STRUGGLING WITH SERENDIPITY
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Photos
  • Press and News
  • Resources

a fiasco in paris

7/24/2018

8 Comments

 
Picture
(This blog tells my family's story. To see more, click "blog" at the top of this webpage.)

​
In Norway, we snapped pictures to add to our scrapbook at the Worlds End (Verdens Ende), a desolate spot on the water with many small, bare rock islands. The islands reminded me of stepping stones for a giant heading into the strait of Skaggerak and the North Sea.
 
The Worlds End looked exactly the same twenty-nine years ago, when I was as an exchange student.
           
In Denmark, we drove with Anne-Lisé past cows grazing on small strips of grass next to narrow rivers. We visited and stayed with Gretha and her daughter Belinda, who was an adorable little girl in blonde pigtails when I first met them in 1977. We saw the sights in beautiful Aalborg and spent lovely, relaxed evenings with friends before driving to Norre Vorupar on the coast. We carried Beth into small bathrooms where her wheelchair would not fit. One evening, Gretha treated us to dinner at a fancy restaurant on a North Sea beach. Our server and friends teased John and me about ordering only water—apparently a social sin! :-)
           
Back in Oslo, an airline called with unwelcome news. Our flight was moved up a day, so we boarded a plane after a heartfelt thank you and sad goodbyes with my second mom, Anne-Lisé.
 
Our layover in Paris turned into a fiasco.
 
First, the staff acted like they had never had a passenger with a wheelchair before. After we landed and the other passengers left, we waited for a clunky airport wheelchair, then waited longer for a strange cubicle on wheels that raised in the air to meet the back door of the airplane. The four of us reluctantly entered the cubicle, which carried us a long way to a terminal.
 
Second, we learned our flight to Detroit had been delayed to the next day and the airline would not pay for a hotel.
 
Third, we picked up our luggage and waited for Beth’s manual wheelchair to be returned to us. And waited. At the customer service desk, rude airline staff nonchalantly told us they couldn't find her wheelchair. No big deal? How could a wheelchair be lost? We moved Beth to a regular molded plastic chair since her back hurt in the airline wheelchair, but she still wasn’t comfortable. We had to keep asking the desk staff to check again, until they finally made a phone call. Or pretended to. Tired and hungry, we were not happy campers. Beth’s wheelchair was lost for two hours.
 
Fourth, we boarded a crowded airport shuttle to a hotel. On the way, the driver pulled over for an unscheduled stop just to smoke a cigarette, while all of us had to stay on the shuttle, packed in like sardines. The hotel charged outrageous prices. We overpaid for a tiny room with one bed and two of us slept on the floor.
 
When we arrived in Detroit, we brought with us a new appreciation for U.S. airports. 
 
Next: Oregon!
8 Comments
Jason Rhode link
7/25/2018 01:31:17 pm

Wow, the joys of disabled travel. I always wondered about abroad travel. When we went to NY, they took the battery out of my chair. When we got there, they put it in wrong, so when II started, it fell out.

Reply
Cindy Kolbe
8/1/2018 08:06:51 pm

Traveling with a wheelchair is never easy. Hopefully, it will improve soon with some new legislation in process!

Reply
Debra Gardner link
7/27/2018 07:34:38 am

Wow! What an experience! Thanks again for taking us on another journey. So sorry you had to experience Paris in that way. Hopefully, traveling abroad has gotten easier over the years since Elizabeth is doing it more frequently!

Reply
Cindy Kolbe link
8/1/2018 08:13:49 pm

Yes, it has! Beth has been back to Paris and enjoyed the city!

Reply
Nancy link
7/27/2018 08:36:52 pm

It's interesting that The Worlds End looks the same as it did years ago! It's always nice to visit friends and everything. It's a bummer that you had to go through a delay and all of the issues with the layover! I thought the airline is responsible for paying for accommodation! At least you came out of it - hope you don't need to deal with the poor service again!

Nancy ♥ <a href="https://exquisitely.me">exquisitely.me</a>

Reply
Cindy Kolbe link
8/1/2018 08:21:35 pm

Thankfully, other overseas trips were easier! Beth enjoyed a trip to Paris with her boyfriend after our stressful experience at the Paris airport!

Reply
Amy Henry link
7/28/2018 03:14:18 pm

"The Worlds End looked exactly the same twenty-nine years ago, when I was as an exchange student."
That's wonderful. I was over for a semester the year before you, and when I took my daughter with me 20 years later, I was so happy to find a few treasured places that appeared untouched by time. It's lovely to share with our children the places that changed our lives.

As for "we learned our flight to Detroit had been delayed to the next day and the airline would not pay for a hotel."
Well, that has changed. IN 1976 Freddie Laker double-booked our flight back to the States and not only did we get hotel rooms for the night, we got three meals--all free.
What a hassle for you, but it sounds like a great trip overall.

Reply
Cindy Kolbe link
8/1/2018 08:26:04 pm

Amy, how interesting that our paths crossed in Norway, a year apart! And you’re right, it was wonderful to share such a beautiful place with my daughters, as I’m sure it was for you and your daughter, too!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Cindy Kolbe

    Sign up for my Just Keep Swimming Newsletter by typing your email address in the box. Thanks!

    * indicates required

    Categories

    All
    Accident
    Adventure
    Anxiety
    Career
    Caregiving
    Chronic Pain
    College
    Counseling
    Depression
    Driving
    Fear
    Floating
    Friends
    Goals
    Graduation
    Gratitude
    Grief
    Group Home
    Guilt
    Harvard
    High School
    High School Swim Team
    Holidays
    Independence
    Injury
    Intensive Care
    Internship
    Job
    Moving
    Occupational Therapy
    Optimism
    Paralympics
    Paralympic Swim Team
    Perspective
    Physical Therapy
    Published Articles
    Rehab
    Road Trip
    Serendipity
    Spinal Cord Injury
    Sports
    Stanford
    Support
    Surgery
    Swim Club Team
    Swim Meet
    Swimming
    Travels
    Video
    Volunteering
    Writing

    Picture

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Photos
  • Press and News
  • Resources