Hello MOJO family fans!
I think I'd consider myself a pretty saavy traveler. I've flown to oodles of places on many planes through many airports and many countries. I'm no regular business traveler, but I think our family knows the airport, baggage, security, boarding, flying thing pretty well.
So I'm embarrassed to share this story. But I also think it's important for folks to know that things aren't always fun and exciting and smooth as we take this trip.
We woke up in Copenhagen at 4:45am. We were already checked in for our flights. We had already paid ahead for one checked bag each. We got packed, dressed, ate a small breakfast, and left our hostel. We walked to the train station and had several transit options to get to the airport. We ended up on the metro and that took us all to the airport.
When we left the airport, we were shuttled along on a covered walkway into the airport. Signs for Terminal 3 pointed to an exit down one level. Signs for Terminal 2 continued straight along the covered walkway.
Jason, flying solo to Manchester (then Wales) for an upcoming running race, was flying from Terminal 3. So we kissed him goodbye and hastily left, eager to sort our own selves out as M, R and A walked along toward Terminal 2.
There were no other signs or options to exit this covered walkway. After a couple of minutes walk, we came to a toll booth of sorts, much like the entrances to the metro, but in order to pass you showed your boarding passes. Since I had checked in online the day before and had mobile boarding passes, I pulled them up and scanned them and the gates opened for us and through we went. Straight along the covered walkway for another short walk, and then it was a line up of people going through some kind of security screen.
I thought it was odd that we still had our big bags with us, and were going through this first security screening before we even did any kind of other check in or bag drop. From the back of the line, it appeared that we would put our big bags through one larger bag security screen, and then go through the regular screening with our carry ons. But we were encouraged into one line and then another, and then we were at regular screening. Laptops out, liquids and gels out, everything on a conveyor belt. The conveyor belts were quite large - my large backpack and the girls large backpacks fit through just fine. other travelers around us had small wheely suitcases all around, and many were local business travelers that clearly catch the metro and then fly places often.
I removed laptops and some liquids and gels from my carry on, put our big bags through the conveyor belt, and through we went. I thought all of this was a bit odd, but I was still under the impression that we somehow had to get through this security and then would drop our cheked bags.
Ava got selected for random screening, so she was concerned about that.
My big backpack got pulled off to the extra screening area and I stepped aside with it. The kids collected their large backpacks and carry ons and stepped ahead to wait for me. The security person asked me if I had any more gels or weapons in my bag. I scanned my brain for any thoughts of gels or weapons... what else did I have in this huge bag, and why are we going through this process for bags we are trying to check? ... so I said I wasn't sure and she pulled out my swiss army knife and a larger bottle of shampoo. I said 'But I'm checking these bags. They can't go in our checked luggage?' and she seemed confused and didn't say much. She did other checks and then came back to me and asked if I'd like her to throw away the shampoo and knife. I asked if I could check them, and we had a weird English / Danish confused conversation before she explained that bag drop was back where we had left Jason, at the entrance to Terminal 3. I could go all the way back there and check my bags, or she could throw away the shampoo and the knife and I could go to my gate.
What would you do here, other than feel like a total idiot?
a) throw away those items and keep going forward?
b) gather all your things, your children, and your children's things, and walk all the way back to the beginning of the airport entrance to get to bag drop?
I didn't know what other processes were ahead of me, and how much time I realistically had. But I wasn't sure I had time to take the kids and our stuff all the way back, only to turn around and repeat all of the walk and then all of security with our carry ons.
However, I wasn't really sure what would happen to our large bags if we continued. Could we check them at the gate? There is no way my large backpack was going to ever fit in any overhead compartment, but maybe the kids' packpacks could? ... no, probably not.
I told her to throw them out, felt like a complete loser as I packed my campstove and pot and underwear back into my large backpack and kept going forward.
The kids were really upset, and started crying that the lady had thrown away our things. I explained that it was my fault, not hers, and that we completely missed the bag drop somewhere in our metro/airport/early morning/don't speak Danish journey.
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| This sign was the place I made the mistake. I thought this indicated that Terminal 3 passengers would do check in/bag drop on the level below... not all passengers for any Terminal. Jason took this photo because we have just said goodbye and we are walking away from him, but it is literally the place where I messed up. Probably I was too caught up in saying goodbye to him. |
We had to line up and get through passport control to leave the EU. That took a few minutes. Then we walked to the gate. We still had just over an hour before our flight departed, so we had plenty of time before boarding, but not enough time to get all the way back to the beginning of the process if we were told we couldn't take our bags beyond the gate.
Nobody was at our gate. And the gate area was tiny. One little counter beyond a barrier but no other waiting room. So we piled our bags just outside the barrier and waited for a staff member to come and tell me that they would have no problem checking our bags for us, and that it was a simple mistake and that everything was going to be fine. And maybe we'd even have time for more food because I was getting quite hungry.
After a while, a staff member appeared behind the counter but did not take down the barrier and didn't make eye contact with me or give me any indication that she planned to help any time soon. I stared at her for the next 20 minutes, pleading with my eyes that she would come and magically take my bags away.
My head started spinning with questions and fears that they wouldn't take our large bags.
It was now time to board. Other staff members showed up behind the counter, and when someone came to remove the barrier and let us through, the kids and I with our large bags zoomed up to the counter. Instead of handing over boarding passes as though we were boarding, I pleaded with them to explain 'we missed the bag drop coming off the metro. We paid to check these bags and want to check them, but didn't know how..."
Feeling like a huge idiot all over again.
The staff spoke to each other in Danish and asked for our passports and boarding passes. I wasn't quite sure what would happen and wasn't getting any helpful body language for a minute, but then luggage tags started printing and relief washed over me. I thanked them for their help and apologized for my error. The lead staff member said: "Next time please make sure to leave enough time, arriving at the airport earlier, so you can drop your luggage off in time."
Ok, thanks.
We boarded the plane, and then waited on the tarmack while we were delayed for 80 minutes. Thank goodness we could buy food on the plane because we were hungry by the time we were in the air!
Was this a crisis? No, not at all. It was a silly and mildly upsetting / embarrassing few minutes for me lugging my backpack through security... Did it all work out fine in the end, minus one bottle of shampoo and a swiss army knife? Totally.
So onward we go to England...
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