kevin_standlee (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kevin_standlee) wrote2024-08-21 05:32 pm
kevin_standlee) wrote2024-08-21 05:32 pm
Worldcon Trip Day 29: Travel Agent
Today I was able to get out for a nice 30 minute walk in the morning before starting Day Jobbe work around Noon.
This mine cart at the entrance to the park caught my eye, of course.
It's a bit hard to see through all of the undergrowth, but the path included walking by fields with birds and sheep. It was very pleasant, and it was nice to be able to walk without pain after recording from the abuse my feet and legs took at Worldcon and during the trip into Devil's Bridge.
Meanwhile, Lisa had to bail out of the AirBnB in Munich. The description as we read it looked like it was a small studio apartment with an en suite toilet, but it turned out to be a bedroom in someone's house. That was not what we signed up for. For the moment, we've managed to move Lisa to a Holiday Inn near where her friend Chris is staying. That's only a short-term fix and we hunt around for a new base of operations. I was able to cancel part of the original AirBnB reservation, although we're out the cost of the first 30 days. Also, any alternative accommodation will be more expensive. Annoyingly in the short term, there is no way for Lisa to make calls from the hotel to call me, even with her telephone credit card, because the hotel's telephone system only allows you to call their front desk. And while the hotel room has Ethernet ports, they are not hot. Lisa's computer does not have have Wi-Fi, nor does she want it, and her internet telephone requires a wired connection. The hotel says they don't know about wired connections and only do Wi-Fi. Chris and I can call her because we know the hotel's phone number and her room number, but she can't call us.
This mine cart at the entrance to the park caught my eye, of course.
It's a bit hard to see through all of the undergrowth, but the path included walking by fields with birds and sheep. It was very pleasant, and it was nice to be able to walk without pain after recording from the abuse my feet and legs took at Worldcon and during the trip into Devil's Bridge.
Meanwhile, Lisa had to bail out of the AirBnB in Munich. The description as we read it looked like it was a small studio apartment with an en suite toilet, but it turned out to be a bedroom in someone's house. That was not what we signed up for. For the moment, we've managed to move Lisa to a Holiday Inn near where her friend Chris is staying. That's only a short-term fix and we hunt around for a new base of operations. I was able to cancel part of the original AirBnB reservation, although we're out the cost of the first 30 days. Also, any alternative accommodation will be more expensive. Annoyingly in the short term, there is no way for Lisa to make calls from the hotel to call me, even with her telephone credit card, because the hotel's telephone system only allows you to call their front desk. And while the hotel room has Ethernet ports, they are not hot. Lisa's computer does not have have Wi-Fi, nor does she want it, and her internet telephone requires a wired connection. The hotel says they don't know about wired connections and only do Wi-Fi. Chris and I can call her because we know the hotel's phone number and her room number, but she can't call us.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
What we really wanted was something like a studio apartment, and we're edging up onto getting one, but Lisa needs to go look at them to make sure they are what they promise. We have her in a hotel for the moment while she works on this.
The fix isn't cheap, but we should be able to manage it. Bailing out and flying home immediately is also expensive, and that's still on the cards.
no subject
no subject
The other issue is that Lisa doesn't carry a mobile phone, the hotel told her it's not possible to make an outside call (this is not true, but I forgot what the "outside line" number is when the hotel operator told me), so she also can't call me using her telephone calling card, and I don't know the number she has to dial to use it in Germany anyway. So I'm waiting until I can reach her so we can review where we stand on re-housing her.
We have a bit of breathing room because if she has to stay in that hotel, I have enough points to put her up for eight more nights after tomorrow as well. I had to pay for the first three nights (starting yesterday) because there were no rooms available on points then, but a window of points opens up after tomorrow night.
Fortunately the hotels have been good so far about letting Lisa check in on reservations made by me even when there isn't any way for me to enter her name on the reservation. (IHG Europe seems different from IHG North America.) I've been sending the hotels emails telling them who is who and to charge my credit card, and to call me if necessary. So far they have never had to call me, and I can see that the charges are going through.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject