Posted Jul. 17, 2015 at 11:09 AM By Paul Edward Parker , Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island is a hit in Germany, if the German lifestyle blog Uberding is any indication.
Uberding, which roughly means "about things," sent a crew on the first Condor Airlines flight to Rhode Island from Frankfurt on June 18. Bloggers Mia Bühler and Thies Janknecht spent four days visiting Newport, Westerly and Providence.
"When you ask us about New England, we respond with our memories of Newport," Bühler wrote in her blog report, which posted on July 10. "The town, with its small boutiques, sports facilities (the International Tennis Hall of Fame) and the nature, between sandy beaches and coastal paths, is pretty much everything you would expect from New England!"
Even a rainy day spent in Westerly captured Bühler's heart. "It is not surprising that the South coast of Rhode Island has attracted stars like Taylor Swift," she wrote. "The area is ideal for exploring the beautiful countryside when it rains ... I would have liked to stay here longer."
Bühler found Providence less captivating, finding downtown deserted on a Sunday morning. "The capital of the U.S. state Rhode Island, we must say, was worth the visit for a day -– but we wouldn’t have liked to stay longer," she wrote, thanking a homeless woman who gave her a tour of street art. "My highlight was visiting the prestigious Brown University in Providence. The campus is green and full of life -– quite contrary to downtown Providence."
Bühler concluded her blog report, which is accompanied by a sharp-looking video, "Lil Rhody, it was a party for us! We have experienced so much in these four days and are happy to have added an until-recently-unknown place to our 'Places We Love' list!"
Check the above video link. Here's the description:
Vor wenigen Monaten hatten wir "Neuengland" als
Reiseziel noch nicht mal auf dem Schirm und dann klirrte das Telefon
und der Anruf der unser Interesse am kleinsten Staat der Vereinigten
Staaten Amerikas war geweckt. Seit diesem Anruf gab es vor allem ein
Thema:
Unsere Vorbereitung, Vorfreude und Aufregung:
#CondorTraveldingLilRhody stand auf dem Plan.
Posted June 18, 2015 at 11:15 PM
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By Paul Edward Parker , Journal Staff Writer
- Inaugural flight by German carrier links R.I. with Europe
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Condor Airlines arrived for the first time at Warwick's T.F. Green Airport Thursday night.WARWICK, R.I. — At 6:17 p.m. Thursday, a Condor Airlines 767 touched down on runway 23 at T.F. Green Airport, marking the first time ever that scheduled airline service has linked Rhode Island to the European continent.
Michael Aziz, of Boston, was the first passenger on the flight from Germany who cleared customs and emerged into the airport terminal. "I'm so excited to have won the race to be the first human being to fly from Frankfurt to Providence," Aziz told reporters. He exulted about the new service, "I'm going to Boston, and I saved over a thousand dollars by flying through Providence. It's compelling. I hope the rates stay as they are." And to dash an old saying about air travel, Aziz said, "The food was excellent." The menu included a seafood salad with crayfish, as well as chicken satay.
Christine Husted, a native of Germany who has lived in the United States for 50 years, waited in the terminal for her sister and brother-in-law and also raved about the German airline. "I think it's half-price what Lufthansa charges to Boston," said the Middleboro, Mass., resident, adding, "It's much more easy to travel to Providence."
A total of 118 passengers made the inaugural flight from Germany, with another 236 booked on the return flight two hours later.
The new international service — which joins Cape Verdean airline TACV, which also this month began flying between the island nation off the coast of Africa and Green — is at least a major psychological boost to Rhode island's main airport, which had seen years of plummeting passenger numbers before turning in mixed results the last two years.
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline touted the service as much more than flights between Rhode Island and Frankfurt, saying it will connect "Central Europe and the heart of New England." Cicilline said he spoke to travelers waiting for the flight to Frankfurt who were making connections to Italy and to Poland. "It's going to be a wonderful thing for tourism and for business," agreed his colleague in Congress, U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin.
The first flight wasn't the only good news for Green to arrive from Condor. The airline also announced that is has begun selling tickets for the Frankfurt-Providence service for next year, extending what had been a trial summer for the seasonal service. This year, service will run until Sept. 3, before resuming for a similar season next year. Tickets begin at $680 roundtrip.
"We're going to come back year after year," Condor vice president Titus Johnson told The Providence Journal in an interview last week. "We're here to stay. We're very confident that this will follow the Condor traditional model." That model, he said, includes expanding the season in subsequent years if passenger demand supports it, with an eye toward eventual year-round service.
Earlier reports had Condor flying into Düsseldorf, which would have been just perfect for us. Having our partners meet us in Düsseldorf, and also deliver us there at the end of our visit put a definitive start and end to our exchange. As delighted as I am to have this direct (summer) service to Rhode Island, I must admit to being somewhat disappointed to see the destination airport changed to Frankfurt. For me personally, Lufthansa's ICE connections between Frankfurt and Cologne presented some of our biggest challenges this year. And that was supposedly WITH the cooperation both of the Airline and our Partners. I'm now wondering just what kind of land connections our tour operators with Condor might book for us, if any.
Certainly I'm hoping that, in two years the Condor-season into TF Green will have extended at least one week earlier. This year, with June 27th being Burgau's last day of school, and with us slated to attend 2 full weeks, I could not even consider delaying our trip to wait for Condor's opening. (That will be different in 2017, when the summer break in Nordrhein Westfalia begins July 17; so yes, I hope there will be the option to consider flying with Condor then.) -- rsb
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