First Layover at Frankfurt, Germany

Who would have thought that a junior like me could spend her first layover at Germany on her first month of flying?

I can still remember how I was shouting for joy after seeing my roster for the month of June. I immediately called my parents on Facebook messenger to share my happiness.

Due to the bundle of exhilaration in us, Jessica (my flying partner) and I shopped thrice just to get the best outfit we can strut in Bundesrepublik Deutschland. The night before our flight, we googled the temperature of the country. We found out it would be 11-22 degrees, which we considered cold. Hence, we put the winter-ish clothes into our suitcases.

All set!

The flight was full of good vibes. We used an airbus. The cabin was handled by the generous purser, Jessica and I, with adorable Egyptian twins. They are Jeddah-based and are very, very sweet and thoughtful.

We arrived to Frankfurt on June 14, at around 4 pm. We were accompanied by a coster to Steigenberger Hotel. On our way to the hotel, my eyes kept on twinkling while I was eyeing varied beautiful sceneries we passed by. Moreover, we were surprised to see people wearing short clothing. It was summer! We were like, "For real?".

We reached the hotel at 4:40 pm. Each of us had one snugly warm and comfortable room. We expected sun will go down sooner, like at 6 pm, so we quickly prepped for our globetrotting. Jessica and I had a hard time remedying our winter clothes. Haha! My all-black outfit was supposed to be matched with a pink biker's jacket which I eventually did away with, whereas Jessica just replaced jeans with her short pyjama. Brilliant thinking, isn't? *smirks* Though we had no choice but to wear our boots.

Luckily, the main attractions are just next to our hotel. Our first stop was the Main River. The place is picturesque, especially seeing those cruise restaurants. We then crossed the iron footbridge. Astonishingly, many padlocks are locked to the bridge. Wow! They have their own love lock bridge in Frankfurt. I even saw 2 grannies kissing on one side. So cute! After that, we went to Romerberg or the Old City. Very charmingly quaint! We were just walking and walking until our tummies growled. We dined in a pizza & ice cream parlor. Happy to be served by a German who knows how to speak a bit of Arabic. Yay! Anyway, Germans are very friendly. I swear!

I kept looking at my watch, thinking it might be broken. The small hand was pointing to 9 whereas the big one was at 6. I was very surprised! It's already 9:30 in the evening, but not a tinge of darkness could be seen. Wow! The sun falls below the horizon too late.

The next day, we just went to the mall and DM for shopping. Then, we came back to Romerberg to buy some souvenirs. We left the hotel at 2 pm, ready to fly back to Saudi Arabia!

What an experience! It is one of the unforgettable moments of my life.

Get Energized on Day Off

Saudia allows its flight attendants to go to their domicile after completing all the requirements (graduation, base transfer, line check, certificates, and licenses). So, I had a chance to see my parents who are now staying in Pampanga, my big sister with her family who spent their vacay, and was able to see my relatives who flew from USA and Taiwan.

It was a quick vacation yet it filled the empty felicity container in me.

I arrived in Manila on May 26. My whole family fetched me from the airport. They took me to Dampa to bask all Pinoy food I have craved for during my training. OMG! I ate a lot with gusto! And guess what's next? We went to Star City, as I requested for it since I love amusement park. Who cares about jetlag? Lol! It just sucks because we entered the park at 8:30 pm and they close at 10 pm. I think my 2 nephews, little sister, and I had a chance to take 5 rides only.

I spent my days off by prepping myself for the realm of aviation. I bought food/materials in the mall, pampered myself at the salon, had my teeth cleaned, and of course, had a quality time with loved ones.

Also, I went southbound without an itinerary. We just let the wheel spontaneously take us to random places. We just found ourselves wake boarding at Nuvali with sleeves and leggings on, in front of the closed Enchanted Kingdom (too bad), swimming in a resort in Pansol, breathing fresh air in Tagaytay, sipping hot coffee in Alabang, watching San Andreas movie in Las Piñas, relishing ice cream at Mall of Asia, and my favorite part is munching street food under the skybridge in Taft Avenue. Haha!

Those days fueled me up and those people are my happy pill.

New Home

Radium Compound is the accommodation of Saudi Arabian Airline's female flight attendants, located in Thumama St., Riyadh. It is such a beautiful, spacious place to reside in. It was completely built in February.

We arrived in the compound on May 5, 2015 at 2:30 in the afternoon. We were extremely exhausted, but upon seeing our new home, exhaustion vanished.

Our compound has villas on one side, which are mostly given to the seniors, and apartments on the other side for the juniors. Being a junior, an apartment was given to me with 3 housemates who are also my batchmates/friends. Our apartment is already fully furnished. We have all the necessities in here. We just need to fill the fridge with food and the closet with our clothes.

Radium compound's amenities are absolutely amazing! There is a golf cart, gym, a pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna, a steam bath room, sports area (basketball, volleyball, bowling, squash, table tennis, football, etc.) All for free! All we need to do is sign in and out. Moreover, convenience store, laundry shop, restaurant, and parlor can be seen in there as well.

Saudia is really pampering us, which I am so grateful of. Surely, they know how tiring our job could be, thus, there is a housekeeping department that takes care of the cleanliness of the whole compound. There are also buses/limousines that take us to the malls, embassies, hospitals, and other places. And you know what? All staff, cleaners, receptionists, and drivers are all very generous.

I am just hoping that Saudia can maintain this kind of handling forever!

U