Our Worst Nightmare – Flight to Frankfurt (Istanbul & Everything After #62)

We made it past the sub-machine guns and metal detectors, past the paranoia of passport control and penetrating stares of security officers, past three checkpoints and through the throngs of departing passengers. My friend Steve and I had taken the first step on our long journey home. We had two days of travel ahead of us. We would fly first from Istanbul to Frankfurt for an overnight interlude. Then it would be on to Denver, followed by a five-hour drive home. The thought of this was exhausting. Fortunately, our focus was on Frankfurt. Everything else could wait.

Hazy landing – Lufthansa flight at Frankfurt Airport (Credit: Emran Kassim)

Star of the Show – An Unwanted Guest
My Turkish dream was fading. I had long since grown weary of the frenetic activity and noise of Turkey. The western world with its greater personal space and solitude was a mere three-hour flight to Frankfurt. Compared to the forthcoming trans-Atlantic flight, this one should have been a lark. A time for relaxation and reflection while settling in for an uneventful journey back home. That was the ideal. Steve and I had been anticipating this flight as an opportunity to ease back into the western world. A stress-free sojourn. Compared to what we had endured on the endless bus rides in Turkey, a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt would be blissful. Especially now that there was no tour group by our side. The shadow that stalked us for nearly two weeks had vanished. Well, not quite.

While at the gate waiting to board our plane, we were suddenly reacquainted with a nightmare. The one member of our tour we had loathed more than any other was taking the same flight to Frankfurt. It was Andrew, the Australian who had joined our Turkish tour a couple of days after it started. We rued his appearance from the first moment we met him. To recap, Andrew was a self-anointed, secondary leader of our group. His narcissism was only equaled by his arrogance. Andrew came across as a been there-done that-know it all. He sought attention from the younger women in the group by trying to impress them with tales of his travels across Europe and the near East. Andrew was full of himself. His lack of self-awareness was startling. Andrew needed to be the star of the show. He was vain, condescending, and deeply insecure. The first time I talked with Andrew I wanted to punch him. That urge kept coming back to me anytime I heard his voice or caught a glance of him.

Ready for departure – Planes at the International Terminal of Ataturk Airport
(Credit: Mertborak)

Small Talk – A Turn For The Worse
A week into our tour of Turkey, Steve began to speak openly about his distaste for Andrew within earshot of others. In all the years I had known him, Steve had never done anything like this. I did not know whether to be worried or impressed. His attitude took a turn for the worse when Steve discovered that Andrew had abandoned his wife and kids back in Australia to “go find himself.” That Andrew would admit such a thing demonstrated his lack of self-awareness. Steve and I were disgusted, as were several other members of the group. From that point onward, Steve would seethe any time he caught sight of Andrew. One of our South African friends expressed his contempt for Andrew.  Norm, an Australian who was one of the most likable and affable people I have ever met, confessed that he had no respect for Andrew.

To be fair, none of us knew the backstory on Andrew’s family life, but judging by his self-centered, me-first attitude he was most likely the problem. Andrew did not help his cause by talking down to everyone to boost his ego. I will have to give him credit for one thing. Andrew had the remarkable quality of managing to unite people against him. I was surprised that someone did not tell Andrew to stop talking about himself. Then again, why bother. He was already too far gone for constructive criticism. When the tour ended, Steve and I were elated to finally rid ourselves of Andrew. Now here we were at the boarding gate with Andrew.

Andrew came up and tried to make a bit of small talk. Since I loathe public displays of rudeness, I did my best to stick with the basics of the flight to Frankfurt. Steve ignored Andrew. While boarding the plane, I was suddenly struck by the fear that Andrew would be seated with us. He was not. I did make a mental note of Andrew’s location. The flight was uneventful though the presence Andrew hung like a dark cloud over the journey. I began to wonder if we would ever get away from him. Upon our arrival in Frankfurt, we were less worried about getting through passport control, to a taxi, and onward to our hotel, then avoiding Andrew.

Arrivals & Departure – Frankfurt Airport (Credit: Robot8A)

Tempting Fate – An Obligatory Act of Insincerity
After the arrival process, I thought we were finally free of Andrew. Once again, I was wrong. Coming out of the bathroom we ran into Andrew. By this point, I would not have been surprised if Andrew wanted to go have a beer together. Instead, he offered a farewell handshake. I felt like breaking his hand, but I managed to maintain self-control. Andrew then turned to Steve. For a moment my heart stopped. If the obligatory act of insincerity was completed with an open hand rather than a clenched fist, we could escape from what had turned into our worst nightmare. We were on the verge of being done with Andrew, but he kept tempting fate.

I have never seen Steve give a more half-hearted handshake in his life. He barely acknowledged Andrew. For a moment, I thought he was going to take a swing at him. The most amazing part was that Andrew scarcely noticed this. He was too wrapped up in himself. We immediately headed for the airport exit, relieved that the Andrew ordeal was over. I could not help but wonder if he might pop up behind us and want to share a taxi ride into Frankfurt. Thankfully, this did not happen. We had arrived in Frankfurt and so had Andrew. We would never see him again.

Click here for: Taking A Travel Valium – Welcome To Frankfurt (Istanbul & Everything After #63)