In case you missed it: Part 1, Part2

The plan going in was to fly to Frankfurt with a late morning arrival, then connect to a flight to Madrid in early afternoon, rent a van, and drive to a Madrid hotel we had booked way back in November for December 3 & 4.

None of this had gone to plan. As a project manager for many years I was feeling a bit offended by the extent to which things out of my control had gone sideways. Way way sideways.

We landed in Frankfurt mid-day on December 4. We missed the flight in the afternoon that would have got us to Madrid before dark. Our luggage was in some transit hall in the depths of the Frankfurt airport presumably awaiting further instructions. We didn’t know where Ella and Sami were. But highly likely they too were in the belly of the beast of the Frankfurt airport.

With our flight to Madrid delayed beyond reason, we considered our options. We had planned to spend the night in Madrid and drive 5 hours to Cordoba the next day. Now we thought maybe we should stay the night in Frankfurt and catch a plane to Madrid the next day. But what of our things and our “mascotas,” as the Spanish say when speaking of “pets”?

Or maybe we could change our destination by flying to Sevilla, which was 3 hours shorter by car to Cordoba than was Madrid. But no, there were no Lufthansa flights direct to Sevilla from Madrid, which meant there would have to be another plane change for all. No, no, that wouldn’t do at all.

Which left… Cordoba by car. Yes, that might just work. But first…

We needed to get our things out of whatever cargo cavern they were inhabiting now that the connecting flight had left without us for Madrid. And the mascotas. We still didn’t know how Ella and Sami were fairing.

This notion of driving to Spain seemed simple enough. Rent a van, pack it, go. But all our plans to date had, initially, seemed simple enough.

Who knew one could develop such a deep familiarity with the baggage claim area of a major airport? Lufthansa was kind enough to order our luggage out of the basement of the airport. And Ella and Sami, too. But we had to wait, in two different locations, for the bags and animals to emerge.

Sami and Ella rolled out on a really short conveyer belt, through a wall, pet crates intact. Sami stayed confined, but Ella was freed and took up her usual antics after a period of separation, dancing in circles and hopping about on her hind legs, her tail imitating a propeller from earlier days of air travel. We were equally excited to reunite with Ella and Sami.

11 pieces of luggage, including a couple of heavy duty Rubbermaid storage crates, emerged alone onto a baggage carousel. This parcel deliverance is separate from other flights, so there’s no jostling with other inmates of baggage claim this afternooon. One newish, cheapish, large suitcase is short a wheel, but otherwise the trove of our entire life’s things in Europe appears to be in pretty good shape.

So, about that vehicle…

Stay tuned for Part 4, The Get-Away Car