I hadn't seen Frankfurt airport in over 13 years. Two things I remember about the airport from that time: 1) mechanical flip numbers on the overhead arrival/departure schedules, which even then was outdated, and 2) armed guards positioned throughout the airport. Present day, the mechanical flip numbers are no more and if there were armed guards, they were not visible to the general public. However, it is still a unique airport experience, to say the least.

Frankfurt airport is a trip within itself! As one of our travel companions put it, "I never really knew when we left security ."  I can only describe our Frankfurt airport experience like this: long walks from the arrival gate, through a security section where our luggage was examined and our passports were checked, then another long walk to another terminal, an elevator ride or stairway to a certain level, then a tram ride to somewhere, another long walk to the departure gate, and then a windy bus ride from the gate to the plane, which seemed to be sitting in a parking lot of 50 other planes. It's the craziest airport I've ever been in. Hopefully it makes sense to the Germans. Someone mentioned it is the 5th busiest airport in the world. Based on the hikes, rides & strict security checkpoints, I would agree that something is most definitely up in Frankfurt. I felt like we were in a town versus an airport.

Our layover was about 3 hours. I purchased a $10 sandwich and a $4 bottle of water.

auf wiedersehen!