Hello from Amsterdam. Me & Patchie are sat here at the airport (Schipol) and we've had the best luck today. Our flight to Bergen isn't til 3pm local time and it's only twenty to twelve now, so stacks of time to fill in the meantime with duty free shopping. I would think about going out into the dam properly, the red light bit and all that, but we've already pushed our luck today so we're going to be staying here in the terminal til its time to board the plane.
Our luck is officially worn out I should think; get on this - we have already missed our connecting flight to Bergen but have now had it rescheduled. The plane from Manchester to Amsterdam went without a hitch, then we got here, stopped for a cig and some pizza and to buy some booze, then made our way quickly to the gate for the next flight. When we got there it was deserted, expect for one woman in a uniform sat at the gate. I asked her where we should be for the flight to Bergen and she asked my name... when I told her it she told me (with a deadpan expression on her face) that our plane had already left.
From there we went to a transfer department and took a ticket to be seen, the current ticket being seen at the desk was 150 and our ticket was 238. So after a long wait we finally got to the front of the queue and spoke to the girls on the desk. While we waited around in the meantime we went through a whole range of emotional states, mainly disbelief about missing the connecting flight and frustration about taking time out to eat pizza when should have been giving it legs to the next plane!
When we made it to the front of the queue to have our situation resolved we kinda played it dumb and said we didn't realise we had to run from the first flight to the second... and the attendant was as cool as hell. She rescheduled our flight, got us window tickets, issued us with new boarding passes and then said "have a nice day" or something like that. Just like that, everything was sorted and it didn't cost us one penny extra. Cue the Cheshire Cat style grins that we both still are wearing on our lucky faces.
Now we are sat here in this place, nex to our gate for boarding, next to a bar (where Patchie can have a smoke), with internet access 6 euros for 30 minutes), drinking a beer and grinning at each other. The beer is Heineken and it tastes different than the stuff we get at home. Oh, we had a Guinness in Manchester this morning (because its St Paddys Day) but it never tasted good so we left them.
Really I think we should have had to pay something towards the rescheduled flights. Really. If we were at home right now I know we would of had to, England is nothing like this for helping you out when things have gone wrong.
When we get to Bergen we have to find the hotel, get our room keys, go on a hunt for Bergen Cathedral where the SunnO))) concert is happening tomorrow and generally start having a ball.
More later.
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