LH 427 PHL FRA 1800 0810 34V 1A
So the lounge dragon at the Envoy lounge, with whom I have
had a few issues in the past, told me that I would be able
to board with my US-issued boarding card, but I was turned
away at the gate, shunted into a half-hour line for the
official LH one behind a large number of students each of
whom had some issue or another. By which time the printer
had gone inop, so I returned to the gate with my old card,
on which an agent had scrawled "APIS OKAY."
There must have been a short circuit someplace in the
control panel of my seat, which would sometimes do the
opposite of what I asked it to, which amused my lovely
seatmate Kim, who decided to show the technologically
challenged guy how to work the controls: she pushed the
appropriate button to put me fully upright in the locked
position, and, lo and behold, there I was on my back. She
had the good grace to apologize for jumping to conclusions.
The entire seat apparatus was rather uncomfortable, the
headrest apparently made for someone with the neck of a
giraffe and there being virtually no padding anywhere. I
cursed Recaro as I dozed off. Four hours of fitful sleep.
On this flight service was variable, with one of the male
FAs serving us extremely reluctantly, as if we were
affronting him by our mere presence and polluting his
precious front cabin; the other was genial, polite, and
attentive. The various female FAs offered a decent but
impersonal level of service.
My IFE was mostly inop - I could hear audio coming out of
my headset, but it was way drowned out by an enormous hiss.
The controls, not so nice as the similar ones on SQ,
misbehaved periodically, not that that mattered much to me.
Eventually I navigated to the Lufthansa Corporate Song and
listened to it through the noise. Kim put me up to this.
After which I put the Airshow on and kept it on.
Menu
Hors d'oeuvres
Smoked Trout Mousse, poached Leeks, Whole Grain Mustard
Vinaigrette
Duck Confit, Sherry Vinaigrette
Hearts of Palm, Potato Salad, fresh Field Greens, Cherry
Tomatoes, Balsamic Vinaigrette
Entrees
Roasted Chicken Breast, Fingerling Potatoes, Blueberry
Gastric
Seared Cod, Artichoke and Carrot Broth, roasted Garlic
Spinach stuffed Gnocchi, sauteed Cremini Mushrooms, Pine
Nuts, Vegetable Butter Sauce
Cheese and Dessert
Manchego, Quince, Roqufort stuffed Dates, Sun dried Grapes
and Walnuts
Tres Leches Cake, fresh Berries
Fresh Fruit
I wasn't really hungry so had two appetizers, the duck,
which was fine if plain (and not particularly confit);
and the trout mousse, which was not mousselike at all,
having a curious chunky texture, but also tasted fine.
I was asleep before dessert arrived.
Ch. Liversan 05 was a little plummy, a little stemmy, and a
little dumb but okay - the first bottle was corked, though.
-
Breakfast
Entrees
Orange Juice
Fruit Salad
Roast Beef and Chicken Breast
Brie and Cheddar Cheese
Breakfast to Go
In case you wish to stay asleep until shortly before
touchdown we are happy to serve our breakfast-to-go:
Sandwich, Fruit Salad, Smoothie, Pastries, Coffee or Tea.
The morning meal, such as it was, consisted of
- orange slices, okay, grapes, okay, and one forlorn halved
strawberry that looked as if it had been stepped on, with
leaf; maybe two ounces total of fruit;
- three slices of mystery poultry, possibly chicken but I
thought elderly turkey;
- a couple ounces of cheese, which I didn't eat.
It was a thoroughly nonexcellent little repast.