Awoke with a start at 05:00 to the sound of my bunkmate at the Youth Hostel wheezing his way back to bed. Fitfully slumbered for another 2 hours before getting up and getting my things together. Got checked out and headed over to the cafeteria to have breakfast at 07:30. Was hoping to have left for the airport by 07:15, but decided to stick around and enjoy the included breakfast at the hostel. Typical English breakfast is not usually my thing, but the beans and veggie sausage hit the spot. On the road at 07:40.
Caught the Tube over to Paddington Station to get the Heathrow Express. Made good connections along the way and was at the airport by 08:15. Picked up my left luggage and man handled it through the seemingly endless corridors connecting the second and third terminals. Got a QuickCheck ticket printed out and proceeded to the bag drop-off. Trouble began at this point when the attendant pointed out that in addition to my bags being overweight, my ticket said that I was on stand-by and that I would have to speak to a supervisor. Although my flight was with Lufthansa, British Airways had gone on strike and the airline had booked a great many of their passengers onto other carriers. Everything was overbooked and in turmoil.
Waited half an hour for the supervisor to tell me that I could pay extra for my overweight bags and provide me with a boarding card. Hurried back over to the bag check. The attendant was a little more responsive and called to see if the runway staff would be willing to lift my baggage. They agreed and we hurried over to the odd sized bag check, only to find that they would not carry it passed their X-Ray machines and that someone from Lufthansa would have to come and get it. With 10 minutes to go before departure, there was no one to come and get the bag. Had to turn in my boarding card and attempt to get on the next flight.
Got through a long line at the ticket counter with a stand-by to Frankfurt and a confirmed 22:20 flight on to Istanbul. Headed back to the bag check and was told to split up the stuff in my flight case. Fortunately, there was a place that sold bags just down formt he check-in counter. Picked up a $36 duffle bag and took out all of the books and cables from the case. This brought the case down under the 32 KG limit and I was on my way after another visit to the odd sized check-in.
Grabbed some food and water before braving the security check. Unlike every other recent time I had been through Heathrow, I was pleasantly surprised not to be thoroughly searched, in spite of having more computer gear on me than ever before. There was a huge line at the gate for the 12:40 flight. I ended up amongst a dozen other stand-by passengers who did not get on the flight. We were told that there were flights at 14:00, 17:00, 19:00, and 20:00. Got on the wait list again and called Michael to let him know I would not be arriving as scheduled.
Hurried back to the gate to try for the 14:10 departure. The attendant was very short with everyone and basically said that the next couple of flights were completely full. An African gentleman, who had been on stand-by through three departures, became incensed and had to be escorted away by security. I waited patiently until the Japanese couple who were ahead of me in the stand-by queue were let on board and then two other gentleman. I got up and approached the counter only to have my named called. I was very happy to get on board and find an aisle seat with overhead bin storage right above it.
Had a short 1.5-hour flight to Frankfurt. It was starting to rain as we deplaned, but I was lucky enough to get right on the bus taking passengers to the terminal. Had some fun at the Transfer Center trying to get my seats confirmed on the flight to Istanbul. Seems the check-in person at Heathrow entered the info for my ticket improperly and my e-ticket was noted as a printed one. Had to wait for a ticket agent to get it sorted out. Finally got a seat assigned and set in for a six-hour wait for my flight. Found the T-mobile wireless connection. It was a little expensive at €18 per 24 hours, but it was worth it to get connected again. Found a power outlet after some hiking around and was all set for my wait.
Finished up my online activities and went to try and call Michael. Gave the T-Mobile pay phones a couple of tries with my credit card. The line always seemed to be busy so I wasn’t sure if I was dialing right. Finally decided to try and break up one of the €50 bills I had left over from visiting fALk in Berlin. The concession operator was none too happy to give me change from my €12.60 purchase. Tried some coins in the phone and again the same thing with the busy signal. Tried one last time and finally got through and let Michael know I would be arriving at 02:00. He said he would still be up and that he would come and get me. Was very glad that I would not have to cool my heels at the airport.
