Returning from holiday is always a bit of a disappointment, but usually it’s not too bad. Here’s how Germany welcomed me back.
Lufthansa was 40 minutes late and it took 30 minutes to get my bag, so I missed my train by less than a minute (I was running down the escalator when it was pulling out – it was five minutes late). The next train left at 23:29 so I went back to the terminal to kill time.
Just for fun, I went to the Lufthansa customer service area (remember, this is German customer service) to see if they’d offer me anything.
Conversation (in English because I couldn’t be bothered to think in German):
J: Hi, I missed my train because my flight was 40 minutes late. Does Lufthansa offer compensation for that?
Lufthanser: No, it’s not our problem you missed your train.
J: Actually, it is because your flight was 40 minutes late. Had it been on time, I would be on the train right now.
L: It depends on the reason the flight was delayed.
J: I don’t know, I wasn’t flying the plane.
*I hand him my boarding card stub in case he could be bothered to look it up*
*He ignores it and hands it back*
L: There’s another train.
J: Yes, an hour and a half after the first one. That means I’ll get home around 1:00 instead of 23:00. I have to get up at 6:00 tomorrow to get ready for work.
L: If you’re two hours late we give you a hotel room and pay for your meals.
J: I don’t want that, I just want a beer, a coke or even just free wifi for an hour to pass the time.
L: You weren’t two hours late.
J: I realise that.
L: I can’t give you anything.
*I decide to push it a bit further to pass the time*
J: All I want is something from Lufthansa that says they’re sorry for the inconvenience they’ve caused me and the sleep I’ll be missing due to the flight being late.
L: You weren’t two hours late. Those are the rules.
J: How about customer satisfaction?
L: You weren’t two hours late.
J: Thank you for your time.
To pass the time I wandered around more of the Frankfurt Airport – most of which is closed at that time of the evening. A couple restaurants are open and also a bakery/convenience store, but that’s about it. Information Girl is there with her plasticy airport staff smile to give you to directions to places that won’t open til after your train or plane leave, and there are also plenty of overnighters attempting to sleep on uncomfortable vinyl seats.
After getting bored with wandering around, I sat down near the elevator that I’d be using in a bit to get back to the train station in a bit. Apparently, it’s a secret even though it’s out in the open.
If you follow the signs to the long distance trains, you are directed down the stairs through the regional station, up a couple escalators, down a hall and down a couple more escalators to get to your train. If you use the ‘secret way’, you take the escalator from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor, walk down a few hallways and take the same couple of escalators down to the trains. I do find it odd that the airport doesn’t mention it.
I turned on my personal internet device (details to follow) and entertained myself. Apparently, that made me suspicious to the guy sitting five seats away on the same bank of seats. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him caught him glaring for reasons unknown to me (the volume wasn’t too loud).
I went back to the train station at 23:05 and waited for my 23:29 train – after letting out the German Fuck Off Sigh when I saw it was going to be 15 minutes late. Twenty minutes later it arrived and off we went.
We arrived in my town at 1:05 and I made the five minute walk out into the 14°C early morning weather to the taxi rank along with many others. I used to walk home from the train station after returning from holiday, but now that I live in Old Town, I’ll be taking taxis due to the distance. By the time I got there the last taxi was leaving so I took my place at the front of the rank so that I’d be the first one to get the next taxi. Unfortunately, the taxi driver had other ideas. After pulling in, he asked each of us where we were going and took the two people that were going the farthest – despite the fact that it wasn’t much further than the rest of us – even though they were at the end of the line (of about 7 people).
Tired, cold and needing sleep, I taught him a few new words in English and made certain that he heard me and knew that they were directed at him.
The next taxi did the same, so I did too (luckily I rarely take taxis in my town).
The third taxi took me home and I arrived at 1:20 – just as it was starting to drizzle.
I dropped my bags just inside the front door and went to bed immediately.
I woke up at 6:00, bundled up and cycled to work for 7:00 to get my lessons ready and also get the key and car and made it to my first lesson on time and prepared (that’s an integrity issue to me).
The weather has been 15°C and rainy today.
I hate this place.
Posted by: J
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