This review is for VAT refund upon leaving the EU, at FRA’s T1.
My experience is unpleasant at Global Blue Tax Free.
First, go to the office in the small alley to have the form stamped. Two male agents are unprofessional, as if it’s a joke.
Then go back out to the counter, where mostly Asian female agents are working. No receipt is given. You put your form into the blue box.
If the shop offers you a VAT refund at a lower rate, I’d take it (this time, the shops didn’t offer this service). It’s been two months, and I’ve received my refund yet.
Refund offices at KRK / Kraków: one man is manning the office on the ground floor. They also have another office on the second floor but no one is there. The man on the ground floor comes later and told me to get refund in FRA, where I actually leaving the EU.
The lounge itself is ok: spacious, clean with various seatings. The drinks are far better than the foods. It has four showers, and an ample business section.
Getting into it, however, is a battle.
Before this incident, I didn’t pay attention to their two kinds of lounge: Senator and Business, and my credit cards and ticket give me accesses to both.
I wasn’t planning to use their lounge because
the layover was short; but the first leg of trip on LH from krk was delayed
I’ve other easy choices
But flying Lufthansa, it’s their mustard yellow lounges I see right off the plane.
The first one, is a Senator. A woman by the door said, “oh, you can’t go” after I showed her my access code on their LH App.
“Really? Why?”
“You just can’t.” she said.
“So, the code doesn’t work?”
“You just can’t.” she said.
“May I see your supervisor?” I snapped a photo before she left to find her supervisor.
“Did you just take a photo of me?” She asked.
“No. I just took a photo, you may be a part of it.”
She went inside and reappeared with a tall white man shortly.
“Are you the supervisor?” I said.
“Did you take a photo of her?” He said.
“Yes because she happens to be there.”
“Delete it.” He said.
“It’s a public space.” I said.
“It’s not allowed in Germany.” He said.
I think it isn’t true but why argue with a self-important buffoon? I deleted that photo. He looked satisfied and said tersely, “you can’t use the code.” And walked away.
Did he get high for bullying a little old Asian woman?
Ok, you won’t key in the code. Neither of them asked me what kind of access credential do I’ve. If you don’t want to deal with your co-brand North American credit card then do NOT offer to the public as a benefit. I certainly didn’t sign up because of the free LH lounge access.
I found his manner repellent and demand funny: I’d think everyone would know by 2025 that the deleted photo can be recovered from the ‘Recently Delete’ folder with two clicks. Is he dumb or just like their army of counter agents, taking pleasure at harrase their customers (it never fails for them to pick on my carry-on, the only luggage I use: this time at KRK, it was 1.8 kg overweight. If you still think the German precision, consider the reality that their trains are off and airport escalators are broken for years… )?
I don’t know… Germany is or used to be the engine of Europe … but their premier airline can’t scan a code. The same goes to the Old Opera house in Frankfurt for the concerts, they couldn’t scan the ticket they emailed me: I had to print it out. For Pete’s sake, save a tree or two, will you???
On my way to Centurion, I passed by another LH lounge (I think there are 14 of them in FRA) that’s by my gate. I fished out the email and bingo, it worked, which gave me the oppertunity to write above. I won’t be flying Lufthansa any time soon: their pettiness over the weight of my carry-on is sickening.
Mainz is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, with about 223,000 residents, making it the country’s 35th-largest city. It is part of the Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region—Germany’s second-largest—alongside cities such as Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Offenbach am Main, and Hanau.
The hair on these two mini statues always remind me of Kim Jong-un. His latest antic is to expand his nuclear arsenal. NYTNorth Korea Holds Military Parade With Nuclear Threat.
Obviously, he’s showing off his newest intercontinental ballistic missile.
Bockenheim is a neighborhood in Frankfurt am Main, which locates west of downtown. In the old times, people had to pay to come; now it became part of Ffm since 1895.
I often walk to the Alt Opa – the old opera house for show, and the Hauptbahnhof – the central train station. Both destinations are 30 minutes walk.
The Bockenheimer Warte is the most recognized structure of the area. Also the name of a major subway station, U6 and U7 line. There are many cops today.
Leipziger Street is one of the main roads, with many shops and restaurants. Its also the name of the subway station U4 in the area.
What do they read – magazines in the supermarket, and street vendors
… buying eggs, the old fashion way. Not sure the busy parents with young children would have time to buy it this way.
Oberursel (Taunus) is a small city northwest of Frankfurt. We took S Bahn to Oberursel Bahnhof and hiked forest and the little town. The day pass was $12.67, can be used unlimited for up to five riders.
