It's always something

In the words of my dad, it’s always something.

My day of travel began at 6:15 this morning when Ashlee and Jeff came knocking on my door. The bus to the airport was set to depart at 6:22, and they wonderfully volunteered to come to the airport with me to see me off.

6:15, and they helped me stay sane and gather all my stuff and throw it into suitcases. I was thoroughly freaking out because I was terribly worried about suitcases being to heavy and me not clearing the weight limit for intra-Germany domestic flights. Then I was worried about making the 6:22 bus, but luckily we got to the bus stop just as it pulled up. Whew.

Now would be the opportunity to tell you about what happened to suitcase #2 and why I was so worried. On the way over here I was allotted 2 checked bags, weighing 50lbs each, and then I found out when I got to the airport that they weighed my carry-on bag too (but conveniently forgot to notice that I had a backpack too – I don’t think I was “supposed” to have it, because I was the only one who had two bags). I have been really careful since I arrived about not buying any “stuff” if I can help it, because I knew I’d be pushing the weight limit again, but having emptier bottles of shampoo, etc and wearing heavier clothing should allow me to scrape by.

Thursday afternoon I found out that intra-Germany flights have different regulations than international flights. Rather than 2 bags weighing 23 kilos (50lbs) each, I was only allowed one bag at 20 kilos (44 lbs). Anything extra costs 5 euros per kilo – meaning my second bag would cost 125 euros ($175) to take on the plane with me. I checked the price of a train ticket – two days in advance a train ticket would cost 80 euros, and I’d be able to take all my bags with me – but what about this flight that is already booked? Weighing my options (figuratively), I checked how much it would cost to ship a suitcase to Dresden – probably pretty expensive, because it cost 12 euros to send a tiny package to Athens, so sending a gigantic 50-60lb suitcase has got to be crazy.

Actually, the German postal system has a special luggage shipment program. I guess this problem happens a lot. It worked beautifully – I packed my suitcase to the brim, brought it to the post office, they slapped a sticker on it, and for 14 euros it will be at my apartment on Monday. Amazing.

So back to the original story. We made it on the bus ok, but I was a nervous wreck because I was worried they wouldn’t let me on with two carry-ons like last time. I didn’t have a backpack this time, just a messenger bag, but it was relatively heavy with my computer and oboe inside. My bag is black, my jacket is black, I was wearing a red scarf – maybe they won’t notice it? And my carry-on suitcase still has the “Lufthansa approved baggage” tag – maybe they won’t re-weigh it?

We get to the airport, and after 3 different people sent me to 3 different lines, I finally for some reason ended up at the “special services” counter. They weighed my one bag and it was fine, gave me my boarding pass, and said “have a nice day!” Never even asked about my carry-ons.

Nothing more eventful happened on the flight, and I made it to Dresden safe and sound!