During the night there was a huge intense thunderstorm.
The setting was rendered extra spooky by spates of gloomy
dark punctuated by giant crashing bolts of fire. A black
cat would have made the picture complete, but there was
that restaurant next door. (joke)

I was glad that 1. there was a taxi stand at the entrance
to the citadel and that 2. I'd made a reservation for an
early early cab to the airport: quote TL55.

The guy was right on time, and we loaded up quickly in the
rain. I think I caught a few words between the night manager
and the driver to the effect that there had been a couple
lightning strikes on the hill during the night. The trip
was gloomy and rainy, with the driver contributing a few
single-word descriptions of the places we were passing, in
somewhat understandable French or totally incomprehensible
English. He seemed unduly impressed by the factories we
passed as we neared the airport, reciting each name as
though it were a station of the cross or on the road to
national prosperity or something. It had been a fast ride
up the deserted expressway, and when we got there the meter
read 54. I gave the guy that plus all the rest of our lira,
about 5, which made him almost dance with glee.

Check-in, via a TK agent, was pretty easy, except I couldn't
get a boarding pass for FRA-ORD - all three of lili's BPs
printed out just fine, but no upgrade. It was suggested that
we work our issues out with a UA rep in Frankfurt.

We had an hour to enjoy the Millennium Lounge, nicely
catered with breakfasty things. I sampled most of the
cookies, some vaguely salty, some vaguely sweet, all very
shortbready. lili liked the chocolate chip ones; I was
pleased by a kind that tasted like halvah, but not so sweet.

There was an assortment of HA RE liqueurs - the usual mint,
almond, coffee things and a couple less normal ones, rose I
think for instance. Long John Scotch wasn't so bad, other
from possessing that normal cheap booze characteristic of
tasting like licking an ashtray.

The house beer was a name I didn't recognize, starting with
B. I believe it too was brewed by Efes. Other things that I
just had to try: cola-flavored vodka, which wasn't so bad;
and red wine of the usual rotguttish sort, only this time
presented in a nice carafe. We didn't bother boarding until
they made the announcement in the club, by which time the
line was snaking out fifty feet past security. Again there
was a problem with security line crashers, only this time
the guards just sort of shrugged.

LH3363 ESB MUC 0615 0815 321 6AC

We were assigned A and C in the same row and had hoped for
a blocked middle, but it turned out to be a surprisingly
jam-packed flight - when we arrived we found a headscarfed
young woman in B who happily traded for the aisle.

Breakfast was an okay cold cut plate that included something
that looked sort of like ham, but I think was turkey ham or
something; our seatmate poked suspiciously at it and put it
aside.

We got to MUC in time to check out the Senator Cafe, which
is quiet and nice but no self service. They were pouring a
rather better standard of red - the Nipozzano Chianti from
Frescobaldi. Breakfast orders were taken at the counter;
I didn't have any of that stuff but contented myself with
a nice sour cream poppy seed cake and a very ripe kiwi.