CANCELED FLIGHTS AND MORE

View from our Room

     Ron and I arrived at the Chicago O'Hara Airport about 3 ½ hours early for our flight to Frankfurt—we looked at the departure listings to ensure our flight was on time. We were shocked to find out the flight was canceled. Lufthansa canceled all flights for the day due to a last-minute pilot strike. We were not notified. 

We knew immediately that it wasn't going to be easy to find another flight. It was already late in the day and we were one of the hundreds of passengers attempting to reschedule Lufthansa flights to Europe. In addition, it was the start of Labor Day weekend and most flights were fully booked.

We booked our flight through United Airlines so we immediately went to the United counter (not much of a line). Unfortunately, the agent told us she could not help because we were using points to travel, she gave us a number to call. We weren't happy, but we had no choice but to make the call and to be put on hold.

As we waited on hold, we headed over to Lufthansa. The agent informed us that all the flights were full and we'd have to wait at least two days to get a flight. She gave us a hotel and food voucher for the night, which we appreciated, and sent us back to United.

At the United counter, we found another agent that was extremely helpful. We told her we needed to depart as soon as possible and that we were open to any destination in Europe. After a long search and help from a colleague, she found a flight to Houston the next morning with a connection to Amsterdam. It was reassuring to know that we only had carry-on bags. The next day we were on the early flight to Houston (middle seats) and a five-hour layover before departing for Amsterdam.

After a sleepless night on the plane, we finally arrived in Amsterdam. I think it was about 30 minutes into our long wait at customs in Amsterdam that Ron told me that he wasn't sure if he wanted to travel again. I think I might have agreed with him. Next, we had to deal with crowded trains, short connection times, and delays in reaching our final destination in Cochem, Germany. To make matters worse, the handle broke on Ron's roller bag.

Finally, we arrived in Cochem where the kind proprietor of our Apartment Maja was waiting to pick us up at the train station. We love the apartment that sits along the banks of the Mosel River. The beauty and serenity of the area have almost erased the memories of that long journey. After all, we did arrive safely at our destination—that's considered a good trip these days.