Round The World and other travel

Flight Log 4: LH630

Frankfurt (FRA) - Dubai (DXB)

As we settled into 2A/C, it felt very strange that most of the other passengers were already on board. We certainly hadn't left it late, by any stretch of the imagination; in fact we had to wait a few minutes for our pre-departure drinks, which the crew served precisely twenty minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. The boarding completed announcement came with fifteen minutes remaining, yet we managed to be four minutes late in pushing back. We taxied out to Runway 18, the old south-facing military runway, from where we finally became airborne at three minutes past the hour. It was a short take-off roll for a 747 but then, it was also to be a relatively short flight.

Conditions seemed smooth enough for a while, yet the seat belt signs remained on. The reason soon became clear, when we ran into severe turbulence. An announcement was made near Munich to the effect that we could expect this to continue until east of Salzburg; in the event the severe turbulence was still on-going and we were still securely strapped in as we approached Graz! The signs were finally switched off at 1553 (Frankfurt time) and nearly an hour into the flight, cabin service got underway with the distribution of menus and a round of hot towels. As ever on Lufthansa, the towels were of the poor-quality variety on the first pass. One day I shall get to the bottom of why they use two different varieties at different times in the same cabin!

MENU		WINES
Express Service		Champagne
We additionally offer our cold Express Service in order to give you more time to work or relax: we serve the hors d'oeuvre of your choice, cheese and dessert upon your request.		Duval Leroy Brut White wines 2011 Riesling trocken, Collection Schloss Schnait,
		Germany
Hors d'oeuvres		2009 Columbia Valley Chardonnay unoaked, Columbia
Asparagus and chanterelle salad with king prawns		Crest, USA
Diced veal Tandoori style on apple salad, with grilled lotus root		2010 Stellenbosch Chardonnay, Kleine Zalza, South Africa
Leaf salad with tomato, cucumber, olives and cilantro, accompanied by orange and mustard dressing		Red wines 2008 Château La Raze Beauvallet, Médoc Cru Bourgeois,
		France
Entrees		2008 Enira, Pzardijk Region, Bessa Valley Winery,
Chocolate and chilli crusted kingklip on a warm tomato and fennel salad, served with saffron-flavored Basmati rice		Bulgaria
Jerk marinated veal steak with sweet potato compote
Lufthansa Classic: Spaghetti alla panna

Cheese and Dessert
Morbier, Rahmberg cheese and goat cheese cream with wild garlic pesto and sun-dried tomatoes
Lemongrass panna cotta
Fruit Salad

Our pre-meal drinks - was this lunch or dinner? - were all the more welcome for being approximately one hour late. I had champagne and water, accompanied by the usual bag of roasted almonds. For starters, I selected the seasonal asparagus and prawn dish, complemented by a glass of the dry Riesling. I then had the veal main course, washed down with a glass of the French red wine. As is often the case with main courses in Business Class, I found this a bit ordinary and unremarkable. The pannacotta was a tasty, light treat and the meal was rounded off with a cup of lovely Lufthansa coffee and a little box of two chocolates.

I settled down to watch a re-run of The Iron Lady, which I'd first seen a few months earlier. When darkness started to fall, it happened very quickly indeed. I commented to Bruce at least once that the flight seemed to be passing astonishingly quickly. It hardly felt like a long-haul journey at all. I suppose many would say that it was really a mid-haul flight operated by long-haul equipment, and the effect was further enhanced by the delay in beginning cabin service.

Shortly after my movie finished, we were served a light rye bread and cheese snack, which I had with a refreshing glass of apple juice. The seat belt signs came on with thirty minutes still to run and there was a final round of hot towels. In accordance with the aforementioned conundrum, these were of the high-quality, nicely scented variety. An announcement from the flight deck indicated that we could expect a ground temperature of 33C on arrival. We passed the city and made a U-turn to land towards the north-west, touching down at 2239 local time. Even at such a huge airport, it took only six minutes to arrive on-stand.