Jan 26, 2008
Stuck at Frankfurt Airport
Well, not really stuck, but we’ll get to that… We arrived at Frankfurt Airport okay, and went straight to our gate for the flight on to Charlotte, to check our seats. We had asked an attendant as soon as we got off the plane what we should do and that’s what they told us - go to the gate. Now our gate was - of course - on the other side of the airport. Anyway, we go through security checks and everything and get to the gate and there is no sign of US Airways or anything. So we ask some Lufthansa people and they say there is no way to get in touch with US Airways unless we go all the way back out, meaning outside security in the main area, and then go back in. Needless to say we didn’t want to do that.
So that was problem number one.
Number two was our need for sustenance - some coffee and something to eat. I walked back quite far to the first little restaurant I came across and picked out everything I wanted. Then when it came time to paying the problems started: they don’t accept credit card. Okay, then “do you take US dollars?” Sure, so I hand her a $100 bill. “No, I can’t accept that, it’s too large”, which is funny because my order came to a whopping $54. You can check over in tax free, she says.
Okay, so off to tax free, and of course they can’t help me either. So they send me to the currency exchange. The guy there politely explains that no, he cannot break a $100 bill into smaller denominations but he’ll be happy to exchange it into Euros, for a fee of course. So I end up exchanging dollars into Euros and then I can finally pay my outrageous bill.
So I’ve paid, and I want to take my two coffees, four bottles of water, bottle of apple juice, two sandwiches, two cookies, with me, I ask if she has a big bag I can put it in. Why bother asking, I know now, because of course she doesn’t.
So we’re now waiting for our flight, better luck at the next airport. I don’t like Frankfurt much.