Houston we have a Problem!!!
After eating pizza and fantastic ribs with @sneak in the lobby of Volkshotel I went to bed to have a great 5 Hour sleep. Well at 8am I received a distress chat from @mrs.steemit and @lisadang the information at that time was a bit cryptic I just knew:
I was still drunk and sleeping but I started to pack my bag and took a shower to go for the rescue to the airport. On the way down to the lobby I met @nanzo-scoop and he offered to let me ride along in his Cab.
@nanzo-scoop ordered a electric cab...
The driver was a bit insane he was a former F1 driver (at least that's what I told everybody in the car as he was accelerating the shit out of this Nissan...)
I think the cab drivers in Amsterdam are rigging their taxo-meters. Every 5m the fare jumps 10 Cents that is not normal, is it?
Anyway @nanzo-scoop and I arrived safely at the airport. I was flying with KLM an he was going with BA.
@nanzo-scoop tried to pay with cash but I did remind him to be like George Clooney and always use his mileage earning credit card, so he switched from cash to Card payment. He is now stuck with 40 Euro but as GBP will be soon worthless that 40 Euro might buy him a Palace in London...
I had Checked-in Online so I went to the Platinum Entrance of KLM
Very strangely my boardingpass didn't work so I went to the Checkin-Counter and OMG the Staff told me that my assistant had booked me on a 9:45am flight and it was already 9:43.. (I was under the impression that my flight was at 1pm). I have never missed a flight in my life, but it seems that Amsterdam was not ready to let me go... I MISSED MY FLIGHT
I informed @mrs.steemit and @lisadang and they joined me for a coffee and to find a solution for our triple failure (They missed their flight too!!!)
So we started checking our options, KLM had offered to put me on another flight but the re-booking fee was 387 Euro.. which was more expensive than booking a return ticket and throwing away the return.
@mrs.steemit and @lisadang needed to go to Hamburg so we first tried to find something cheap for them.. Unfortunately on short notice there is no cheap direct flight even the cheapest connecting flight was 223 Euro per person. So I started looking for any tickets using miles BA, Lufthansa, Airberlin, Etihad, Emirates, but nothing really nothing was bookable for the same day...
@lisadang saved the day, she found them a way to go back to Hamburg for a low 3 figure amount so we had the first problem solved...
Of course they had to go back to the city... so we bought tickets for them and than I sent them on their way..
I had earned some nice rewards for my Steemfest posts (Thank you all for voting!) so I promised @lisadang that I will cover their cost for that trip back that was the least I could do for these wonderful two Steemians!!!
Than I had to decide what to do... spent 387 Euro on the rip-off KLM fare or find something cheaper???
These were my Options
- KLM 387 Euro (Change Old Ticket) 6 Hour wait
- KLM 269 Euro (Return Ticket throwing away the return flight) 6 Hour Wait
- Easyjet 189 Euro (5 Hour wait)
- Brussel Air Train 126 Euro (but 7 Hours in Train)
As I have my Priority Pass I decided to use Easyjet and chill in the Lounge for 5 Hours. So I booked the ticket online and checked-in on the spot. Depending on the airline there is some stuff you have to know before you book a sameday ticket at the airport. Most airlines only let you check-in 2 hours prior to the flight if you do it at a counter. Some airlines do not offer Mobile Boardingpasses. I knew that Easyjet has a Online Check-in and Online Boarding Pass, so I checked-in right away. It worked like a charm...
PP Lounge here I come!!!
I went to terminal 2 and tried to enter but the automatic entrance control kept telling me to go to the right terminal... So I could not enter Terminal 2 where the Lounges were located... Failure number 2 this day....
I had no choice but to wait for 5 Hours in Terminal 3... No free drinks, no food.. I bought a fresh juice and a Gouda Sandwich...
Food Post... (well it was not that bad.. )
While waiting I wrote my last two new posts HERE and HERE and answered comments and replied to chat messages...
Will I ever reach my final destination? Walking down the endless hallway to my gate
The easyjet plane arrived...
I made it.. the plane was pretty full so I got lucky and were seated in Row 13 (Exit row with a lot legroom)
I was so exhausted that I fell asleep for the whole duration of the flight...
I am grateful I messed up this time... I have the feeling that I will be telling this story on stage on the next Steemfest...
Steemfest itself just went down way too @smooth so the god of blockchain decided I was not allowed to leave Amsterdam with all the earnings of the 12 Steemfest post I made.... At least I spent everything I earned on drinks for many new friends and our new travel arrangement... I don't mind because life gives and takes. There is always Yin and Yang which I believe in...
Anybody else messed up too? Please post in comments
I am blogging about the following topics :
- I travel the world (Travel and Restaurant Blog)
- Exposed (Uncovering Stories you need to know)
- Lifehacks (How to save money,etc)
- SPOTTED (Limited Edition Food, Drinks, Gadgets)
- Steemperlen (German Version)
- SQUEEZE (Interview Series)
- COOKED (10 Episodes Cooking Series)
- Working anytime, anywhere (New series for freelancers)
- Frequent Traveller (New series about Travel Hacks and FFPs)
- HEAVEN (NEW Luxury Travel Magazine)
- FARM (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
ABOUT ME: Some insides into my Steemit life