The day has arrived! After many months of planning, waiting, cancelations, re-bookings, changes, COVID testing and more changes, we are finally off to Europe in search of the elusive 2021 Christmas Markets! This morning we made the drive to San Francisco Airport were we boarded the upper deck of a Lufthansa 747-8 for the to Frankfurt Germany with a follow-on flight to Prague, Czech Republic. An interesting note is that boarding in San Francisco for the flight to Germany was mostly completed with Biometrics. We used Clear (retina scan) to get through the TSA security process and Lufthansa used facial recognition for their boarding procedure, no tickets or ID’s were needed. We only showed physical ID/Passport/Vaccine Card when we initially checked in at the airline ticket counter.
Ah, this was really happening! After an enjoyable 10 hour 45 minute flight and 3 hour layover spent in the Frankfurt Lounge, we boarded a bus for what seemed like an hour tour across the Frankfurt taxiways before being deposited next to the air stairs in the middle of the tar mac to board our onward 1 hour flight to Prague.
The Prague airport terminal was eerily quiet and deserted. The only crowds we encountered were at the Boarder Control/Customs checkpoint. Here we had to show Passport, Proof of Vaccination, and our “Czech Government Locator Form” (obtained online before travel) used for contact tracing while in Prague. The lines were long, but moved along quickly and soon we collected of luggage and made our way to our hotel.
We are staying at the Hotel Augustine in the Lesser Town are of Old Prague. It’s in easy walking distance of most of the major sites of the area.
The Search for Christmas Markets Begins!
