you call a place that holds tiny planes for people like us to ride around in. 'Airport' seems too ordinary a word for this experience.) We flew over the downtown area of Boston and then headed over Cambridge, where we checked out their school (see below for the stadium photo!) and we even saw our apartment! All from the sky. Who are we. This is a once in a lifetime experience. Oh my gosh.

Mmm.

I mean, is it just me or do I look like I'm in an episode of "The Bachelor" right now? That's certainly what I felt like as I was climbing into this tiny (have I mentioned just how tiny this plane was? I mean, the size of a Fiat. Or smart car. Bitty baby plane.) Except that in "The Bachelor" those girls are never appropriately dressed for the elements, and I actually stayed quite toasty in my layers.

Moment.

I know that flying in a plane is no big deal. People do it everyday and its not any kind of magical experience. But on this day, our experience felt special because: A) Our friend was the pilot (duh, so cool) and B) I had this moment.

It sort of hit me as we were elevated 3000 feet above our city. There I was, seeing the Earth in a way I've never seen it. Having a bird's eye perspective gave me a little metaphysical perspective, too. Life can be strange and unexpected and sometimes, a friggin' bummer, but wow, when you see the whole picture... it's honestly breathtaking. And I wasn't realizing all of this just because my center of gravity was off and I was a little nauseous from sitting in the back. Seeing Cambridge, my town, from up above was a little overwhelming. This is a place that my husband and I used to talk about, used to dream of living in, and here we are 5 years later seeing it sprawl for miles and miles all around. It was captivating and complex and sort of intimidating. Because it was in that moment that I realized that I am living in the dream. This adventure was our dream for so many years, and now I am able to be a part of my beautiful man living in his dream and thriving in it. And, quite literally, flying over it. Is there anything better? I am so grateful. It hasn't been the easiest adventure, but I bet Frodo would have agreed that not all adventures go the way you plan. Yeah, I went all LOTR on you there (it had to happen.) But honestly, seeing the hugeness of our world from the window of a tiny prop plane got me excited for the future.

Here's to adventures, those dreamed and even those unplanned, coming together before your eyes and sprawling like a masterpiece. I hope you are able to take a moment and realize that some part of your current situation is due a dream you had a while ago. Maybe everything isn't perfect in your world, and maybe the sky is falling. But I bet there is something that was worth fighting for, and you won it, and now you are living in the middle of that dream. What a beautiful moment for gratitude.