Thinking I still had over an hour to go before boarding, I sauntered over to gate, marveling at the number of people running flat out for other gates. Got the gate to find that there were no passengers and some worried looking ground staff. They hailed me and demanded to know where I had been. I could only shrug and be shooed onto the plane. I had glanced at someone’s cell phone after we had landed and thought that it had displayed the right time. Apparently European phones do not adjust their time quite as automatically as the ones in the States. Got seated quickly and we were airborne ten minutes later at 22:30.
The flight was fairly quiet, with a little turbulence. Had some great views of the night skyline of Istanbul as we approached. Landed right at 02:00 and hustled to get over to the immigration desk. Stopped and bought a $20 visa which will last three months. The immigration lines were incredibly slow. Didn’t make it to the baggage carousel until 02:30. By this point all of the baggage had come out and only my flight case was spinning around. I very concerned and approached one of the attendants. She informed me that all the bags had come out and that she could scan my claim tickets to see if there was any information about my two errant bags. There was no information available and she sat me down to fill out a claim form. Somehow I was able to remain calm as she slowly filled out the form and told me to call a number to get updates. Walked out of the baggage claim at 03:00 without my G5 nor any of my cables, nor any of my clothes. Michael was waiting for me just outside. Gave him a quick rundown as we hiked to his car. Got my little bit of gear loaded and were on our way to the place we will be staying at until the following Friday. Michael had lots of interesting news about possible ventures, including interest in the three of us being resident VJs at a club called Indigo, a potential General Coordinator gig for Micahel at another club called fusion, and further details about the shows we are supposed to do for the Istanbul Biennale in September.
Finally made it to the house at 03:30. It was skinny little five-storey wood building. The interior was in need of a great deal of love. Michael had had a falling out with the owner the week prior to our arrival and had secured another place that we were to move into a week later. This suited me just fine, as the amenities left a great deal to be desired. We would have spent a great deal of time and effort making the house inhabitable before we could have begun any creative work. Finally got into bed around 04:00, but was not able to doze off for nearly an hour more, my head buzzing with thoughts about my missing gear.
Caught the Tube over to Paddington Station to get the Heathrow Express. Made good connections along the way and was at the airport by 08:15. Picked up my left luggage and man handled it through the seemingly endless corridors connecting the second and third terminals. Got a QuickCheck ticket printed out and proceeded to the bag drop-off. Trouble began at this point when the attendant pointed out that in addition to my bags being overweight, my ticket said that I was on stand-by and that I would have to speak to a supervisor. Although my flight was with Lufthansa, British Airways had gone on strike and the airline had booked a great many of their passengers onto other carriers. Everything was overbooked and in turmoil.
Waited half an hour for the supervisor to tell me that I could pay extra for my overweight bags and provide me with a boarding card. Hurried back over to the bag check. The attendant was a little more responsive and called to see if the runway staff would be willing to lift my baggage. They agreed and we hurried over to the odd sized bag check, only to find that they would not carry it passed their X-Ray machines and that someone from Lufthansa would have to come and get it. With 10 minutes to go before departure, there was no one to come and get the bag. Had to turn in my boarding card and attempt to get on the next flight.
Got through a long line at the ticket counter with a stand-by to Frankfurt and a confirmed 22:20 flight on to Istanbul. Headed back to the bag check and was told to split up the stuff in my flight case. Fortunately, there was a place that sold bags just down formt he check-in counter. Picked up a $36 duffle bag and took out all of the books and cables from the case. This brought the case down under the 32 KG limit and I was on my way after another visit to the odd sized check-in.
Grabbed some food and water before braving the security check. Unlike every other recent time I had been through Heathrow, I was pleasantly surprised not to be thoroughly searched, in spite of having more computer gear on me than ever before. There was a huge line at the gate for the 12:40 flight. I ended up amongst a dozen other stand-by passengers who did not get on the flight. We were told that there were flights at 14:00, 17:00, 19:00, and 20:00. Got on the wait list again and called Michael to let him know I would not be arriving as scheduled.
