The Airport Drama

So as experienced travelers we know not to check baggage when you don't need to. We decided to each take one carry-on bag to Amsterdam. We've taken these bags as carry-ons on other trips so we figured it would be no problem. Well, at the check-in counter the guy tells us that our bags are not only too big but also too heavy so we must check them. Okay, no problem, our bags will probably get to Amsterdam when we do. Since we thought we were carrying the bags on we had everything in them and I do mean everything. We decided to pull a few things out of the bags before we sent them on their way. Now we were feeling pretty excited about our trip and that it was really starting.

As we stood in line in the first security check we did a quick inventory of the things we would need on the plane. Tickets, check! Books, check! Amsterdam information, check! All of our money for the trip...dead silence. So as we stood looking at each other, we both realized that we had left over 500 Euros in one of the bags we had just checked! Now is the time to panic.

So now we were panicked that not only would we miss our flight but we would lose all of our money for the trip. If we chanced it and left the cash in the bag and our bag showed up without the money our vacation would be ruined from the start plus our flight would have been miserable. If we went back for the money we might miss our flight and have to pay a lot of money for another flight (the only other flight that day was canceled because of a strike). We decided that we would rather take another flight than possibly have our money stolen. We ran back to the desk to ask if we could get the bags back. The people at the desk we hesitant at first because they thought we might miss our flight but as soon as we told them that there was over 500 Euros in cash in one the bags the called down immediately to have the bags sent back.

We sprinted down to the baggage claim and thought about how stupid we are for leaving all of our money in a bag! By some sort of strange chance, our bags were returned to us after only 10 or 15 minutes, though, those minutes felt like forever. So we saw our bags come out and we ripped them open to see if we had been robbed already. Holy Shit! The money was still there! We took the cash and left the coins (about 30 Euros in coins) and sprinted back upstairs because we had to check-in all over again. We made it aboard our flight with plenty of time to spare and our vacation money gripped tightly in our hands. After a near disaster, things were looking up!