Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET Bon Voyage! by MARGARET DICKSON Almost all Americans come from somewhere else, whether we actually know all those could take the airline up on its offer of dinner, a hotel room, and breakfast the next day somewhere elses or not. with transportation both ways and a seat on the first morning flight. No matter what, I One of those places for me is Austria. A Viennese physician studying in Baltimore in would miss a long-anticipated family dinner. I chose the hotel. the 1870s wound up, for all sorts of serendipitous and romantic reasons, marrying an My distress was not over, however. eastern North Carolina farm girl and raising a large family, the last daughter of which Rather than hauling my large suitcase on the hotel shuttle, an agent suggested I was my grandmother. The family on both sides of the check it for the next day flight and take only a carryAtlantic remain close, and several American cousins on to the hotel. This sounded like a fine plan to me, and I were excited about attending the upcoming 100th but when I tried that, another agent told me I had birthday celebrations of a relative whose children were to wait two hours before "the system" would allow pulling out all the festive stops. baggage check-in or take that Big Bertha bag with It did occur to me that traveling to Austria, a me. landlocked nation with many Alps, might present some It is amazing how quickly the possibility of a challenges in January, but I had no idea what actually grown woman bursting into tears at an airline checklay ahead. in counter can reverse "the system." My travel troubles began before I left North Carolina, After a glass of wine and a bowl of chili and it was downhill from there. followed by the dead sleep of an exhausted The plan had been for a quick hop to Dulles traveler, I was a new woman the next morning International Airport outside Washington, D.C., to anxious to be on my way. connect with other traveling cousins for a direct flight to Traveling to Austria, a landlocked nation with many Alps, might present But there was more to come. Vienna. It soon became apparent, however, that the first some challenges in January. Even though I had cleared security at least twice leg was not going well since no plane showed up to fly the day before, Frankfurt security was unhappy that I to Dulles in time to make the crucial connection. had several bottles of a special southern beverage for With my trusty mobile phone — Austrians actually call these conveniences of my men cousins in my carry-on. They should, I was informed, be in individual baggies. modern life "handies" — I got myself on another plane headed to Frankfurt then on to How could I have known that, I asked. Security had no answer to that one and added Vienna. I would not be traveling with my American cousins, but what the heck. I would that the only way I could keep them would be to check the carry-on. So off I went to see them shortly to begin the big birthday hoopla with our Austrian family. do that and upon my second trip through security in 15 minutes, someone did not like Wrong-o! the tall waterproof boots I had hustled out to purchase the day before I left when it was I got to Frankfurt tired but on time, but when I tried to check in for the Vienna flight, clear Europe was going to be inundated with snow. So off they came to be x-rayed it was a no-go. The entire Vienna airport had been shut down because of snow! along with the stocking-footed rest of me. So began the long wait. I zipped myself back in to my new boots and crossed my fingers that there would be I was booked on the next flight due to leave two hours later but it was cancelled no more obstacles between me Vienna. in short order. The next one bit the dust even faster, so on to the negotiating line of Blessedly, there were not, and a day late I was met at the airport by a minivan full of airline agents to decide what to do. I was hardly alone as everyone trying to get there cousins from a six-month-old to the family matriarch and patriarch in their 70s. to the Vienna environs that day was doing the same thing. Meanwhile, other American The rest of the American contingent eventually straggled in, and cousins were enduring a similar experience at the London airport. the birthday party was a grand success, with the honoree in fine form, Frustration complicated by exhaustion set in. lingering until well past midnight. MARGARET DICKSON, ConI had three choices: I could book another flight, hours away, which no one thought What more could those of us who tributing Writer, COMMENTS? would actually go and which, in fact, did not. I could take a seven hour train ride, endured the craziness of modern travel ask? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. involving two train changes and manhandling my bags packed with family gifts or I While others retreat, we are moving forward. Some publication's numbers are fallLng behind. Your free community paper is moving forward. Readership of free community papers is now higher than paid daily papers, and continues to grow. Rather than being replaced by "instant" media, your local free community paper has become an important part of our neighborhood. Another sign we're working for you. Free Papers Working For You Celebrate Valentine's Day With Us! 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