May 20, 2022
It’s been an intense day so taking photos was not high on my list of things to do so this will be a mostly text, low-illustrated description of the happenings. Besides, who wants to see more pictures of waiting around in airports?
Yes, at 3am this morning the word went out on WhatsApp, from those who were up already because they have an earlier flight, that for those of us finishing our trek with a flight from Denver to Billings that arrives a bit after 8pm, well, that flight has been canceled. Those in that earlier group, Elizabeth, Heather, and Isabelle, were up and saw that news and texted the rest of us to let us know.
I checked my email and all I had was a notice that weather was causing delays in and out of Denver. As it turned out, I guess United sent me a text but since I had put a European SIM card in my phone which gave me a different phone number, I didn’t get the message. I opened up the United app and it showed that, indeed, the flight was canceled. There isn’t anything to do about that now so I went back to sleep.
The early risers headed for the airport and started working on solutions. It sounds like rebookings are an issue but the three of them got flights, however, one was on Friday, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday. Hmmmm……. My plan is to just see how far along I can get and go from there, even though I might not get home until who-knows-when, but I am on an adventure with no set return time.
I got up about 5:45am, showered, and then worked on the Thursday blog post and published that. I got things packed up, moving as much as I could out of my backpack and into my carryon, and then headed out for breakfast.
I went out on the terrace that leads from my room to the main part of the building and the door to the inside hallway was closed and locked. I tried the keys I had but no luck. I texted Jodi to come save me and just as she arrived another guest came out and his key worked. It’s a good thing I didn’t need to evacuate the building during the night.
I had breakfast with Mark, Jodi, and Morgan and we chatted about travel issues. Mark and Jodi are going via Amsterdam and Salt Lake City and have no issues. Morgan and I agreed that, since we are on the same flights, we’d just go and see how far we could get and sort things out as they come along. I was sort of confident because I’d received 3 electronic boarding passed already, all the way to Billings.
The four of us took a cab to the airport and that was a bit of a wild ride. The taxi driver knew what he was doing but it seems that most Italian drivers are comfortable with what we would refer to as “close calls.”
We arrived at the airport safe and sound and headed for the check in. I wasn’t sure if I had to because I had the boarding passes already but the line monitor said I did and, since I was pre-checked, I got into the express line. Morgan had trouble getting the Lufthansa app to accept her Covid documents so she had to get in the longer line. Mark and Jodi hung out since it was still a bit to early to check in for their flight.
All during this we’d get the occasional update from the early risers letting us know how they were progressing.
When I got up to the check-in, they only wanted my passport and the results of the Covid test I got yesterday and to weigh my carryon. With that I was issued 3 paper boarding passes. Morgan eventually made her way through the line and got her passes as well. Somewhere along the line here we found out that our flight from Venice to Frankfurt is delayed. Great.
We said our good-byes to Mark and Jodi and headed through security. Once inside we wanted to find our gate but the monitor indicated that due to the delay they wouldn’t post the gate assignment for an hour. We waited.
About the time the gate number would be shown, we did a bathroom break and when we came out it said to get to A1. Off we went on a winding course through the terminal to a large room that serviced 4 gates. It was packed. However, little by little, the line moved as they called out the loading group numbers. I couldn’t see anything beyond the gate attendants so was surprised that after showing our boarding passes we were loaded onto busses and ferried to the plane.
When we got to the plane we got off on the tarmac. The bus had stopped next to a set of mobile stairs that took passengers into the rear of the plane. I noticed there was a set of stairs for the front too and, being in row 16, I headed for that. Morgan had taken the rear door and had to fight her way forward to a seat a few rows up from mine. I should have taken pictures.
Since this plane was late, and looking at our departure time in Frankfurt, it looked like it was going to be close if we made it at all. I had an email from Lufthansa that said our gate in Frankfurt had been changed to Z66.
We disembarked at Gate A11. Yes, those gates are as far apart as one would imagine. We navigated, thanks to Morgan’s sharp eye, to the entrance for the Z gates where there was a line to get though German immigration/transit visa or whatever that was. When I came though this on the way to Venice, I was asked lots of question about where I was going and what I was doing there. This time I had to take off my mask and my hat and the police officer kept looking at me, my passport, and something on the computer, back and forth, with something like a stink-eye. He eventually stamps the visa page and sullenly pushed my passport back at me. Those German polezei can be quite stern.
