I drug my luggage back down the long flights of stairs and out into the early morning. The cab was waiting for me and the cabbie helped me put my bags in the trunk. He introduced himself as Adam and he knew enough English to understand where to take me and to pass the time pleasantly enough. I used all the Polish phrases I'd picked up on him and he got a kick out of that.
I got to the airport and the big clock outside reminded me how early it was, but I was just happy to be on my way home it hardly mattered what time it was. I rolled my heavy bags inside (thanks again Mom and Dad for the loaners) and went to go check in. I knew I had about 10 minutes before they would open up the check in counter so I looked at the departure listings. When it got back around to the beginning I was horrified to see that both morning flights to Munich had been canceled. I was close to despair. Was I ever going to get out of Krakow?
The thought of another encounter with the ticket hag was daunting, but I had no choice. I rolled up to the ticket office and noticed no one was around and the door was locked. There was already a small crowd lining up outside. Apparently they don't open the office until 5:00 am which is when check-in for the first flight starts. I'd say that's cutting it very close.
At 5 the office opened with only one representative. I was relieved to see that the hag did not work the morning shift. Still, I wondered how this one person would help all of us in time to reach our flights. I pushed and shoved my way into line and tried to wait patiently as she began helping people. Around 5:25 I got to the front of the line and explained my predicament. Once again they seemed reluctant to help me and could not confirm reservations through United Airlines. I think I actually let out an audible groan at this point. Apparently this woman and the hag received the same training. I showed her everything I had and tried to explain what had happened yesterday, meanwhile the office was filling up with anxious people behind me and there was still only the one person to help them all. She started typing away at her terminal without saying another word to me, occasionally taking a moment to help someone more frantic than myself or answer a phone call, but she did not send me away. After an hour of waiting, a second woman came on shift and began helping some of the other people in line and I felt less guilty about holding everyone else up. Finally I was issued new tickets routing me through Paris, Los Angeles, and back to Eugene. It was now 6:30 and the flight was scheduled to leave at 8:05.
I grabbed my bags and headed to the baggage check-in line which was already open for my flight. Prepared for the worst I handed the gal my passport and suitcase. Thankfully she was very alert and caught a mistake in the first luggage tag that was printed out that would have only sent my bags to LA and not on to Eugene. After a brief phone conversation she was able to route it all the way through and issued a proper tag. I was all set so I headed towards my gate.
I've noticed there is slightly less, and to me more reasonable, security procedures in European airports compared to the US. They aren't particularly afraid of shoes or laptops. I did still have to remove my watch and belt every time I passed a check-point. I should have just not worn them, but it was only a minor inconvenience. I did notice though that European airports do not like to provide waiting passengers with power outlets. In fact everything is cleverly designed to hide them even when there are obvious outlets nearby to service vending machines, atms, and such. While I waited for my flight I could not plug in my laptop to charge, work, or compose emails and blog updates. I was reduced to reading my book. At this point exhaustion was just starting to settle in and I was beginning to smell. I took a quick cat bath in the bathroom and it was a minor improvement. The flight to Paris started boarding around 8:30, slightly behind schedule, but we were off the ground by 9:00.
Soon I was in Paris, or at least the international airport. I wish I could have seen more, but I only had an hour before my flight to Washington D.C. on the way to Los Angeles. I made sure to check in with the United representatives this time and was issued proper boarding passes. I boarded with no hassles and took my seat way in the back next to the window. I found that the larger the aircraft, the more cramped the economy seats are. I was squeezed into my seat next to a rotund black woman for the 8 hour flight over the Atlantic. I drifted in and out of sleep and caught parts of various movies on the little TVs on the backs of the seats. They didn't have those 10 years ago when I flew to London. I really liked the map feature that gave you all the stats on your flight and showed where you were at anytime. Now I think they need to add cameras that let you see outside from different points of the aircraft. That would rock.
The best movie I saw on the flights was "Prime" with Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. I would recommend it, and I usually don't appreciate love stories. "Aeon Flux" was terrible.
