Departure DAY(E)

We went back from Newquay Airport, which is about an hour away by bus. Crystal chose the early flight to Stuttgart, and I chose the 7 pm flight to Düsseldorf.

So there was still some time for shopping in Padstow. I had stored my luggage at a nice bike shop at the train station - good to know... ;-)

I reluctantly took the bus ride and took a seat at the front seat on the double-decker bus to get a few last glimpses of the coast that awaits me next year. But after a while, the branches hanging over the road became lower and the first small branches landed in the bus through the open windows. Soon, the bus could hardly drive because of the high trees, so I asked downstairs: the bus driver had taken a detour according to a colleague's description, which was either unsuitable for the bus or the description was somehow wrong... But since turning or reversing was not possible either, we simply had to "go through"... :-P By now, it was unbearable upstairs, we kept cutting branches - and then there was a loud crash... a thicker branch got stuck on a window pillar!!! A window pane was shattered, but still hanging in the frame. :-P The bus driver remained cool and continued to fight his way through... and eventually, we were back on the right road... ;-)

At Watergate Bay, where Jamie Oliver has his Fifteen Cornwall, two bus stops away from the airport, I got off to enjoy the last few hours overlooking the sea... Last cream tea for a long time! The sky cleared up and a stage was set up on the beach, and the soundcheck for an event that would start in a few hours was in full swing... darn it, I would really like to stay for another day!!! But there was no choice, I had to go back to the bus stop and take the bus to the airport... :-/

When I arrived there, I was already surprised by the departure display board, somehow all flights were delayed, including the one to Düsseldorf... well, first of all, I checked in my luggage and went through security... the waiting area in front of the gates got fuller and fuller... nothing happened, no aircraft landed, and there was none for takeoff...

At around 7:30 pm, we were supposed to fly at 7 pm, the announcement came: the tower couldn't communicate, they were working on a solution and would let us know within the next 30 minutes...

Shortly after that, it was announced that check-in for all flights was not possible until further notice, as the waiting area was overcrowded...

At around 8:30 pm, our announcement came: the flight is postponed until 12 noon tomorrow, they are currently figuring out what to do next... We were then led out and could pick up our luggage again... And so the waiting began for real... :-/

At some point, the radio problem was also resolved and the planes started arriving and the other flights (all within the UK) were gradually catching up... But our aircraft never arrived, so the next day was probably the better option.

At that time, I had hoped for a nice Saturday evening in the pub... :-P Unfortunately, reality turned out differently: there were no available hotels nearby, let alone enough taxis to quickly take us to the accommodations. In the meantime, I had met a nice hiker, Gabi, who was also traveling alone, and so we quickly came up with the idea of sharing a room. :-) We were accommodated with 12 others at the Premier Inn in Bodmin. The funny thing was that I was at this exact hotel in 2017 and googled the South West Coast Path after the mysterious acorn symbol...!!! :-) And so the circle closes sometimes...

We arrived in the room at 2 am!!!, the alarm clock rang at 8 am... at 10 am, we went back to the airport, this time everything was "normal" and uneventful...

And so I was "ready" to fly home, at least I had one more day, albeit very different from what I had hoped for! :-P

The muggy heat in Germany really annoyed me, as did the overcrowded trains. I arrived at Kaiserslautern train station at 8 pm... Man-o-man, how beautiful it was in Cornwall... :-)