Interestingly, I checked the seating plan again today -- and now rows 9-11 are now viewable on the seatmap. So, I moved from row 27 up to row 11 (window). MUCH happier to be at the front of the plane and also with row 11.

Another point -- this flight is a codeshare that I booked on Air Canada. I tried weeks ago to book a seat (online and by phone) and was told (repeatedly) that codeshares can't book seats (unless you're in business class). It appears LH has fixed that problem because the option to book this seat just showed up miraculously.