Round The World and other travel

Flight Log 2: LH446

Frankfurt (FRA) - Denver (DEN)

On climbing the stairs and turning round to face the front, the first thing I noticed was that the aircraft was still fitted with what had become the old style of first class seats. Maybe its turn for a refit hadn't yet come around, or maybe it was scheduled for withdrawal, with the recent influx of A380s to the fleet and with new 747-8s due soon. I didn't mind at all: with the new arrangements in place, I was guaranteed a seat pair to myself and I could choose to sit next to the window. I decided to do exactly that, in what had until recently been designated as seat 82K. A little leaflet explained the situation and invited passengers to request that their second seat be made up as a bed.

The cabin attendant who would principally be looking after me introduced himself and brought me a washbag, slippers and a sweater. It was interesting that only a top was offered; I assumed this was because it was a day flight. I had some apple juice and some salted macadamias while boarding continued. The purser came round to introduce herself and the captain announced that we were missing some passengers. The plan was to wait for some of them, but those who hadn't even landed yet were going to be rebooked onto other services. A quick look around told me that, after everybody had chosen which seat to occupy out of the allocated pair, the distribution of passengers was as follows: 81C, 81K, 82K, 83A, 83H, 84A, 84K. So I was the lucky one who got an entire row to myself!

The 'boarding complete' announcement came at 1405 and I felt the tug immediately attaching itself to the nose wheel. Pushback came five minutes later and as we taxied out towards the runway now designated as 25C (formerly 25R), the expected flying time was given as 9hrs 40mins. We finally left Frankfurt behind at 1425, but couldn't relax immediately as some significant turbulence was encountered just ten minutes into the flight, presumably related to the previous day's thunderstorms.

When things had settled down a bit, service began with a round of hot towels, presented on a plate but minus the customary rose petal on this occasion. I had a glass of the Laurent-Perrier 2000 vintage champagne and some water and perused the menu and wine list for a few minutes before starting up the first movie in what would be an entertainment marathon: Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. An amuse-bouche kept the hunger pangs at bay for the time being.

The lunch menu was as follows:

LUNCH		WINE LIST
Choice of hors d'oeuvres		Champagne
Caviar with the traditional garnishes		Laurent-Perrier Millésimé 2000
King Prawn Confit with strawberry salad and green pepper
Jellied Veal with chervil, snow pea salad and lime
vinaigrette		White wines
Zucchini and Bell Pepper Terrine with basil sour cream		Western Australia Sauvignon Blanc - Semillon 2010, Cape Mentelle, Australia
		Nies'chen Riesling Erste Lage 2008, Reichsgraf von
Salad or soup		Kesselstatt, Germany
Mixed Lettuce with pumpkin, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and pumpkin seeds, presented with your choice of French dressing or herb vinaigrette		Horse Heaven Hills Chardonnay 2008, Columbia Crest, USA
or		Red wines
Chilled Vegetable Soup with basil oil		Château Belgrave 2002, Cru Classé, Haut-Médoc, France
		Redoma Tinto 2005, Dirk van de Niepoort, Portugal
Choice of main courses		Mendoza Pasionado 2007, Andeluna, Argentina
Medium-rare saddle of lamb crusted with Gorgonzola
cheese and herbs, vegetables au gratin and potato blini		Dessert wines
Pizokel, Swiss-style noodles with mushrooms, Savoy cabbage and Appenzell cheese sauce		This month it is our pleasure to offer you a selection of sweet specialty wines.
Pigeon Strudel in port sauce served with broccoli and
mashed jerusalem artichokes		Port
Lufthansa Classic: Fillets of Sole à la Florentine with Sauce Mornay, leaf spinach and potatoes		Late bottled vintage port, Niepoort

Selection of cheese and dessert
Saint-Nectaire, Appenzell, Roquefort, Fougerus and Tête de Moine with fig mustard, grapes and pecan nuts
Cold Elderflower Soup with mixed wild berries and cassis sorbet
Schmid's Chocolate Dream: pavé, sorbet and port chocolate sauce

It was soon time for the main meal service to get underway, and tables were laid in preparation for the appearance of the starters trolley. Based on the menu and on the appearance of the dishes in reality, I wanted to try everything except the veggie terrine. This, naturally, was no problem at all and my selection was presented on a tiered stand, the caviar having been spooned out at my seat and presented with onions, crumbled hard-boiled egg, sour cream and lemon. I could have had a shot of vodka with it, but as usual much preferred to stick with champagne. All three starters were absolutely delicious, and the same description applied to the unusual cold soup that followed and to the fish main course, described as a 'Lufthansa Classic'.

There was a welcome short pause at this point, which also marked the need for me to start up the second movie of the flight, the recently released Unknown, starring Liam Neeson. In due course, the flight attendant appeared with another beautifully presented trolley featuring the dessert and cheese selections and their accompanying wines, and invited me to enjoy them in any order, according to my preference. I decided to stick with British tradition (which of course the French find incroyable ) and have dessert before cheese. The cold elderflower soup was highly unusual but absolutely delicious and went very well indeed with the dessert wine (the name of which I forget, sadly) that the FA recommended. I followed this up with the cheeses, very nicely presented with a glass of the vintage port. To my surprise, I was then offered the chocolate dessert, but while it looked divine and not in the least overwhelming, I felt I had to decline. The time had come to finish off this truly glorious mid-air feast with a cup of cappuccino.

The lights were out by now and most of the passengers were fast asleep, although 83H was still sitting up, like me. My third movie was another recent release: The Lincoln Lawyer, named after the car and not the city! It was briefly interrupted when a call was put out on the PA system for a doctor. I found out later that a passenger had become badly dehydrated, but had quickly recovered.

The final component of my 2011 movie marathon was Battle: Los Angeles; it was as though I had caught up with the year's new movie releases in one sitting! With just under two hours to go, a round of hot towels signalled that it was time for yet more food! A new menu card was distributed, bearing details of one of the more innovative meals that I have ever enjoyed on board an aircraft:

BARBECUE

Cold and hot specialties

King Prawns with roasted bell pepper and zucchini

Roast Beef Rolls filled with vegetable juliennes, accompanied by horseradish sauce

Coleslaw and grilled pineapple

Sweet chilli sauce and tomato confit

Spare Ribs served with corn-on-the cob, baked potato and sour cream

Red Snapper with mixed zucchini and onion compote

Dessert

Key Lime pie

Fresh fruit

I had a selection of the cold options as a starter, washed down with apple juice. I then decided to try the spare ribs which, while lacking the elegant appearance of the lunch options, nevertheless made for a tasty treat. I polished off the meat itself and the corn without difficulty, but couldn't manage an entire baked potato. I drank a Warsteiner beer with the main course. A piece of Key Lime pie and an Earl Grey tea finished off the second meal rather nicely.

The seat belt signs came on with 40 minutes to run, while we were still at 38,000ft. Our approach involved flying past the airport and making a full 180-degree turn to land towards the north, all of which gave some great views of the wide open spaces of this corner of the American west. Touchdown came at 1602 and we managed to be on-stand within four minutes. The outside temperature was given as 35C - setting the scene, I fervently hoped, for the next couple of weeks.

Overall, despite a fairly full cabin, this was one of the most memorable First Class flights that I have ever taken. Special thanks must go to cabin attendant Sascha for outstanding service, always delivered with just the right mix of professionalism and friendliness.