J
Joe
Guest
I was super, super tempted to slice my own prosciutto at the Lufthansa First Class Terminal
On our way home, we had the chance to stop by the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. Aka the building that in its entirety is a lounge. I gotta say, I think it was a bit too overhyped. Don’t get me wrong, it’s super cool – but I personally feel it’s only marginally better than the regular Lufthansa first class lounges. It’s a neat thing to have and experience, but the first class lounges are pretty spectacular on their own. I’m going to try to stick to the toddler-related aspects of the lounge; it’s been over-covered extensively elsewhere.
We kinda walked through the employee entrance…or something (Wikipedia)
We arrived in Frankfurt from Vienna around lunchtime and our flight wasn’t until late afternoon so we had a good couple of hours to kill. It was a good thing too because finding the lounge was a bit of a pain. First of all, not every Lufthansa agent in the terminal seemed to know where it is and we received a few different sets of directions. Eventually, we exited baggage claim and turned left. After walking for ten minutes (with a Beco’d toddler and our carry on bags), we walked through what must have been the waiting area for taxis and car services and finally reached the lounge. Some nice Lufthansa agent saw us looking pitifully at the set of stairs leading up to the main entrance and let us in to the elevator downstairs.
A classy meal for a classy girl
Upon exiting the elevator, we were met by an agent who led us through security. This was a huge help because at that point we were really losing grip of all of our bags. She also booked us a sleeping room where we immediately put M down for a nap. When she woke up, the three of us took lunch in the First Class Terminal restaurant. Apparently it’s catered by DO & CO which means something to Jess? Not to me though. There was a buffet set out but the highlight was the burrata and coppa from the “mozzarella bar” (it’s made to order). Jess was only ordering for herself but we ended up getting two orders delivered to our table.
Yum. And wow, too much.
The rest of our time at the FCT was spent trying to entertain Little M – we did this by splitting time with her, museum style. We spent a lot of time in the sleep room – that way M was contained and not too loud for everyone else. Nobody was on the waiting list so I didn’t feel bad hogging it. Jess spent some time in the lounge chairs which she said were way more fun than they looked – unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures because I was busy drinking Macallan at the bar with my daughter.
Water. Neat.
Quite possibly the funniest and most horrifying aspect of the First Class Terminal experience involved the infamous Lufthansa ducks. Little M is obsessed with water as you may have gathered from this trip report. Well she was calmly observing this nice fountain in the FCT when she was approached by a lounge attendant with a duck (her like, fourth Lufthansa duck of the trip I think). This was all well and good until the attendant was all, “Do you want to throw it in the water?” Me: “Noooooooooo!”
For the record, I did not encourage this
It was too late, the attendant had already thrown the duck in the water. After a few minutes playing with the duck in the water, the attendant left us with a child who wanted to do nothing except throw ducks into this beautiful fountain. It was super cute and also super embarrassing.
Why look at planes when you can look at buses
Anyway, overall the FCT was a great way to prepare for our flight home. M took a bath, we both showered, I drank some wine and scotch, we ate some great food, and who doesn’t want to be driven to their plane in an awesome car. In our case, said “awesome car” was a minivan.
Sweet, sweet ride to our plane.
Final Thoughts
The Lufthansa First Class Terminal is a pretty cool place, once you can find it. I wouldn’t say it’s toddler friendly, but I wouldn’t say it’s a bad place for toddlers either if your toddler is relatively well behaved. There is enough to distract them (not including the fountain) and if you can score a sleeping room it’s great for a nap. I’m glad I went, and I’d go back if I’m ever in Frankfurt on LH F, but I don’t think I’d reroute just to visit the FCT in the future – Lufthansa’s regular first class lounges are good enough. A gummy bear is a gummy bear in any terminal!
Other Posts in this Series
Introduction
Final Preparations for the Little One
Lufthansa First Class with a Toddler
Slow Days with a Sick Toddler
Sightseeing in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Observations After a Week in Germany
Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle
Zugspitze and Mittenwald
Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg
Lazy Sunday in Salzburg – not
Rainy Days in Berchtesgaden
Visiting Museums and Biking in Vienna
Food in Germany and Austria
Rating the Toddler Friendliness of Our Hotels
Continue reading...