Yesterday, my boyfriend and I were on our last day in Berlin. We went to see Käärijä perform - it was the opening night to his European tour.
The gig was on Sunday, and we were leaving the country on Tuesday. We knew Tuesday was going to be a long, difficult and PITA day because we still had lots of stuff to see, but our transportation ticket expired so we didn't have as much access to public transportation without paying extra for the additional tickets - we had to walk a lot. And I
have been walking a lot already these days - the tours, sightseeing, museums...
I had a bad night's sleep and I was hella groggy. We had to check out by 10 and our flight was scheduled for 8 o'clock in the evening. My boyfriend kept walking faster than me the entire day and that irritated both him and me. We arrived at the airport where I had I think my second chance to sit down that day. The Starbucks only served grande and venti (medium and large), and was of course more expensive than a Starbucks outside the airport.
I went to the bathroom, and by the time I was back, my half-full cup was gone. I left my boyfriend to mind our luggage, and he was sitting next to me, but there were two separate coffee tables. I guess he didn't even notice that the waiter came by and picked the cup up (despite there being luggage all around the coffee table...). Oh well, half of €7 down the drain I guess.
Oh, I forgot - the airline kept pushing back the departure. The flight was over an hour and a half late.
Anyway, the time has come - only one hour until our flight! We went across the airport to our gate.
And then... 10 minutes before the rescheduled departure, the flight disappears from all screens everywhere. "The flight has been canceled. Pick up your luggage and report to the AAS kiosk next to the Starbucks."
All of a sudden, I'm not only tired anymore - I am furious.
We storm to the Starbucks, but there's no AAS anywhere. We talk to the barista who's closing up, "oh, there's another Starbucks, outside of clearance."
A hole begins forming on my over-shoulder bag because it's overstuffed. I hope the bag won't fall apart by the time we get back to Croatia.
We finally found the fucking Starbucks and the AAS, airline assistance. "Sorry, but Croatia Airlines customer support works only until 8, and it's past 9 now. They have two additional numbers listed, but the first one is busy and the second number does not exist when we dial it."
The AAS didn't know anything! When the next flight would be, whether we should find accommodation on our own or from the airline - nothing.
We booked some random room somewhere near downtown Berlin. Of course, we slept through the night because the airline customer service is not there until 8 in the morning.
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Today's the next day, they told us to keep our receipts for food and accommodation. They scheduled us on a flight to Frankfurt first, with a connection to Croatia. We should be back in our country by 10 in the evening.
I guess I'll never book a flight with bloody Croatia Airlines ever again, unless I plan coming back from a vacation, like, one week before work or something. I missed a day's work now, and I've barely managed to get these two days off for the gig.
I've flown Ryanair and I've NEVER had this much shit and to be left stranded with no info at all. An international airport that closes all services at 9, but serves flights that take off way later than that??? So if a plane crash landed into the ocean, we gotta wait for the representative to wake up, make coffee, sit down and pick up?
The CA representative, once we were finally on a call, confirmed that we'll be reimbursed. She asked, "I hope that the airport at least gave you a place for stay." No they didn't, but the representative was very kind probably because we didn't yell at her (we had just woken up) and expressed concern and kindness.
Currently, we're chilling at a cat cafe. In short, a day wasted because half of it will have to be spent at the airport because the flight was canceled two hours past its scheduled departure.
The weather was nice-to-ok (a warm sunny day with a small rain that happened around 1 in the morning, way past we would've returned back home if it hadn't got canceled).
DJ. who?
opin suomea, kerro mulle vitsi DM:ssä (ja ole valmis selittämään se)