Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Misadventures in Minneapolis

Location: Oxford, England

I've always had warm feelings toward Minnesota, because it is where my dad is from and much of my extended family still lives there. But now Minnesota means Minneapolis, and the Minneapolis airport means headaches, tears, and the uncontrollable desire to avoid flying altogether.

It was in this airport that we came about as close as humanly possible to missing our flight. We had an hour from the time our first flight landed until the next one took off, and we had to go down three flights of stairs in this airport maze and take the lightrail to a different terminal and then go back through security to board the second plane. Only, there is more than one lightrail.

It wasn't until we had already gone through a different security check point (shoes off, laptop out, and are we traveling with any liquids today?) that we realized our mistake, and a nice security guard escorted us to the lightrail we were supposed to take. But by then the damage was done. After getting off the lightrail and rushing to the other side of terminal two we encountered the slowest, most disillusioned looking security checkpoint people yet (shoes off, laptop out, stare suspiciously at the bulging carry-on backpacks.) They expressed mild disbelief at Jazlin and my gasps that no, the flight to Iceland was not supposed to have taken off yet.

We ran to the gate (which we had to hunt for because it was not listed on our tickets) and were greeted by a bored-looking official who informed us that the plane had taken off. At our dismayed expressions, he turned toward the window, as if to assert his point. A big white airplane was parked there. He looked surprised.  The boarding people were radioed, the doors were reopened, and we were ushered onboard by a cluster of patronizing faces which informed us that we had been paged quite a few times, and had we been any later we would not have been allowed on board.

In any case, a nice stewardess found us a cozy nook at the back corner of the plane where we could sit together (our original seats were aisle seats a row apart) and thus began our six-hour flight from Minneapolis to Reykjavik, Iceland. We splurged on some curry chicken and snacks to go with our complementary drinks. We were also given pillows, blankets, and free use of the entertainment consuls installed in the back of the seats in front of us. We watched The Bucket List and Ice Age 3. It was a pretty nice flight, and it's really neat to get to watch the sun rise from above the clouds.

We had approximately the same amount time to transfer to the next flight in Reykjavik as we had in Minneapolis. Fortunately, this would mostly just involve standing around zombie-like for about twenty minutes, because the little airport in misty Reykjavik was a friendly place with few opportunities to get lost and no apparent desire to put us through any more security checks.

This post is getting pretty long and I haven't gotten to actually sleep since Seattle, so I'm going to conclude by noting in less detail that we got to Gatwick airport in London alright but that my bags were  not there to greet me. Presumably they were back in Minneapolis, and were never loaded onto the flight with us. So they are going to send them to the very kind and helpful B&B that Jazlin and I are staying at on our last day down in Southampton. The lady says not to worry at all and that it's no problem. Which was very sweet of her, because I was of course quite worried.

Anyhow, two trains later and Jazlin and I are sleeping in a hostel in Oxford for the next couple days. On the outside it looks like an iffy little place (no windows and you have to ring a buzzer to get let inside to check in), but once you are inside it's  quite nice and comfy - there are windows, the rooms are nice, and the check-in guy was friendly and showed us around. I really have to get to bed now!

5 comments:

M said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

It's nice to get the story without having to witness it first hand - sorry you got put through the Minnesota ringer!

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

WAHOO LINDSEY! What a perfect Minnesota tale. I cannot believe you two are in Europe. Bests, janice

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Nice photo. I sent a comment last nite. Not sure they are sending

Claudia said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Sheesh! Note to self: never fly through Minnesota. But hey... at least you made up for the grief with some yummy airplane food, right? ...
o_O

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips[Reply to comment]Best Blogger Templates

Chin up, old chap! Take heart! Keep calm and tarry on, as they say. Things are not so glum, each missed connection is not an ended adventure, but another step of one. And though you may be late, remember getting there is oft more interesting than being there.