Let our adventure begin

09/11: a day which had changed the world. Our flight should take place at the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. All over the airport TV screens showed documentations of the desaster. This didn't calm down my nerves ;) since I've always been a bit nervous on flights. No matter how often I've travelled by plane already.

Going from Leipzig is new to me and I was curious to see this airport. It's one of the newest in Germany. Our flight should depart at 2.10 p. m. so we could sleep late and have a nice relaxing breakfast before our departure. Klaus home is only a 25 minutes drive away from the airport but since he had ants in his pants he wanted to leave the flat at 10 a.

m. already. In case of traffic jams or other unexpected things ;)

Arriving at the airport we searched for a parking place first. From the airport website I've learnt that there is a cheap one a bit outside the area. On the map it seemed not far away but when we saw it for real it was about 1 km walking distance from the airport. I wasn't willing to pay € 65 instead of € 20 for one week just because we had to walk so I forced Klaus to park there. Both of us hadn't recognized that there's a shuttle transfer to the airport - you just have to call a bus :o Anyway, the sun was shining and we had time enough for a little walk :)

Of course the counter was still closed and we had to wait for one more hour. Time to explore the airport museum. It shows the history from it's beginning in 1927 until now.

In former years it was more a cargo airport than a passenger one. After the german reunification in 1989 it got more importance as a passenger airport though. Not till 2003 when the new terminal has been inaugurated which now has a capacity for 4.5 Million passengers per year. The old photos from the past were interesting to see. The first flight was from Leipzig to Halle which is approx. 20 km distance to bring the post.

Finally the counter opened and we could check-in which was done fast. Custom clearance wasn't necessary since it was a EU-Flight and the security check was done fast as well. Now it was only waiting. We strolled around the duty free shop but din't find anything to buy. Boarding was supposed at 1.30 p. m. but time went by and nothing happened.

Suddenly there was an announcement that our flight would be delayed for 1 1/2 hours due to traffic problems in Greece (which meant work-to-rule of the flight controller). Oh no, we would arrive in Rhodes late anyway but now..... More waiting :( Finally at 3.45 p. m. our plane lifted off. The flight was 2 hours 45 minutes and went smoothly. We saw a beautiful sunset over the ocean.

Baggage claim and security was done fast and we headed to the car rental "Drive Budget" counter immediately. The lady at the counter was very polite and after 5 minutes we could pick up the shoebox (aka Hyundai i10) which should be our car for the next week. We had one problem though. We haven't had any idea where we should find our hotel. I've got the name of it and the village but that's it.

I thought we would find an envelope with directions but there wasn't one. The lady at the counter showed us the way on the map but she hadn't had any idea where exactly it is in the village. We would asked some locals there then.

We reached Archangelos after 45 minutes and looked around for the hotel but no sight of it. I knew it was a bit outside but there wasn't an addy at the hotel voucher. OK, no doubt we had to ask somebody. A guy in a small grocery store (which was still open) told me the right direction and I took the chance to buy some water since it was still warm and I was thirsty ;) 5 minutes later we had found  Varelis Family Hotel. The owner has awaited us already and helped us with the baggage. Checking-in was done fast. We had room #2 which was tiny but clean and comfortable.

We would use it only for sleeping anyway. Mr. Varelis told us that breakfast will be from 8 - 10 a. m. at the rear side of the house. After this information he left us alone so we could sort out our stuff.

Before we unpacked our suitcases we went to a tavern which wasn't far from the hotel for a late dinner. The food was ok but it was very noisy since the restaurant was next to the main route from Rhodes City to Lindos which is one of the main roads on the island. We have to find a better one next day.

A long and exhausting day came to its end when we finally hit the sack :)

PS: Photos by Klaus and Jutta