Thunderstorm closes Frankfurt Airport

Yesterday evening I was flying back from Madrid to Frankfurt with a Spanair flight, which was already an hour late, when the flight was suddenly diverted to Stuttgart!

The reason for the diversion was an unusual event in Frankfurt – the airport was closed for all starts and landings.  This was due to a thunderstorm over the airport.

What this meant for me was that instead of landing at 21:05 in Frankfurt, the plane landed at around 21:30 in Stuttgart, having circled over Frankfurt-Hahn for a while.  Here it re-fuelled, and later flew on at 23:30 to Frankfurt, arrived just after midnight and coming to a stop far away from the terminal, leaving the passengers to be taken by bus and wait another 45 minutes for the baggage to arrive.

Whilst I appreciate that it was better to continue the journey on the same aircraft to Frankfurt rather than being put onto a train or even a bus, the information available to the passengers could have been better.

Firstly, when we landed it was announced in Spanish and English that we would be going to the terminal and then await further instructions – which was translated into German as “wir fahren erstmal zum Terminal und dann… keine Ahnung”.  Keine Ahnung did not go down well!

Then at 22:25 we were told to fasten our seatbelts as we would be flying in 4 minutes – those 4 minutes turned into an hour.

JK127 from Madrid - via Stuttgart

JK127 from Madrid - via Stuttgart

What really took the biscuit was the answer given to a passenger who asked – in Spanish – about compensation for the late arrival – I don’t know whether they missed a connect flight, or were just enquiring.  They were told that it was a weather problem, and so not covered by the usual rules.

BUT if we had taken off on time, we would have landed before the storm, but we didn’t even board on time!  How do you explain that, Spanair?

I have filled out a EU complaint form (Regulation 261/2004 being the important number to know at such times!) and see what happens.  I didn’t find “I hope you had a pleasant flight” quite so appropriate last night.

Eine aufregende Begegnung…

hatten eine Katze und ein Fuchs miteinander wie ich bei n-tv.de gelesen habe.

Ein junger Fuchs hatte sich im baden württembergischen Tübingen durch eine Katzentüre in eine Wohnung geschlichen. In dieser wurde er jedoch nicht sehr freundlich von einer Katze empfangen, die ihn durch die Wohnung jagte, bis er sich schließlich im Keller versteckte.

Die Besitzerin erwachte durch den Tumult und fand ihre Katze ganz geschafft im Wohnzimmer liegend. Sie verständigte die Polizei und diese brachte den verängstigten Fuchs zurück in den Wald.

Ich denke, so schnell wird sich der kleine Räuber wohl nicht mehr in eine Wohnung trauen wo ihn wilde Katzen empfangen. Und anscheinend sind Katzen als Wachhunde auch nicht so schlecht.

Are you allowed to have a barbecue?

On hot summer days people in Germany love to have a barbecue, the only trouble is that with so many people living in flats there are laws and other rules on when you can have one and even how. Even if you do own a house, having one in your back garden can be subject to regulations!

Having a barbecue in Germany is called “Grillen”, and the supermarkets are full of charcoal, instant barbecue sets, and of course sausages, steaks, marinated chicken breasts and other things to cook such as special cheeses. Often people will also eat salad with the meat.

The main ways of cooking are either on charcoal or using an electric barbecue. Using charcoal usually tastes better, but the problem is that the smoke has a habit of going towards one’s neighbours, which can often end in arguments. To avoid this, most people who live in any form of tower block or multi-family building have rules called the Hausordnung, which are meant to govern such situations.

Sometimes this can mean giving advance notice to the neighbours, but more often than not it it just bans the use of any non-electric barbecue on the balconies.

An electric barbecue or "Grill"

An electric barbecue or "Grill"

Because of this, the rules for having a barbecue in any given street can vary from house to house or from block to block! The only real way to know what is allowed is to read the Hausordnung or sit down with your neighbours and agree with them beforehand.

After a number of cases went to court in the 1990s about these problems, most people have resorted to using electrical barbecues on their balconies, with only those with large gardens still using charcoal. It means that for many, the only time people actually eat meat cooked over a fire is on days such as Maifeiertag, Christi Himmelfahrt and Fronleichnam when many churches, clubs and organisations have their annual fetes or open days and are usually able to cook on their grounds as they wish.

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