I left my beloved dorm at 4am on Saturday morning having not slept all night (Closing party, to student bar, to dorm room party...) My flight departed at 7am (though I dozed off at the gate and almost missed my boarding call!) but took off a bit late, putting me into Frankfurt, Germany at 9am. No problem, I had a long layover anyway. So my gate wasn't listed yet, I sat down, read a bit, relaxed, whatnot. After a few hours I looked at the self-check information computers to be sure my flight was on time and see if it had a gate. Delayed by 4 hours, making the estimated departure time 6:30pm instead of 2:15. Not happy. So, not wanting to wait, I asked at the information counter if there was anyway to get on an earlier flight. He sent me through passport control to the main check-in counters, specifically to the ticket sales counter for Air India. I have never seen such long lines in my life.
I waited at least an hour, probably more, among pissed off tired people, some of whom had been stuck there for days. None of them were going to Chicago, I figured I was alright. Think again. The man at the counter told me there was no way I would get on the flight. And that there were no other flights to Chicago I could even get standby on. Thanks to some sort of strike on Thursday and monsoons in India where my plane was coming from, everything was backed up. I had to wait in ANOTHER long line to get a hotel voucher and ended up at the Stigenberger Airport Hotel around 2:30pm, just in time for my free lunch buffet. (Free airport hotel food sucks, by the way).
After eating and phoning home, I decided to go check out the city and make the most of it. I didn't even mind so much that I was stuck there. Nice enough city, very urban, not nearly as cool as Prague. And the whole time I was thinking--I could be going out for drinks in Prague and meeting Angie's bloke! Ugh.
Sunday, more long lines, more bad news. The flight was cancelled altogether because of the monsoons. I went to several counters for several airlines. Nothing. No flight to ANYWHERE in the US. So after spending another 6 hours at the airport, back to a different hotel. More crappy food. I was beginning to think I'd never get home.
Monday, back to the airport. I waited in the check-in line (promising that there even WAS a check-in line!) for several hours, even talked to security about my bags. Then all the people to Chicago were kicked out of line so the LA passengers could check-in. Once they finished, back in line. At this point, I had already been there for 4 hours. Another hour or two and the lady at the counter typed in my info, made sure I hadn't picked up my luggage since coming in to Frankfurt (which I hadn't, same clothes for 3 days) and asked me if I'd like a window seat. I laughed and told her I wanted ANY seat that would get me to Chicago. And I left with a boarding pass. And two meal vouchers, because the flight was delayed by 9 hours.
I finally boarded the plane at 11pm, took off shortly thereafter, and arrived in Chicago at 1am Tuesday morning. Surprisingly, my luggage arrived also, and in one piece. Customs was a breeze, and I was home by 2:30 or so. Factoring in the time change, it was about 77 hours from the time I left the dorm to the time I got to my apartment. Nothing like a few days stuck in Germany to make me really glad to be home.
