The river trip ended in the beautiful town of Koblenz. I didn’t have of a chance to see much of it though as I was catching a train early the next morning to head east. After taking a taxi (my first!) to my economy hotel I checked in (awkwardly, due to my lack of skill in speaking and understanding German). It was nearly dark and I wanted to find the route I’d be walking in the early morning, when it would to be dark, to catch my train.
No problem finding the route. The problem came the next morning when I couldn’t find a way to check out of the hotel. No 24-hour desk service here. No phone in the room. I couldn’t even get to the tiny desk where I checked in; it was in the restaurant of the hotel, which of course was closed at this early hour.
I did find some signage that Google translated to say something like “No service hours needed ring bell at front door.” I searched for a bell. All I could find was a buzzer outside one of the front doors. I rang it, but nobody came.
Of course I still had my room key, because I was intending to turn it in, so I went back up to the room, left the key on the table, and hurried out to catch the train. I emailed the hotel, in the best German that Google Translate and I could muster.
I received a reply about 24 hours later, which thanked me, and asked me to please pay my bill. Oh yeah, that small detail…
I left my checkbook in Bellingham, so I’m hoping Claudia will help me out of this fix when I return to Munich in a few days.
This Journey Begins Now 