A chain of clicks filled the flight cabin as I recollect the fascinating memories while leaping around Europe. That was the signal for me to buckle up for the final adventure.
(Dear Reader: Buckle up as well for the longest post in this series!)
I was accompanied by a calm Norwegian man with his son, an energetic toddler who can’t seem to keep his bottom on the seat. We had a casual conversation & I felt a sense of delight to learn about the culture of parenting here. I’ve lost track on the number of times I came across a man with his young child during this trip. There wasn’t a single moment of anger being displayed throughout the flight(Am I dreaming?). On a side note, NO children were harmed during the course of the flight.
I decided to head straight to the apartment, thanks to the 10-inch pizza I had during the layover @ Copenhagen airport. Honestly, it didn’t seem like it could fit in my stomach.
The apartment was a few stops away by train. Speaking about trains, I found that I had to reset my mind & train myself to make switches to a new language in the following order: German-Italian-Dutch-Danish-Norwegian-German followed by French(see next paragraph).
After a short walk, I arrived at the apartment. I felt that I look really suspicious to a 3rd party, wandering outside the apartment as my host wasn’t responding to the calls. Before my mind could come up with a backup plan, my phone rang. Thankfully, it was my host and she was taking a nap when I called her earlier.
I mustered up all the French language that was stashed in my mind which I took up a few years ago. Fate has decided that it will come in handy at this very moment with my encounter with a French girl in Frankfurt 🙂
It was obvious that she was still in a daze after I interrupted her peaceful nap. Nevertheless, we had an engaging conversation which lasted around 15 mins. As she was showing me my bedroom(I slept on the couch in the living room due to lack of funds), I realised that we were not alone…
~If you look closely, there’s another cat on my wallet~
90% of the time, this cat will have a RBF(Resting B—- Face) but it kept me cosy throughout the night. Yet another reason not to judge a book by its cover 😉
After having a decent night’s rest, I woke up just as she was leaving for work. I was told to lock up her place afterwards as she would only be back in the evening. I had a few hours to explore the neighbourhood. Finding food was the top priority.
I stumbled across a large grocery store & filled the shopping basket with mostly chocolates(Ritter Sport, Milka etc) and pastries fresh from the oven. I was prepared to purchase some plastic bags, which is frowned upon as Europe practices the “Bring your own Bag” Policy. Unfortunately, I could not see any plastic bags at the counter & the lady in the counter(late 40s) could not speak a word of english. The confusion turned to amusement as the Indian girl behind me was as clueless as I was. Since verbal communication was futile, she displayed some hand gestures which translated to: “GET THE SHOPPING BAG AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE STORE!”
I smiled & waved to her moments later, leaving the store as I lugged the enormous bag on my shoulders.
It was the first time I felt like a real foreigner. Oh well, just in time for me to pack up & leave
~An empty street, an empty house, a hole inside my heart~
My flight back home was scheduled to depart at 9pm. That leaves me with ample time to explore the city. My priority was to get rid of all the cash I had on me. After dumping my backpack in a storage locker at Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, I stepped outdoors for my final exploration in Europe.
After a quick lunch, I headed to ‘Primark’, which is probably the cheapest apparel store across Europe. After spending over an hour in the store, I walked out with a new duffel bag filled with baby clothings. Don’t get carried away just yet, becoming a father requires me to be a husband first. Rest assured, I don’t take shortcuts 😉
(P.S: The clothes are for my nephew)
Anxiety began to creep in my mind as I imagined the long journey back home. It includes 2 layovers with a combined waiting time of 8 hours in both airports. That was the price to pay for being excessively frugal. I arrived at the airport at 7pm and repacked all the items to reduce the load on my cabin bag.
I closed my eyes and began to meditate as I sat on the aisle seat, waiting for all the passengers to board for the flight to Abu Dhabi. I sense discomfort as the plane stayed intact for over 30 minutes after the boarding time. Shortly afterwards, the pilot made an announcement.
“Dear Passengers, there is a technical issue with the engine & we are looking into it at the moment. Please stay in your seats. We apologise for the inconvenience”
The meditation continued for another 30 minutes. At around 10:30pm, the 2nd announcement was made. This time, it was confirmed. The flight will be rescheduled tomorrow due to the technical fault. A wave of dread ensued in the cabin. I did not know how to react. My only concern was “Where am I going to sleep tonight?”
As passengers came out of the airport, the lead flight attendant made an announcement on a loudspeaker. I could barely hear it. At this moment, I knew everyone felt agitated as we had to collect all our luggage & wait for the next instruction. The crowd was filled with people of all ages, from the elderly on walking aids to a group of schoolchildren on a study trip.
Since everyone was as clueless as I am, I decided to brush my way through the crowd to get closer to the flight attendant. She was very calm despite being pestered by the mob of unhappy passengers. My objective was to gather as much information based on the queries of the other passengers. As I stood there for about 15 mins, all my questions were answered. I was enlightened by this whole incident, mainly because of the different types of inconvenience arising from a single flight being delayed.
Just to mention a few:
- A couple going for a honeymoon in Maldives(There’s only 1 flight daily from Abu Dhabi to Maldives)
- Families going for a vacation.(Accomodation & other travel packages pre-planned)
- People having connecting flights booked with a different airline.
- Compensation for First Class Passengers.
There was still no update on the updated flight schedule. At this moment, I had no idea when I will be making it back home(glad that I had no plans made).
The flight attendant directed us to exit the airport, where buses await to transport us to a hotel. I boarded the bus and was accompanied by a German student. We conversed throughout the bus ride. He was heading to China to visit the school he went for exchange. Interestingly, he understood basic Mandarin.
I arrived to the hotel & noticed a queue at the reception. I looked around me and realized that I was alone, which means that I get a room to myself. (YAY!)
~Room for One please~
I soaked myself in the bathtub, contemplating on the incident which flashed through my mind. Everything occured swiftly & I questioned myself, “Was it all but a dream”
I checked my phone afterwards for the flight update. It was scheduled at 10am the next day. All of the passengers were conveyed to the airport at 7am the next morning from their respective hotels.
I decided to have breakfast instead of joining the crowd at the check-in counters.
It was all smooth sailing afterwards. I cherished every moment of this journey & I felt thankful to add another item to my bucket list.
UPDATE: I submitted a travel claim for the cancelled flight a few weeks after the trip & guess what?
I was compensated over half the cost of my flight ticket!
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Till the next chapter!
Love,
LeapingLuqe 🙂
Leap with Luqe 