Morgan was waiting for me and we did the mad dash to the far end of somewhere to gate Z66, riding the moving sidewalks and building up a sweat, as it was already 1:15, our departure time. When we got to the gate, the plane was still there and the only people there were the gate attendants. They pointed at the pass scanners and when it beeped, a little gate opened and let us through.
All that rushing and it turns out that we had plenty of time as they were holding it for passengers like us that they knew were running late. Plus, once we got our pushback, we taxied over to a parking area and awaited clearance for take off which was delayed due to some weather system. That took the best part of an hour.
My seat is great. Lots of legroom, a footrest, and pretty comfortable. I have room to cross my legs. No one is sitting behind me so I don’t have to feel guilty about putting the seat back into full recline. Morgan is only a few rows behind me.
After we got in the air they distributed water bottles and then came around with the beverage cart. Not exactly true to form, I selected red wine. A bit later they brought around lunch. I had the vegetable curry which was quite nice and served with a salad, roll, and a brownie. And another glass of wine.
I have a seat-mate, a nice young lady from California who is on her way back from touring Florence, Rome, Athens, and one of the Greek islands. She’s a speech pathologist and works with autistic children and lives just outside Santa Cruz, a beautiful part of that state. Interesting people all around.
I sketched a bit until they turned the lights down so now I can’t see much except my sketchbook. I guess I’ll stipple for a while. Here’s preliminary view.
I’m calling it “Gecko Tails.”
I bounce between sketching and reading my Kindle but the time passes slowly. I make many trips to the restroom as an excuse to get up and walk around. It’s dark inside the plane and every once in a while someone opens a window shade and we are reminded that it’s daytime outside. They have a good jazz station on their media service and I especially liked this album.
The flight is 10-1/2 hours which means that we’ll arrive in Denver when it is between 1-2am, Venice time which my body clock is now adjusted to but only around 5pm Denver time. Since we are flying east, it is not going to get dark outside for the whole trip.
With about 2 hours left in the flight, they turned up the lights and the purser announced that food service was starting. I had a pasta and cheese sauce with a roll and small salad.
The remaining flight was routine with the rough ride through the clouds as we descended into Denver, thudding on the runway touchdown, and then did the long taxi to our gate. Once off the plane we do a long walk through a sequestered part of the airport to guide us through to customs and immigration. On the plane they had given us a customs form that had to be filled out with the usual personal information, where we had been, and what we were bringing back. I listed $25 dollars in items since I didn’t buy much except 2 keychains, 3 bags of spices, and some balsamic vinegar. I forgot to list the Biennale book I’d bought.
We have to wait our turns to talk to the customs officers and when I get to mine I hand over my passport and the customs form. He makes sure it is me and asks where I had been and why. I answered “Italy as a student on a study abroad.” I get “the look.” He then asked what I am bringing back and, due to the fact I am brain dead due to lack of sleep, I couldn’t remember and told him he’d have to look at the form. He glances at it and shoves the paperwork back to me and off I go. They are almost as sullen as the Germans.
Morgan and I go to baggage claim and wait for her checked bag to show up. It got really crowded around the carousel so I went ahead and exited where the customs officer just waived me through. I went out of that area and waited for Morgan, which took a while, but then I saw her head over to the United desk without her bag. Sure enough, it hadn’t made a connection and was out there somewhere. They told her it would show up and they’d ship it to her.
While waiting around in customs, Morgan had showed me how she’d used the United app to rebook her flight back to Billing for tomorrow, the same flight that was canceled today, so I did the same. Now it was only a matter of finding a hotel. We looked online and many were already full due to the weather, including the Hampton where Isabelle was staying. Since hotels are a distance from the airport and the average one-way Uber is about 40 bucks, we wanted a hotel with a shuttle even if the hotel is a bit more expensive. Morgan found the DoubleTree in Aurora and reserved two rooms so we waited for its shuttle.
The hotel is really nice and check-in was easy and we got rooms in the same hallway. After a brief stop to drop our bags, we headed out to a nearby Gyros fast-food place and picked up falafels for dinner. They were pretty good.
The long day of travel descended on us and we called it a day. We’ve reserved spots on the shuttle for Saturday at 4pm so it’s just a matter of catching up on sleep and waiting for the final leg of the adventure.
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