8-30-91 Friday
Supreme test for traveling with Alzheimers link
8-31-19 Saturday
Crash and Burn link
9-1-19 Sunday
American Airlines put us up for two nights at Eb hotel Miami as they could not get us to Berlin till Mon. 8 PM.
It was a restorative day of rest which as we see was going to be needed on this unsuspected long journey.
9-2-19 Monday
We check out at noon at get to airport 8 hours before flight to London and then Berlin.
No worries. It is a flagstaff lounge with good food and better choice of alcohol.
Time passes without stress or boredom thanks to cocktails and wine, good buffet food. We even strike up a conversation with another traveler. American from North Carolina that did work for big oil abroad but now is a missionary in South America.
The flight to London is very good. I slept as well as can be expected in business class. We ask the flight attendant about our connection at Heathrow. She says she can't find out the gate. We are told we go from Terminal two to Terminal five.
We arrive early but the plane can't get into it's dock so we have to circle the airport. We seem to dock on time and despite our concern at making the next terminal we are left to our own devices to figure it out.
We go with the flow of the crowd, but are the last ones cut off at the bus. Then while waiting for the next bus in 15 minutes, a airport official brings 15 people to board ahead of us. Ginger and I are next in line so we are not worried till we see everyone behind us scrambling at the back doorh to a bus that just pulled in. We start to follow them in panic but I tell Ginger if we go that way we will not make it on.
Thus in a bold executive decision I lift open the rope and we walk on the bus of disabled people that we put ahead of us.
We get to terminal 5 at the same time as the flow but we are at the tail end. We try to get into security and the machine will not let us into the area as a computer decision made a decision we can't get through security in time to get to our gate.
We did everything right yet we did not make our connection. This infuriated me.
We go to get re-scheduled to another flight. The agent asks why we missed the flight? I listed all the delays after arriving early and asked if she thought we were late or did the airport cause us to be late. Us saying we arrived late, implies it was our fault. More fuel to my simmering fire.
We go through a detailed security check. There was no way we could have gotten to our flight under the best of circumstances.
That was my tipping point when I notice I could give an evaluation of my experience.
Here it is:
Another meltdown in a week of meltdowns.
Jet lag made it worse.
I was exhausted after what I thought was corporate injustice.
They scheduled a flight that had high likelihood we would not make the connecting flight.
We are seasoned travelers.
We understand when there is no alternative.
This experience does not seem to fall in that category.
Back the another Flagship travel lounge. I guess I shouldn't complain but jet lag had it's effect. I was not very hungry and had no desire for alcohol.
Fortunately the flight to Berlin is short about 90 minutes.
We get to The Westin Grand Berlin hotel.
We walk half a mile to do some shopping to avoid eating out.
These are the supplies we purchased.
Very satisfying dinner and lunch the following day.
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