Travels to South Africa (Part 1)

Upon arriving at the Frankfurt airport, I proceeded to the "self check-in" kiosk. After selecting my seat, the system informed me that I would be placed on the stand-by list.

This did not encourage me that this was going to be a fun process. I proceeded the counter to check my bag, where I asked the lady about what the kiosk had said. She confirmed it but said she would check things there. After a bit, with some help from another lady there, they informed me the flight was full and that I would need to go to the gate where they might be able to help me.

I left the counter to hurry through the security to get to my gate. Ever delay seem to confirm to me that I was not going to be on that flight. When I arrived at the gate, this became a near certainty. There were a ton of people crowded around the counter hassling the 3 Lufthansa people. I joined into the queue, but decided I would refrain from hassling them.

One note to make is that if you are polite and not pushy, you will never get to the front of the line. People would walk up, push through to first in line, seemingly ignorant of the line waiting patiently. After a few people doing this, elbows start getting used.