Monday, September 16, 2013

The one with the medical emergency and the vegan meal.

Hallo meine Lieben,

as I have told you in my last post, I am in Germany right now. The flight over there wasn't as smooth as expected. Well, I guess it never is. 



When I checked in for the flight I was happy to see that the seat next to me still seemed to be empty. So I was hoping  for a nice flight where nobody goes on my nerves. I am never really lucky with my seat neighbors...one time I had a veeeery talkative guy sitting next to me who told me his whole life story. Plus his sister's life story. And his aunt's life story. It was a long flight. He also showed me on a map every place in America he has ever traveled to. All I wanted is to read my book or watch a movie. No chance. 
When I entered the plane I had to realize that it was packed and that I probably wasn't very lucky...and of course...I had a whole Austrian family around me. Fortunately they seemed very nice although I had my problems understanding their weird dialect. And after explaining the father how an iPad works the people around me remained pretty quiet for the rest of the flight. 

After a hour I heard somebody asking for oxygen and the flight attendants started to run around in the plane. A couple of minutes later the pilot asked if there is a doctor on board. Things got a little crazy but after half an hour it seemed like the situation is fine. 

An hour later the pilot told us that he had to turn around and fly back to America because of a medical emergency. I guess the person was still having problems with oxygen. So yeah, we were on our way to Boston which was the closest airport. Yay. All I wanted is to have something to eat because it was already 7 pm and I hadn't eaten much the whole day. So when we landed in Boston I wasn't sure if we were even able to continue flying again or if we had to spend the night in Boston - which I really wanted to avoid. 

After a while the pilot talked to us again and told us that the medical emergency had left the plane -hopefully in good shape- and that we would be able to take off as soon as the plane was refueled and all the security checks were finished. He told us that this would take 25 minutes which I never believed. So after 70 minutes we were able to continue our flight to Germany. Yay. 

I was really happy that I packed some snacks for the flight (which I recommend to every vegetarian or vegan because you never know what food you get on a plane). So I ate some nuts while I was waiting for my dinner. 

At 9:45 pm the flight attendants started serving the dinner and I was curious to see if I would really get a vegan meal. Sometimes the vegan meals are a little suspicious so you have to be careful.

This is what I got. Please excuse the crappy quality of the picture.



The main dish was a chick pea curry with rice and broccoli and carrots and the flight attendant assured me that it really was vegan. It was actually pretty good which surprised me because a lot of meals on planes are really tasteless. Sure it is not comparable to a home-cooked meal but you can't have everything.
It came with a mixed salad (tomatoes and green salad), balsamic vinegar ( I did not know if it was vegan, some types of vinegar aren't so I ate the salad with salt and pepper), a bread roll (Wasn't sure about that one either) and some melon. 
All in all, it was a satisfying meal and I wasn't starving anymore. 

After long hours of flying and everybody else in the plane except of me and the pilot being asleep, the flight attendants started serving breakfast.
Luckily I wasn't very hungry and still had a Clif Bar in my bag because my breakfast was not vegan at all. I got a strawberry yogurt, a butter croissant, marmalade and an orange juice. I guess the marmalade was vegan but I did not want to eat pure marmalade so I gave my breakfast to the hungry seat neighbor. 

An hour later we all landed safely in Düsseldorf, Germany. After I had to wait one hour for my bag - I thought it got lost again. Things like that happen to me - I was able to finally leave the airport. 

I hate flying. 

How about you? Do you enjoy long flights? Do you like the food?

Have a lovely Monday!

40 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! I hope that poor person was okay.

    Those meals look very suspicious indeed! I try to keep vegan bars and things in my bag because it's so hard to get a vegan snack on the go.

    What an awful flight. But I'm glad you're safely in Germany now!!

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    1. I hope so too. I heard the doctor talking to one of the flight attendants and he said the person is stable. But I have no idea what exactly happened.

      It really is hard to find vegan snacks on the go. I never travel without packing my own snacks!

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  2. I hope the person was ok! I have never flown in my life, believe it or not. But if and when I ever do, I will make sure to pack snacks :)

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    1. I hope so too! I don't know exactly what happened! And it really is better to pack your own food because you never know what you get! I am really not a fan of flying, especially when it is a 7+hours flight!

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  3. What a drama!!

    I dont mind flying at all, but going through airports makes me furiously angry. The patdown and being stripped of all your human rights. I have personally been treated horribly in an airport and heard many horror stories. I Always travel by train or boat now if possible.

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    1. You have been treated horribly? Oh no! That sounds awful. I don't like the airports either. All the security checks are so annoying. I prefer trains!

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  4. Wow sounds like quite the experience! I hate flying too. When I was flying home from Germany last October my flight got delayed by a day and I got put up in the hotel in the Frankfurt airport.... it was annoying, but the next day when the flight left there ended up being only about 20 people on the flight as people had changed flights. I had an entire section to myself, it was awesome!

