You know how, when you hurry like made to get somewhere on time it seems like everything just sort of tumbles into your way increasing frustration and delays. Perhaps a detour or three, the luggage being the last of everyone’s off the carousel, or the inevitable person who can’t be bothered to get out of the doorway which they are blocking so engrossed with their cell phone that they don’t notice how close to becoming a murder victim they really are.
This morning was like that. Getting dropped off for the flight left me plenty of time. Even after I picked the pat-down over the whole body scanner, since I have no faith in TSA’s ability to keep their files straight, private or otherwise under control.
The sardine flight wasn’t even too bad. I managed to switch seats with the very confused, elderly African gentlemen so that he was now next to his son and DIL. This meant that I had a chance to get some sleep while they were up and down seemingly every ten minutes for the whole flight.
When I got to Frankfurt, I didn’t hurry to the train station. I stopped at the USO, called home and got a Latte. Coming down the escalator to long distance track 5 I watched the train for Mannheim pullout. No worries I thought since there is normally a train twice an hour.
Yes, well sort of. The alternate route is over Frankfurt HBF, and said train just happened to be running 40 minutes late. This would get me to Frankfurt too late to make the transfer to the direct Heidelberg train. Pulling out the headphones and knitting, I settled in for 55 minutes.
The next Mannheim train rolled in just on time but became delayed on the way to Heidelberg. The connecting train on the close track had already departed leaving me to haul suitcase (the 30″ one with the 22″ smaller suitcase and a backpack all tucked inside) down the stairs to the last pair of tracks and back up a flight of stairs.
George met me in Heidelberg for which I was really grateful.
Now, if I hurried from baggage claim directly to the track in the first place would that first train have been on time?
