Missing My Flight in Vienna

2014-06-16 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

I gathered my wandering thoughts and headed to the airport. Since I still had plenty of time, I walked around, taking in the somewhat musty scent of Vienna.

Inside an old elevator with wooden doors and a metal floor button panel

I opened my map and confidently set off to find the subway station. I arrived at the exact spot marked on the map, but the station that was definitely supposed to be there was nowhere in sight. Instead of a station sign, there was a construction site, and a building stood right where the station should have been. As I kept circling the intersection, time kept ticking away, and I started sweating bullets like a dog on a hot summer day. Then, by pure chance, I spotted a staircase going underground right next to a coffee shop. I went down thinking, "No way," and there it was: Wien Mitte station.

I was so screwed.

Black and white dog sitting tied up outside a glass door — My situation isn't much different from that dog's.

Normally, I should have caught the airport train, but since I missed it, the next one wasn't coming for about 30 minutes. Naturally, I arrived at the airport just 30 minutes before takeoff. If this were Korea, and I urgently explained the situation 30 minutes prior, they would have issued my ticket, and a police officer would have escorted me, saying,

"Don't fall behind, follow me!!"

They would have said something cool like that and gotten me on board somehow... But this is Europe. Specifically, Austria, right next to Germany, a place known for being as rigid as a dog chew when it comes to rules and laws. I went to the ticketing counter with a face full of worry, but ticketing was already closed. The airline staff just gave me three super expensive ticket options and said,

"This is all I can do for you."

Then they just turned around and started chatting among themselves. Wow... where did their customer service spirit go? Shouldn't they at least pretend to think about it for a second?

In a near panic, I racked my brain for a solution. 'Should I rent a car and drive all night to Spain?' 'Do I have to buy that +1,000,000 KRW ticket the Austrian guy mentioned?' While agonizing over what to do, I reached out to the Korean travel agency where I bought the ticket (it must have been midnight there!!). They were incredibly sweet and told me not to worry, saying I could route through France if I paid 300,000 KRW more.

Back in Korea, people always say Japanese customer service is great and we should learn from them, but on a global scale, I think our country's service industry is top-class. (Sure, a few bad apples ruin it sometimes.) Especially for employees in high-end service sectors like airlines, the quality of service is so good that I honestly feel they deserve to be paid a lot more.

Having somehow put out the immediate fire, I gathered my scattered wits and had lunch at the airport.

Chicken and rice dish, beer, bottled water, and soup on a tray — I ate this meal just because I saw the pretty Austrian Airlines flight attendants eating it (their red uniforms are gorgeous). It was just okay. I had two meals in Austria, and both were mediocre.

After resting a bit and coming to my senses, I headed off to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, which wasn't even on my itinerary.

#At Belvedere #Almost buried my bones #Bad impression of Austria #Slovakia is much kinder and better