a cross-country commuter FAQ

I divide my time between Germany and England. That simple fact leads to a lot of questions from nearly everyone.
Three questions are probably my most asked questions ever and, unfortunately, I'm growing tired of them. Not a problem in the blogosphere really but anyway, I feel the need of answering them once and for all :-)

1. England! It always rains there doesn't it?!

average rainfall/snow (precipitation) in Frankfurt: 676mm a year
in London: 592mm a year

The weather might change faster due to the proximity to the sea and the extreme hot or cold days Germany sometimes gets are missing but that's about it. I have been sunbathing in our garden while my friends at home nearly drowned.

2. England! What the hell do you eat there?

It's as simple as that: look at me and decide again if I look like someone starving for half the year.
Food in England definitely has it's strange moments and a lot of people still eat a lot of stereotypical crap but that's an option, not a rule. The choice in supermarkets is stunning, the restaurants amazing. Jamie Oliver and likewise are English after all.

3. Frankfurt and London - so you fly Ryanair, right?

No, I don't.
Apart from the fact that the company and it's principles are more than dubious, their pricing policy is simply a rip-off.

A quick calculation:

distance from my home to the nearest Ryanair hub in Germany: aprox. 100km
cost for this journey (one-way!): 15Euros
duration: roughly 120min

distance for the trip from Stansted to home: aprox. 66km
cost (depending on the connection): starting at 18£
duration: roughly 120min (not thinking about traffic in London) plus a 20min walk

versus

distance from my home to Frankfurt airport: aprox. 28km
cost for this journey (one-way!):2,55Euros (as I have a season ticket)
duration: roughly 60min

distance for the trip from Heathrow to home: aprox. 6km
cost:: I get picked up :-)
duration: roughly 15min

cost for a return ticket at a randomly picked date in late spring
Ryanair: 66 Euros
Lufthansa: 120 Euros


It should be obvious why I always chose the 100-120Euro return ticket with Lufthansa as it means 23kg of free luggage, a chosen seat, a free snack, newspapers and the hope that they always carry plenty of kerosin on board ;-)