Flying over Canada was impressive. Seeing things from such a vantage point is always very awe inspiring. I was glad to be back in the States until I got off the plane at Dallus. I got to experience what it was like for a foreigner to come to this country. Dallus is the dirties, oldest, most confusing and most depressing airport I have ever been in. What a terrible first impression. Being an American in Europe you are very likely to find someone who will speak English and help you. Being a non-English speaker in the US is a bad situation to be in. I watched and listened as many a non-US citizen was talked to loudly and slowly in English as if they were deaf and dumb. I was ashamed that we as a country are so lazy as to not even try to be accommodating to visitors. I was put through the wringer of US customs, once again removing shoes and then having no chair available to put my shoes back on. Despite the confusion and disorganization I was able to find my connecting flight and check-in on time. I knew I would need some cash now that I was back in the States and I wouldn't need my Polish zloty so I hit the exchange counter one last time. It was highway robbery. Somehow $75.00 become $48.00 in exchanging from dollars to zloty and back. Part of the problem was that the counter did not accept "change" and 10 zloty ($3.16) is the smallest denomination bill. I wasn't in a position to argue so I took my diminished funds and waited by the gate for departure.
I tried to make a few quick calls from my cell phone, which until now was useless. I didn't know before I left that it would not work in Europe so it was just extra weight and something I could have lost. Anyways I was only able to make a couple calls before the battery died and I was again cut off from the rest of the world. I boarded the plane and took my seat between two older women, the one on my left and large gal that did her best not to spill into my seat, but it was in vain. Again I was reminded that I was back in the States, seeing that the average American outweighed the average European by a factor of about 1.5. I tried to sleep as much as I could during the 5 hour flight, but I mostly just sat there cramped and crowded unable to get comfortable. I was very glad to be in LAX when we got there at 8:00.
Okay, maybe there is an airport more confusing than Dallus, and it might be LAX. There are 4 major terminals that are completely disconnected and have no information about each other. I was panicking at first when I got off the United flight at Terminal 1 and could not find information about my flight to Eugene. I finally asked for help and they pointed out that my final flight was operated by Horizon and they were in Terminal 3. My baggage was being transported to the proper plane, but I had to find my own way to the Terminal. I waited with a crowd of anxious passengers outside as we watched the shuttle busses go round and round without stopping for us. Apparently many of the driver's shifts were just ending. My flight was scheduled to leave in 40 minutes and I was at their mercy. Finally the A shuttle pulled up and we all piled in. 3 stops later I jumped off and rushed to the check-in counter. The guy at the counter thought he was funny after listening to my tale of woe about the paper ticket issues in Krakow and decided to mess with me and say that there was a problem with my ticket. He let on that he was joking pretty quickly and I told him I wasn't in the mood. Then I got a strange vibe when he had to take my passport and told me he would be just a moment and went into the back room for awhile. I was getting antsy now, 15 minutes till boarding. He came back and handed me my passport. I asked if there was a problem and he said "No problem, its all taken care of". I wasn't going to press further so I took off for the gate.
Maybe it was the fact that I was in a hurry, or maybe it was just chance, but with 5 minutes till boarding I was singled out at the security check point for extra special treatment. I had to stand in an extra special slow line and wait while others passed through. Then they went through my bags thoroughly and gave me the extra special pat down. They weren't impressed when I said my plane was boarding now. When they were unable to find any more reason to hold me up they let me go. I was not enjoying this one bit. Halfway to the gate a TSA agent held up the whole lot of us for a couple minutes due to a "Security Threat" which turned out to be nothing. This new era of paranoia is great.
I got to the gate a little late, but it turned out to be okay because they were a little behind schedule. Around 9:15 we boarded the final plane, a little 2 propeller jalopy. It was scheduled to stop in Medford and then continue on the Eugene. Although the ride was the choppiest, I had the most room to myself of any of the flights and the most comfortable chair. I slept most of the 2 hours home. Once in Eugene I had no problems, got my bags, and got a shuttle ride back to my door from a nice lady who ran the shuttle service. We chatted all the way home.
I was so exhausted when I got home at 12:30 am Monday morning. I just through my bags down, took a quick shower, and jumped into bed.
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