Morag spent only two nights and one day in St Jean Lasseille before making her return journey, which was via a German airport. The departure time meant that the first Frogbus of the day had to be taken – 4.45 a.m. from Le Boulou! This bus now makes an extra stop – at Gerona railway station – so now takes about 15 minutes longer than it used to. The 50-seat coach had one passenger between Perpignan to Gerona rail stations, and one (Morag) from Le Boulou to Gerona airport – one hopes its return journey to Perpignan had more takers, or this service won't last very long... There was then almost three hours to wait at Gerona for the flight to Frankfurt/Hahn with Ryanair – time for breakfast? Sadly the catering facilities at Gerona haven't improved, so a bar of chocolate and a fruit juice had to do (€4.95!).
Having an aisle seat meant it was difficult to appreciate the glorious view crossing the Alps. Approaching Frankfurt/Hahn the pilot announced that the runway was closed (an earlier aircraft’s jet engine having blown rocks onto the runway). This occasioned just enough of a delay to spare the passengers the annoying Ryanair “ahead of schedule” fanfare when the aircraft was finally allowed to land.
Ryanair’s poster makes Frankfurt/Hahn airport look very important – but it’s a place to travel from, not to! On first sight it appeared to be quite pleasant – several different eating places and a few shops in the terminal. Closer inspection however led to the sad conclusion that though the snack bars were all different, they all seemed to serve depressingly similar menus. A walk then? Outside the terminal... just as the first flakes of snow began to fall... soon they were falling thick and fast and covering the car park outside with a layer of white. So... retreat to a snack bar for an early lunch. Lunch over, the sun had come out and begun to melt the snow. This did not make the place look any more attractive! With a nine hour gap between flights… a walk was indicated. So the nearby village was explored – not that there was anything much to find - even its few bars looked closed (Sunday lunchtime not the time to eat and drink in Hahn?). Frankfurt itself is 120 km away so a city visit was not an option!
Having got wet feet during the walk in the snow (why must shoes start to leak when you don’t have spares with you) the logical thing to do was search out some dry socks… with several shops in the airport that shouldn’t have been a problem – but one could buy almost anything to wear, from boots to knickers to sunglasses – except socks! The feet did dry out gradually over the next few hours… This was the first journey made using a “Rufus Roo” jacket to carry all the odds and ends that won’t fit in an airline-locker-size piece of hand luggage. It worked a treat, but the weight on the shoulders was painful after a while!
It's always amazing that so many people feel they must join – or even start – airport queues. After security checks at Hahn there is a lounge with seats, two snack bars and a duty-free shop – but people stand in a queue for passport control, more than two hours before their flight is due to depart. Go figure!
It was an uneventful flight to Stansted with Ryanair, followed by a wait in the cold for the Terravision coach to Liverpool Street, and finally the 78 bus completed the journey home.
Transport: car, Frogbus coach, two Ryanair flights, Terravision coach, 78 bus.
Door-to-door: just over 19 hours
Cost: £68.19
