RSSCategory: Berlin

Back to Berlin….Without my luggage

| June 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

Arrived today for my second visit to Berlin. This time, I’m accompanied by my daughter, Bridget. It will be a combination of business and pleasure. I have business meetings in Berlin, but will go to Paris for the weekend, for my first visit to the City of Lights.

The first change I noticed from my last visit was how expeditious the arrival process was. We had a layover in Munich where we showed our passport. But there were no customs declarations forms to fill out. Just show the passport and move right on through. Berlin was even more expeditious, actually too expeditious.  We just followed the crowd off the plane, expecting to be herded to some large immigration line, followed by a customs line.  In so doing, we walked right past baggage claim and the next thing we knew we were outside security without our luggage.  Uh oh.  I knew that couldn’t be good.  Going back through the exist would probably have caused them to shut down the whole airport.

Sure enough, we had to go to a special office at the other end of the airport.  After about an hour wait, we were told that our luggage didn’t arrive anyway.  Over to another office at another end of the airport.  To my relief, they told me that the luggage was in Munich.  Didn’t make the connection, but would be delivered to the hotel in the evening.  And that’s the situation, as it exists.  Hope they are right.

Thanks to an unbelievably organized wife, I had a change of close in my carry on, so no stress…..yet.