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Our South Africa Adventure started in Germany- An absolute trip of a lifetime, so much so that it took me several months after coming home to comprehend what a life-changing journey it was for us.
This trip was years in the making!
This trip was in the making for several years and was initially planned for 2020 by a friend who had previously taken this trip and knew all the ins and outs; then, the world shut down, and for obvious reasons, we didn’t go.
After much anticipation and debating if it was safe, we finally booked the August/ September 2022 trip. Almost everywhere had opened back up at this time with little to no restrictions, including wearing masks (although Lufthansa still required it while boarding on and off flights) and no proof of negative tests or vaccinations.
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A group of six friends (5 from the US and one from the UK) started this adventure when we booked flights, accommodations, and excursions in February of 2022. We used JetAbroad to book our flights, and while the trip worked out great, I didn’t know we would use the service again. Customer service just wasn’t very available, and when some of our flights got canceled with Lufthansa, we were basically on our own to get them rescheduled. It was super stressful trying to keep six people together on all of the flights. There were lots of hoops to jump through and anxiety with everything we planned, like seat assignments, but thankfully, in the end, it all worked out.
Arriving in Germany
Our full itinerary is here. Our monumental journey began at Tampa International Airport for a 9-hour 15-minute flight to Frankfurt, Germany, where we had a 13-hour layover. The passport and customs line here was the longest of the trip, but with such a long layover, we wanted to get out and explore. We found a baggage hold service where they stored our carry-ons for a small fee, ordered an Uber, and hit the streets! My first time in Germany!
We visited a sweet little German village called Römerberg, only 20 minutes from the Frankfurt airport. Römerberg is a historic square and has been the center of Frankfurt since the Middle Ages.
We shopped for souvenirs and added a lock to the Eiserner Steg footbridge, or Iron Bridge. This famous iron and concrete footbridge, crossed by over 10,000 pedestrians daily, connects the city center and Römerberg with Sachsenhausen on the southern banks of the Main River. We chose a lion lock from Amazon for obvious reasons – we couldn’t wait to see lions in the wild in Africa!
We also ate lunch at Zum Standesämtchen and enjoyed German staples and, of course, beer! After a few hours, we returned to the airport, found our gate, and took naps. We also connected with our friend from the UK, who would fly the rest of the 11-hour, 45-minute flight to South Africa with us! Okay, so this post was mainly about Germany, not South Africa, BUT next stop… Cape Town, South Africa. Stay tuned…
*** All photos taken on iPhone 12 Pro Max or Insta360***
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