It’s not all hunky-dory

So, this is the first post where  I will try more of a personal touch.

This million dollar challenge is naturally presenting its first set of challenges. I am having to live without many of my luxurious, and often I am asking myself why on earth am I putting myself through so much pain.

Some background, I’ve spent the last two weeks in England in order to both attend my cousin’s wedding and also to save money instead of renting a flat (during this time I stayed with my mother in my former home). So on Monday, it was time for me to return to Germany which is my new home and the home place of this million dollar challenge.

Now, normally I would book a direct return flight and be back to Munich within a matter of hours. But, the new money conscious me had to scour the Internet searching for the cheapest in order to save money which I could then use on my  ventures instead. Naturally, the cheaper flights tend to be indirect flights which stop off at some midway station and waste  tons of my time.

I have to admit, I had this strange excitement that this return journey. I have never been to France, and this return flight  happened to stop off in Paris. Woo hoo! Not only was I getting a cheap flight, but I was also going to have my first visit to France, albeit without having stepped out the airport.

So, my sister kindly  dropped me off at the airport (so again I had no transport costs) and I made   my way towards the scanners. So, naturally I had forgotten to take all the change in my pockets and so now had to bear the inconvenience of empty my pockets in public. I was thankful I had thrown my dirty tissues and sweet wrappers away.

The scanners were pretty uneventful except of course the fact that I again somehow managed to set the scanner off and had to be hand searched. For some reason, this always seems to happen to me at Birmingham airport and I’m beginning to believe they do it on purpose because some sadistic checker wants to see me continuously inconvenienced.

So, after finding nothing of concern  upon me  I’m free to retrieve my bag which as luck would have it is nowhere to be found. I ask one of the assistance where my bag might be and he replies  “we need to search your bag”. I’m thinking, how can it be that every time I managed to leave something in my  bag that causes the problems at the airport. I began to think what might be in my bag, and within minutes it became clear that I had left my expensive fragrance within my backpack.

Great-exactly what I need, that is over £40 worth of good smelling fragrance that is going to go down the drain. However, I’m in luck, the man checking my bag is a good old bloke and provides a plastic bag in which he  places my fragrance and scans it so I’m free to take it with me. Woo hoo part 2!

so I’m waiting for my flight and the screen changes to tell me my flight is going to be one hour late. Normally, this is not much of a problem to me, whereas now I have a connecting flight to catch which I’m in real danger of missing. I run around trying to find someone to talk to and there is nobody from the airline. I am told to watch the screens were further updates. Great, I have no idea if I’m going to make my flight and perhaps I’m going to inconvenience my friend on the other side who is picked up the keys to  the new shared apartment where I’m staying.

No less than one hour later, I finally board my flight. I’m told by the  cabin crew that they will be representatives to meet us in Paris who will inform us has two options. I reside myself to the fact that most likely I’m going to miss the connection and will be able to spend the night in Paris. So, finally I get to take France off my list, and that too in the proper way.

Upon arriving in Paris the expected airline attendants are nowhere to be seen and I try and make my way to the nearest information point. On the way I passed the departures board and I see clearly that the gate for my flight has been closed. By now I’m pretty happy that I’m  going to be  spending one night in Paris-no pun intended.

I get the airline information point and there are a couple arguing quite ferociously with the lady behind the counter. I stand and watch for a short while waiting for my turn, and I cannot believe just how irrational arguments in front of  me are becoming. It’s like when people get to an airport they lose their entire set of manners and judgement, and believed by shouting at the person they can get the best result. Naturally, the best result they get is that the attendant refuses to speak to them.

I feel this argument is  carrying on forever so make my way to another information point  an informed the lady that it appears I’ve missed my flight due to the original delayed flight. She taps  away on her keyboard  and with a smile tells me that no, the connecting flight was also delayed and that I can make the flight. There goes my night in Paris which I was beginning to look forward to. Not only would I have spent a night in a hotel compliments of the airline, but they also owned the shuttle service from the airport to downtown Paris so I would have had the chance to see Paris for free!

But it s was not meant to be, and I am told the terminal is just a few minutes walk and that I should go quickly. I decide there is not way I am going to run, if it is that much of a hurry get me a car.

20 minutes later and I’m still walking towards my departure gate, these airport walks should come with a health warning. I fear my slow walk may cause me to miss the plane, and since they may argue they gave me enough time to get to the terminal it could mean no hotel for me so I start to jog a little.

By the time I get to the gate I’m sweating (Im carrying a backpack with my laptop) and kind of feel sorry for the person who is going to be sitting next to me.

As sods law would have it, this flight is still delayed by another hour, so I could have took the most leisurely of strolls and made it (why they never put this information on the departure board is beyond me).

So I make my plane and get to Munich. I’ve decided I hate cheap connecting flights which leave me stranded and running around airports sweating. Unless of course next time, they leave me stranded and put me up in a hotel in a place I have never visited. Now that is an idea, only take transfers through places I would not mind staying should the same occur again. Noted, but still not taking the direct flight which is just a bit more expensive sucks, big time. But I’m committed to this Million Dollar Challenge and Mondays adventures are nothing compared to what I faced Tuesday.