Well yesterday was supposed to be our first day off to Frankfurt, Germany from Buffalo, New York. We arrived in Buffalo 4 hours before our flight was supposed to leave and our trip through customs was straightforward and uneventful. After we got through customs we ate a quick lunch at one of the little cafeteria areas and then decided to play a couple of games together on the computer while we waited for our flight to Detriot (we had just this one lay-over).
We eventually noticed that it had started to snow a bit outide, but eventually it really started to snow. Amanda went to check the board where it lists the flights and it looked like ours had been delayed by an hour, which was really bad as we only had 1 hour to make the connecting flight in Detriot.
After lots of waiting and waiting and with the blizzard going strong outside (we had parked ourselves in front of the window to watch the antics of the airport grounds-crew as they struggled in the snow) we found out our flight had been cancelled :(. We had already known that we would not make it to Frankfurt, but were at least hoping to make it to Detroit.
We were then further saddened to hear that all the flights to Detroit were full for the next several days. As we waited in line we discussed our options and thought we would ask for ANY way of getting to either Frankfurt or London. Once we got to the front of the line (by now 5:30pm) we were told that we had been automatically booked on the next flight the next day, which would be exactly the same as that day's flight.
So, we decided that rather than return home in the bad weather we would take a hotel for the night. We eventually found one that had a reasonable emergency rate (I didn't know they had these) and we asked for the shuttle to come pick us up. While other shuttles came and went(several times) we waited for ours. It took them an hour. Needless to say we were not impressed, however, in retrospect, it was worth it.
The hotel we are staying at (it is now morning the next day and we have some time to kill before going back to the airport) is very nice with comfortable beds and a really great full breakfast, with waffles, eggs, french toast, bacon and much, much more. We would likely stay here again if we were ever in this position again, just hopefully with a more adept shuttle driver. (we are only 5 minutes away).
So today resumes the battle. Once again we have to go through security, wait for hours at the airport and hope our flight and connections all run smoothly. We are hopeful, and are very much looking forward to our trip, which is still going to be lots of fun, just a day shorter...
1 comment:
Your trip has started off with about as much adventure as once could imagine! When you read this we hope you are sitting at a little German cafe sipping on hot chocolate and eating some torte. We look forward to reading the your next entry.
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