Hurried back to the gate to try for the 14:10 departure. The attendant was very short with everyone and basically said that the next couple of flights were completely full. An African gentleman, who had been on stand-by through three departures, became incensed and had to be escorted away by security. I waited patiently until the Japanese couple who were ahead of me in the stand-by queue were let on board and then two other gentleman. I got up and approached the counter only to have my named called. I was very happy to get on board and find an aisle seat with overhead bin storage right above it.
Had a short 1.5-hour flight to Frankfurt. It was starting to rain as we deplaned, but I was lucky enough to get right on the bus taking passengers to the terminal. Had some fun at the Transfer Center trying to get my seats confirmed on the flight to Istanbul. Seems the check-in person at Heathrow entered the info for my ticket improperly and my e-ticket was noted as a printed one. Had to wait for a ticket agent to get it sorted out. Finally got a seat assigned and set in for a six-hour wait for my flight. Found the T-mobile wireless connection. It was a little expensive at €18 per 24 hours, but it was worth it to get connected again. Found a power outlet after some hiking around and was all set for my wait.
Finished up my online activities and went to try and call Michael. Gave the T-Mobile pay phones a couple of tries with my credit card. The line always seemed to be busy so I wasn’t sure if I was dialing right. Finally decided to try and break up one of the €50 bills I had left over from visiting fALk in Berlin. The concession operator was none too happy to give me change from my €12.60 purchase. Tried some coins in the phone and again the same thing with the busy signal. Tried one last time and finally got through and let Michael know I would be arriving at 02:00. He said he would still be up and that he would come and get me. Was very glad that I would not have to cool my heels at the airport.
Thinking I still had over an hour to go before boarding, I sauntered over to gate, marveling at the number of people running flat out for other gates. Got the gate to find that there were no passengers and some worried looking ground staff. They hailed me and demanded to know where I had been. I could only shrug and be shooed onto the plane. I had glanced at someone’s cell phone after we had landed and thought that it had displayed the right time. Apparently European phones do not adjust their time quite as automatically as the ones in the States. Got seated quickly and we were airborne ten minutes later at 22:30.
The flight was fairly quiet, with a little turbulence. Had some great views of the night skyline of Istanbul as we approached. Landed right at 02:00 and hustled to get over to the immigration desk. Stopped and bought a $20 visa which will last three months. The immigration lines were incredibly slow. Didn’t make it to the baggage carousel until 02:30. By this point all of the baggage had come out and only my flight case was spinning around. I very concerned and approached one of the attendants. She informed me that all the bags had come out and that she could scan my claim tickets to see if there was any information about my two errant bags. There was no information available and she sat me down to fill out a claim form. Somehow I was able to remain calm as she slowly filled out the form and told me to call a number to get updates. Walked out of the baggage claim at 03:00 without my G5 nor any of my cables, nor any of my clothes. Michael was waiting for me just outside. Gave him a quick rundown as we hiked to his car. Got my little bit of gear loaded and were on our way to the place we will be staying at until the following Friday. Michael had lots of interesting news about possible ventures, including interest in the three of us being resident VJs at a club called Indigo, a potential General Coordinator gig for Micahel at another club called fusion, and further details about the shows we are supposed to do for the Istanbul Biennale in September.
Finally made it to the house at 03:30. It was skinny little five-storey wood building. The interior was in need of a great deal of love. Michael had had a falling out with the owner the week prior to our arrival and had secured another place that we were to move into a week later. This suited me just fine, as the amenities left a great deal to be desired. We would have spent a great deal of time and effort making the house inhabitable before we could have begun any creative work. Finally got into bed around 04:00, but was not able to doze off for nearly an hour more, my head buzzing with thoughts about my missing gear.
Leave a comment