On 15/16th Dec (Eastern time), I waited, amid delays, for the flight to Frankfurt at Toronto. First, I boarded the flight by Air Canada and I got numerous meals or snacks.
I landed in Frankfurt but amid significant delays and a massive crowd over security checks, I did not take the opportunity and missed a flight to Turin. Hundreds of people were lining up in Frankfurt and it's just so bad. My nightmare happened. I was forced to stay in Frankfurt, having nowhere else to go, and I forced myself to sleep over a bench, while sitting, in Frankfurt. I had no better corner of the public airport hall to stay in, and the lights were always on. I cannot forget Gate B of Frankfurt.
Interestingly, I was already using my rusty German to explain myself, and on 17th (Central European time or German or Italian, and this time zone until 2 Jan) I booked for another flight. I stood in line for quite some time to wait for Air Canada's counter to open. Another guy was waiting, too, and he spent a lot of time. While booking for another ticket again, I ran into an elderly German man, and his HK wife, who were trying to rebook (too) and visit their daughter with terminal cancer in Canada.
Later on 17 Dec afternoon, I finally caught a flight to Turin. It was an 1-hour flight but delayed for 3 hours because of snow and ice. The same also happened over in Toronto in the same few days. Toronto, Frankfurt, and Turin all had significant snow and it all affected traffic in every possible way.
After this massive mess, I settled in Turin later on 17th. I met my 1st friend (followed by 2nd friend, just two in total). Well, we spent a night together and I was extremely tired, but still had trouble sleeping amid an obvious jet lag.
On 18th, I got better and we started to tour around the city. I think Piazza Palazzo shocked me. Yes, it was a large marketplace and lively, but every day after people finished their business, it was a lot of trash all around, and there were municipal contractors, I believe, to clean up mess every evening. I ended up buying something useful, but at first I thought Turin was so dusty. My shoes, like everybody else's, got dark after every trip.
The place I stayed in was a well renovated room within a fairly old building along with some indoor mosque. It felt like my late grandfather's former home (now still around but home to someone else) because it was only accessible stairs mostly, and there were locks and gates outside certain units. The scenery there wasn't even bad, to be honest.
On 19th, 20th, 22nd, in fact also 24th, 25th, and 26th, I was alone, and I tried many things. Before I write part 2, let's just say Turin is a dusty place, but small enough for quite a few good places and eateries. Most likely, many locals struggle with earning a living. It's a good place even though it's so dusty, and the exhaust gas smells like Bosnia's.
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