Crossing an entire country can happen in a infinite number of ways. Crossing a country in a last minute rush reduces the number of options to a wonderfully unpredictable subset. These can include, though are not limited to:
- Running across Rome carrying far too much baggage
- barfing from stress
- crying in public
- Hitchiking
- paying far too much for the last seat on a plane/train/dolmuş
- cancelling the trip
I have experienced all of these as the protagonist, antagonist, or spectator. What follows is a mixed bag of some of these and others.
The fallout of the confusion between Nurburg and Nurenburg compiles into my needing to cross most of Germany, twice, in the next 4 days. Nick has errands to run in another city on my updated route, and has generously offered to Lyft me partway, putting me within a coupe hours of the Trial-famous city. From there, I can catch a train to the HBF and take public transit across town.
The return trip adds some complexity. BMTH, the band I came to see, is now the closing headliner and I will be unable to stay for their show and still make it back to my flight in Frankfurt, the following morning. I now have to find a hotel at the airport for the night before my flight, and I need to leave the Festival a day early.
There is really no reason for anyone to care about this, other than as a cautionary tale. Always ask for all the details up front. Get the details of every hotel stay. Get the details of every flight well in advance. Make sure you know if you are sharing a hotel room, or not. I have recently traveled with others where I have failed to get these details explicitly. It has bit me on the butt each time.
Consider using a service like Trip-It. You can just email all the confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and it puts all the details into an itinerary that you can view offline on your phone. The service marks travel conflicts, tracks delays, and is generally quite useful as a viewing pane for all the normally disjointed details of any trip. The PRO version even does cool things like offers alternate flight routes, can inform you of and even pay for luggage restrictions and fees. I have started using is since the events of this trip.
TLDR;
- Get all the details for your trip in advance; use a service like Trip It Pro to keep it organized.
- Always double check spelling errors and typos when planning in conjunction with another person.
- Make sure you know if your room is shared on not.
- Make sure you know if your TOILET is shared or not.
- Hold your expectations lightly; they are certain to bear only a resemblance to what will ultimately happen.