I remember being really worried about all the potential delays and hang-ups with the added security measures in the wake of the World Trade Centre bombings when I flew home in December, but airport security hadn�t changed much. Sure I had to have an electronic frisking with the metal detecting wand even though I hadn�t set off the walk-through metal detector, but that had been it in Frankfurt. Coming back was a different story. I had the good fortune to be traveling only a few days after the �shoe bomber� and so security was asking quite a variety of people to remove their shoes for inspection. While the gentlemen in front of me slipped off his footwear, I set about unpacking my bag to show my camera to the x-ray scan operator and to demonstrate that every electronic device on my person was correctly functioning and could be turned on. I was really worried when I had heard this news, since I hadn�t charged my 220 volt German mobile phone at all during the holiday, and thought I might have to leave it behind. It managed to spring to life just long enough to satisfy security. Finally, unlike in Europe just weeks before, I was properly frisked before leaving security. I also had to show my passport about three times between security and the plane itself. Not surprisingly, both my flights to and from Toronto were delayed�.
Still, the delay of my first flight was just enough to cancel the delay of my second flight. I ran from one terminal to another and stepped directly into line to board my flight out of Pearson in one fluid sequence rather than waiting the scheduled hour and a half between flights. Once onboard, I was quickly reintroduced to the German language. The onboard sound for the movies was not working correctly and only the German channel was operative. I was happily surprised at how little my German level had slipped without practice for a couple of weeks, but also reminded that it had in fact never been that high. Still, I felt far more at ease than the last time I had made this flight. I hadn�t even been able to read signs in the airport in German, important ones like �baggage�. I quickly made my way to the poorly marked shuttle bus which had caused me so much trouble nine months before, and smugly thought I could now pass as a local. At least, that�s how I felt until I tried to buy breakfast with this funny new money.
Deutsche Marks are still accepted as legal tender until the end of February, but I didn�t have any on me, and thus had my first encounter with Euros. Every single coin and bill is brand spanking new. They look like they�ve just come out of the shrink wrap from the Monopoly box and so actually don�t seem like real money. There aren�t even any finger prints on the coins yet!
