Great British Chiefs Show on Tour in Germany: Day 1

Hello, Chiefs Kingdom, and welcome to the first edition of our Frankfurt journal. I am sure over the next 24 hours or so, we will come up with a catchy name for these posts, but for now, let's go with the "Great British Chiefs Show on Tour."

Listeners of the "Great British Chiefs Show" will be well aware that despite our great friendship and mindlessness, Brad and I are from completely different parts of England. Brad is only an hour away from Scotland, while I am only an hour from London. And for a small island, the United Kingdom does get a high variance of weather. Typically, it's the north where Brad lives where the really bad weather hits — but on this occasion, it would be me who would have to suffer the weather.

Naming storms in the UK is a relatively new thing. I know that it has been a norm for Americans for years, but we only adopted the practice in the last 10 years or so. The funny thing about us Brits is that we don't give our storms menacing names regardless of the conditions. Just two weeks ago, Storm Babet wreaked havoc; now it is the turn of Storm Ciarán.

Flights to all different destinations across Europe were cancelled due to the 110 mph winds sweeping through the English Channel — or the La Mange as the French call it. I feared my short flight from London Heathrow to Frankfurt would be grounded.

This trip had been planned for months, and here I was worrying about some fella called Cieran getting in my way of making it to Germany when planned. Brad had no such issues. His flight to Frankfurt from Newcastle was plain sailing.

Despite my fears, old Cieran was no match for British Airways and their fleet of Airbus A320s. My day job is in the Aerospace industry, so naturally, I have a lot of access to the science and technology behind aircraft. Yet, for some reason, flying is still very alien to me.

But for all of my fears and warnings from the weatherman, it turned out that I had nothing to worry about. The plane left on time, and other than a couple of bumps, the journey was relatively easy.

Tom 1, Storm Cieran 0.

Anyone arriving in Frankfurt this weekend will soon see how efficient the German public transport system is. I know it's an old cliché about the country, but it really is true. The short journey from the Airport to Frankfurt's main train station takes just 15 minutes and is really easy.

It was at the station where you'll be greeted by the first acknowledgement of the Chiefs:

After a quick bag drop at the hotel, it was off to see what Frankfurt has to offer. After sinking a beer or two, we headed to a beerhouse in which he had heard a few Chiefs fans were present.

We weren't disappointed. Around 30 Chiefs fans have congregated in the middle of a traditional German bar/restaurant. The staff and the locals seemed to love the noise and the buzz coming from the Kingdom. Some even joined in "The Chop."

If the people of Frankfurt weren't aware that the Chiefs were in town, they will be soon. As of Friday, it is widely expected that Chiefs fans will arrive in their droves.

After a long day travelling, a few beers with old (and new) friends was the perfect end to what promises to be a perfect weekend.