    Have a great time in Germany!

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    1. Oh no, your experience sounds horrible! I am sure it was terrible to have to stay in the hotel for a night and wait for the next flight! But at least you had enough space in the plane! :)

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  5. yikes! glad you made it to Germany though, have fun!!

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  6. Oh my goodness, so sorry your flight was such an odyssey! Glad you eventually made it to Germany! xxx

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  7. Definitely an eventful flight! Glad you landed safely :)

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  8. Definitely an eventful flight! Glad you landed safely :)

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  9. Oh my goodness! That flight sounds frustrating! I would hate to have a flight turn around when I was on my way.

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    1. It really wasn't much fun but I am glad that I did not have to spend the night at the airport!

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  10. Oh my goodness! Glad to hear you made it safely. Flying can be so frustrating!!

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    1. Yeah, it can be really frustrating! Thank you so much, Katie!

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  11. most people complain about security and body checks but this is certainly odd. but at least you're safe and got to where you want to go. and it makes a great story to tell.

    hope your day has gotten better.

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    1. it really was an adventure. it seems like things always go wrong when i travel! :)
      thanks so much, lissa!
      i hope you are having a great day!

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  12. my husband and I can't eat the food on the plane. We always leave the plane with a stomachache if we eat the food. We were on a plane coming back from Belgium. And they asked for a doctor. Turns out someone had viral meningitis. Oy vey, it was a little scary. But, I don't it's infectious.

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    1. I am sorry you can't eat on the plane. It really is better to pack your own food. That sounds a bit scary about the meningitis. I hope that person is fine! And I hope you had a great time in Belgium!

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  13. Oh boy, what an exhausting flight! It's funny to think that we were both in the same city for an hour or so :D Hope that emergency is doing well again now.
    Oh, I don't like the food on flights at all. I'm not even bothering to wonder if I will get anything I can eat with all my intolerances - I just pack everything I need for the entire trip. Usually it's fruits, veggies and sandwiches.
    Hope you get to relax a little now after that trip!

    Ich druecke Dich gaaaanz feste! <3

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    1. Haha, yeah, maybe we have been at the same airport at the same time. We could have met! :) That would have been awesome.
      I hope that person is fine too!
      I am sure it is hard to find something to eat for you. :( That's really stupid. It really is better to just pack your own stuff.
      I hope you are having a wonderful time!
      Ich drück Dich! <3

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  14. Oh no, that sounds horrible! I'm glad you finally made it there :)

    Win a pair of baby moccs!

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  15. Oh no, what a horrible experience! I hope the medical emergency is ok.

    Orange juice isn't vegan? I would never have guessed that. But then I'm an evil meat eater...

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    1. I really hope so too. I don't exactly know what was wrong!

      Some companies use gelatin to fine their orange juices and then it is not vegan anymore.

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  16. Oh man, medical emergencies are the worst - as if the flights aren't long enough already. I usually don't mind the food, but it's certainly not my favorite either :)

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    1. Yeah, there is definitely better food! I hope you are having a smooth flight!

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  17. What a nightmare!
    Since I find that sometimes the plane food is ok but sometimes it is definitely not, I always bring lots of snacks with me :)

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    1. Yeah, it is better to be safe than sorry! You never know what you get!

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  18. I'm so sorry to hear about your flight experience and the bag, I can't believe it took an hour to get it - especially with the talkative guy, it's crazy! Austrians and Germans are very confusing together, I remembered that my friend (she's not Austrian nor German) said that Austrians and Germans don't like each other and have very different lives. That airline meal looks interesting - I hate the fact that they added chickpeas - they make you bloated though. I had couscous with mushrooms on my Swiss flight (it was pretty good!).

    It is hard to say if I like flying or not. It really depends on the airlines. Some airlines are pretty good with their meals and service, especially these Asian ones (they are pretty exceptional). I don't like the airline food served by Ana (Japanese) and United/Continental.

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    1. I do like Austrians, it is just so hard to understand their accent sometimes! I think most European countries make fun of each other, especially when they are neighbors. :)
      There were not too many chick peas in the meal so it was not too bad. So great that you got couscous with mushrooms! Sounds good!

      I agree, the Asian airlines are usually pretty good. The best airline meal I ever had was from Singapore airlines.

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  19. Oh man! Talk about stressful! My heart would have sank when the pilot announced the turn around, too! I'm so sorry! I'm glad you made it safely though. How long will you be staying in Germany?

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    1. My first thought was "terrorists" but then I was relieved to here that nobody tried to kill all of us!

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  20. Wow. That stinks it took so long but hopefully the guy is okay. They let you take snacks? Or did you buy them in the airport? I don't mind flying when I have to. The part I like is taking pictures of the view out the window

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    1. I hope that person is okay too. I really don't know what exactly happened.
      They let me take the snacks, I bought them at home and just brought them with me.
      I like taking pictures out of the window too!

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