I make a point of focusing on the positive aspects of our travel, but obviously it is rare for there to be a trip completely free of hiccups, inconveniences, or annoyances, and this one to Germany, Austria, and Slovakia was no exception.
I've already shared about the train issues getting from Munich to Vienna, and when I referred to said issues as a "misadventure," I was being generous. We were very irritated by the unannounced cancellation and being sent on another train that took us to two random stations where we had to make connections. We were left feeling anxious the entire time about whether or not we would make it to Vienna that night or we'd have to unexpectedly find a hotel in some little town.
After finally arriving at our hotel in Vienna that night, the rude employee at the front desk who told us incorrectly that the date was wrong on our reservation did nothing to improve our mood. It was our experience during the entire duration of the trip that "customer service" means something different in Germany and Austria. Employees in cafes and restaurants, stores, and hotels were, at best, indifferent, and at worst, straight up rude. While there are ding dongs everywhere, we were very surprised by the poor customer service, especially at the hotels, and we are not exactly high maintenance guests! I don't think it's too much too expect a little common courtesy. Is this simply the post-COVID world? Manners and civility have just ceased to exist?
We had shared with the hotel manager a few months back that we would be celebrating our thirtieth wedding anniversary during our visit and on December 31, we returned to our room to flowers and a dessert, which I thought was very kind of them. Imagine my surprise when we were checking out and discovered a charge on our room bill for the flowers! That we DID NOT order! And then the employee gave us a hard time about removing the charge, claiming that she had to speak with her "colleague" about it. She couldn't find any record of us ordering the flowers (because we HADN'T ordered them!) and yet would not take us at our word. To say we were unimpressed with the Andaz in Vienna is an understatement.
On another day, we were walking through the Vienna train station, and a guy made a beeline straight for us, pushing both of us and shoving his way between us. We kept walking, because we don't engage with people like that, and he started yelling at us at the top of his lungs. He came toward us and it was clear he was trying to goad C into a fight. We just both stared right at him while he yelled and I don't know if 1) it dawned on him that he was outnumbered; 2) he was realized that C is pretty intimidating when he needs to be; or 3) he decided he shouldn't start something with us because of my classic RBF, but he eventually backed down and we left. Probably a combination of #1 and #2 but I like to think #3 helped a little. LOL!
When we were returning to Munich from Vienna, there were thankfully no train issues, but we did have an unpleasant encounter with a fellow passenger. The business class seats were in groups of four, in a sort of pod/cubicle set up. When we boarded the train and got to our seats, three of them were empty and a man was sitting in one of them. We stored our luggage and were getting settled, but we had tickets for the two window seats that faced each other and the man was sitting in one of them. No problem at all, as it's an easy error to make and he'd had all four seats to himself from Budapest to Vienna, so we figured maybe he had just decided to sit in the window seat. C very politely, in a very Canadian manner, said, "Excuse me, sir - I believe you are in our seat," and the guy immediately became unnecessarily aggressive and argumentative. This was the last night of our trip and we were so over the terrible attitudes of the people we'd encountered, so I became equally aggressive and pointed to the symbol above the window indicating that my seat was the window seat and he was in it. He just continued to argue! What on earth!?! Just get up and go to your assigned seat! But no, he had to continue arguing until it finally occurred to him that he was in the wrong. He made a big show of moving to his assigned seat and dramatically turned himself to a 45 degree angle to make it clear he was ignoring us. Ummmm...good? You are a rude person and we don't want to interact with you whatsoever! He repeatedly looked at his ticket and I'm sure was hoping to be proven right and returned to the window seat when the conductor came to check the tickets, but we were in the correct seats and he was forced to sit and stew for the four-hour ride to Munich.
After arriving back in Munich, we took the subway from the central train station out to the airport. We stayed at the Hilton there, and it was by far not only the best of the three hotels we stayed at, but also the least expensive. The Sofitel in Munich and the Andaz in Vienna are higher-end brands and one would think they would be better than an airport Hilton, but nope! Just goes to show that the price of a hotel equates to neither the quality of the staff nor the quality of the accommodations!
Our flight home to Toronto was yesterday morning and Air Canada made it clear that we should arrive at the airport four hours prior to our departure time. That was very easy for us, as the walk from the hotel to the terminal literally took less than one minute, so we showed up just before 8:00 am since our flight was scheduled for 11:50 am. Guess what? The Air Canada desk didn't open until 9:00 am! So we, along with all of our fellow rule-following passengers, just stood in line for absolutely no reason for over an hour. Nonsense!
There's quote about traveling that I love: "Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller," (attributed to Ibn Battuta) so even when things don't unfold perfectly on a trip, the experiences we gain from travel are priceless. All of the little absurd and frustrating things are part of the journey! That doesn't mean I love every moment, and there were quite a few moments on this trip that I most decidedly did NOT love, but getting to spend ten days in other countries, seeing and doing things that are different from our regular day-to-day lives, is a privilege I do not take for granted!
My final thoughts on the rudeness we witnessed in Munich and Vienna...I am convinced that France has a public relations problem, because we've taken five trips there over the years, and overall, found people to be generally polite, despite the reputation they have for being rude. Likewise, America has a public relations problem, because it's often said that Americans are loud and boorish when traveling abroad, and we haven't found that to be the case. So who is spreading these rumors?!? Of course exceptions exist, and I am by no means saying every person in France is polite or every American traveler is considerate, but these seemingly widely held beliefs have not been our experience whatsoever.
We were so thrilled to land in Toronto yesterday afternoon and get back to C's parents' house to reunite with Avalanche. It will come as no surprise that he was over-the-moon to see C, but for the first time EVER in the two years we've had him, he jumped up on me out of excitement, too! I know he loves me, but his personality does not usually lend itself to big displays of affection, so his reaction was a complete delight!
We are so grateful to C's mom and dad for spoiling Avalanche while we travel. He loves them and loves being at their house because they live near a park and they have a fenced-in yard, neither of which we have at our house! He has been sleeping soundly in the back seat of the car all day as we try to get home before the anticipated bad weather begins. I'm hoping this means a snow day tomorrow - fingers crossed!
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| Munich Airport |
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| our plane |
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| Toronto airport |
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| we missed him so much |
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| hit some bad weather earlier today |
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but thankfully, much of our
drive has been absolutely fine! |
Happy Tails to you!
