I’m heading to Denmark for a workshop at the University of Southern Denmark. I hopped on my bike at 6:35am to head to the train station. Train to Breda, then Brussels, then flight to Copenhagen and then train to Odense.
I didn’t think about how difficult it would be to balance a suitcase on my bike though. I tied it on, but that added a few minutes I didn’t have. Missed my first train.
Luckily I built in a little bit of a buffer in my schedule. As long as I can make the train transfer in under 5 minutes I’ll be okay.
UPDATE: I made it to Breda and waited on the platform my app told me my train was on.
The app was wrong. The train left from the next platform over. I missed my train and will likely miss my flight.
UPDATE: I tried calling my airline (KLM). They said the hold time was over 45 minutes, so they were going to disconnect me. I called Delta (KLM partner where I have platinum medallion status). They said there was nothing they could do.
My original flight was Brussels to Amsterdam to Copenhagen. From my house it’s about the same travel time to Brussels or to Amsterdam. However, the Brussels train is once per hour whereas trains to Amsterdam are every few minutes. I was flying out of Brussels rather than directly out of Amsterdam because (1) it was cheaper and (2) the Amsterdam airport has 4 hour security lines.
When I missed my train my first thought was to call my wife and ask if she could drive me to Brussels. She said she could, but as we worked out logistics we realized I would still miss my flight.
So, I’ll try going straight to Amsterdam to see if a KLM desk agent can fix things for me and get me on the second leg of my flight. Wish me luck!
While on the train to Amsterdam, I tried calling my wife to update her on the plan. She had dropped off the call early with me because one of our kids was calling (Timmy and Sarah are both home sick). She didn’t answer when I called her back a few minutes later.
I tried calling Timmy. He said that the call dropped while he was talking to her. 30 minutes passed and neither of us heard from her. It’s only a 15 minute drive from our home to where she was going to pick me up, so Timmy and I were both confused and worried. I was thinking maybe I should get off the train and go home. Maybe there was a car accident or something.
Luckily, before the next stop I got a message from her. Turns out she had run out of data and gotten lost. But, she’s home safe now. Phew.
UPDATE: KLM let me modify my flight. They didn’t even upcharge me. I’m on the plane now to Copenhagen, about to take off. We’re a bit delayed. Hopefully I don’t miss my train there too …
Dutch Bentleys 