Insbruck, At Last, Day 2, 06/06/2019
Our adventure started off on a good note. Jerry Hankins's sister in law picked the four of us up and took us to the airport. We checked in without a problem and went through security like a breeze. Our flight out of Montgomery was on time and when we checked in at the Atlanta desk, you can imagine our pleasant surprise when the desk agent informed Mary Ann that our party had received complimentary seat upgrades to Comfort +. For travelers who normally sit behind the curtain, you can imagine our contained excitement. We departed Atlanta en route to Munich with a stop in Amsterdam for an airplane change. Everything was going well, the luggage had been checked through to Munich, our prepaid car was awaiting our arrival, and we were enjoying the comforts of Comfort +, thinking about those weary passengers sitting further back. Bavaria awaits, our holiday is only a matter of a few hours away.
The best laid plans don't often go the way you plan or wish. Here is where ours went off the rail. First of all, when planning overseas travel and your travel agent schedules you for a plane change in Amsterdam, my best advice to you is DON'T do this. Go to Amsterdam if this is the termination of your flight. Go to Amsterdam if this is the start of your trip. Disorganized chaos, my best description of going through customs in this airport. If you have time to spare, go through Amsterdam. If your stress level is low, and you wish to raise it, go through Amsterdam. Fortunately, we were able to get through okay, board our plane on time, and go to Munich. When arriving in Munich we went to claim our luggage. My suitcase was not there, Linda's suitcase was not there, the Hankins's suitcase was not there. Our luggage had never left Amsterdam. It was piled up somewhere in "lost luggage land", commonly call the Amsterdam airport. After spending about another hour filling out paper work at the Munich airport Lost and Not Found, we went to the Enterprise desk to pick up my rental car. By now it was almost noon. The young lady told me my car had been released to another customer. I was supposed to pick it up at 9:00 a.m. and I was not there. I said, "Am I to understand that you have given my prepaid , guaranteed rental car away because I was not here at 9:00 to pick it up?" We had been up over 24 hours, having gotten through Amsterdam customs, our luggage was lost, we were tired, hungry, and otherwise grumpy. The desk clerk sensed my displeasure and told me she just found us another vehicle and was upgrading us to an SUV, with no additional charge.
We loaded the car, drove to Innsbruck, checked in, unpacked (which did not take long since we had no luggage), ate supper, and went to bed.
So ends day 2 of the Bavarian adventure.
The best laid plans don't often go the way you plan or wish. Here is where ours went off the rail. First of all, when planning overseas travel and your travel agent schedules you for a plane change in Amsterdam, my best advice to you is DON'T do this. Go to Amsterdam if this is the termination of your flight. Go to Amsterdam if this is the start of your trip. Disorganized chaos, my best description of going through customs in this airport. If you have time to spare, go through Amsterdam. If your stress level is low, and you wish to raise it, go through Amsterdam. Fortunately, we were able to get through okay, board our plane on time, and go to Munich. When arriving in Munich we went to claim our luggage. My suitcase was not there, Linda's suitcase was not there, the Hankins's suitcase was not there. Our luggage had never left Amsterdam. It was piled up somewhere in "lost luggage land", commonly call the Amsterdam airport. After spending about another hour filling out paper work at the Munich airport Lost and Not Found, we went to the Enterprise desk to pick up my rental car. By now it was almost noon. The young lady told me my car had been released to another customer. I was supposed to pick it up at 9:00 a.m. and I was not there. I said, "Am I to understand that you have given my prepaid , guaranteed rental car away because I was not here at 9:00 to pick it up?" We had been up over 24 hours, having gotten through Amsterdam customs, our luggage was lost, we were tired, hungry, and otherwise grumpy. The desk clerk sensed my displeasure and told me she just found us another vehicle and was upgrading us to an SUV, with no additional charge.
We loaded the car, drove to Innsbruck, checked in, unpacked (which did not take long since we had no luggage), ate supper, and went to bed.
So ends day 2 of the Bavarian adventure.
Well geez can’t wait for that trip!...betty and Gene
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