Monday, 5:47 pm
Checked out of my hotel and grabbed the train for wuppertal without issue. Started having doubts about the airbnb when the directions kept me headed down a very busy main street. But the reviews had been so positive I thought maybe the apartment was at the back and wouldn't be affected. Found the lockbox and the door easily, but it was facing the street so I hoped the sound insulation was good. When I opened the door I wondered if I was in the right place. It was much smaller than it looked in the photos and just didn't have the same gloss and glamour. It still looked comfortable enough but the traffic sound was very prevalent and since everything was in one room there was no escaping it.
As I came farther inside I saw that there was not a full kitchen as advertised and there was definitely not any oven. There was just a small cabinet with a microwave and stovetop. Not even a vent was present. The mini fridge cabinet door was sticking out and I couldn't open the doors without opening the fridge. The window shade was hung off center and didn't cover the whole window.
I jumped onto my laptop and checked the listing to make sure I was in the same place. I could see that I was, despite how much more polished the listing looked. Then I checked the amenities and it distinctly listed "oven". I couldn't see one in the photos but it said "full kitchen" so I thought it was out of frame. I checked the airbnb help and it said they would cover you in the event of listed amenities not being present, but you should contact the host first. So I did that, but he didn't respond. Meanwhile I looked fir another place to stay. The traffic noise was making me crazy.
When he hadn't responded in 3 hours I contacted airbnb and got the whole "we'll take care of you" spiel. She said she would also contact the host and help me find an alternative place. Of course by now it was dark and too late to change for the night, and I was getting hungry. Thankfully I had some spaghetti on hand so I uncovered the stove and pulled out a pan. The stovetop was built into the counter and was flat glass with no physical buttons. I touched the power symbol and it came on but nothing happened when I selected a burner or tried to adjust the temperature. I tried and tried to no avail; there were not that many symbols to mess with. Finally I contacted the host again to ask how to use the stove. This time he came right back and suggested that the child lock was on. I'd seen the key symbol and tried it but nothing had happened. He suggested pressing it and the power button simultaneously but that did nothing either. After messing with it I finally got the burner to select and the temperature button to respond, but after one minute it would just clear and after two minutes it turned itself back off. I explained this and took a video but the Internet was so slow to upload or download video it took forever to share. Finally he says it must be the pan. Apparently induction stoves require induction pans. He said another guest burned the pan and maybe the replacement was not induction, so to try another pan. Fortunately there was a larger one so I put that on the stove and finally got it to work.
Meanwhile the airbnb lady comes back and says the host answered her and he says there's a grill feature on the microwave and will I verify this. So I do and then she says that qualifes as an oven and "sorry can't help you" and disappears. I immediately respond with an angry rebuke but there is no reply.
I made some spaghetti but I was so sketched out I couldn't even keep track of the time so it was a little aldente. I stuffed it into my mouth without enjoying it. Then I called m&d. They wanted an update on the module but I could only talk about the current problem. They both agreed that a microwave is no substitute for an oven which made me feel slightly better, but they were much more optimistic than I was about finding someone at airbnb to see reason.
Once I got off the phone I sent a letter to the host requesting early release and sent further objections to airbnb. It was after midnight so I didn't expect the host to reply but airbnb had no excuse. The support person has tried to contact me at my us number and it was still early there. I went to bed angry and anxious.
This morning I got up and showered and cleaned so that it looked like I'd never been there. Then I checked my messages, and fortunately had a reply from the host agreeing to refund me, as well as one from a different person at airbnb agreeing to the same. So I quickly booked another place and then got out of there as quickly as I could. The only thing that took time was trying to figure out the best transit route because everything was a convoluted mess of connections. I finally decided to get a bus back to the train station and then sort it from there.
At the station I concluded that the best route was to go to cologne and then grab the ice 109 which went all the way to Freiburg. But the train didn't leave for a bit so I went to the Rewe to go in the station and got myself a spinach and cheese pastry roll for 1.80. I asked if they could heat it but they said no, so it wasn't great but it wasn't bad. Then I went back upstairs and caught the train to cologne. The train wasn't for an hour and then was delayed another half hour. I stood in the station to stay warm until it was closer to the time and the minutes ticked by slowly. When I went up top I found a seat, though there were almost none on the platform, but when my train disappeared from the board I went back downstairs to make sure the platform hadn't changed and lost my seat. So it was a long wait. Got a good seat in the train, though, and actually dozed on and off so the hours passed quickly.
A man dressed officially passed through twice greeting people. I thought he was going to ask for my ticket but he never did. It was more life an invitation to show your ticket, than a requirement. Maybe he'd just come on shift and didn't know who else hadn't been ticketed? Not certain that's even what he was doing, but no one else came through either.
Got off at Freiburg and took a short bus then dragged my luggage a short ways and found the hostel. Asked for the cheapest room and he said it was 20 euros. There'd been cheaper ones when I'd checked online from the train so I went online to check but they were gone . I hadn't expected a Monday night to sell out so fast. Anyway I only had to pay a few bucks more. The guy suggested the eleven bed room over the twenty bed room because there were a lot fewer people in that one. I'd thought the rooms might be mostly empty but I stand corrected. Anyway it was a good call because it's almost eleven now and there's only one person besides me. He said I could have any bed not taken and I was lucky to find a top bunk in the corner that was unclaimed. Had to put the bedding on myself but didn't bother to do a good job of it. Discovered lockers in the room and went back to pay a 5 euro deposit that you get back when you return the lock. With my backpack a little more secure I walked down the street and found a warm looking restaurant. It was busy but most folks were in the second room and no one was sitting at the table by the window, so I had a large table to myself. No english menu but the girl at the counter was nice enough to read the options for me and I ended up with some cross between a pizza and avacado toast. It had cheese and greens like spinach ravioli, plus the avacado and lemon. It was actually quite good. Similar to my breakfast, but warm. They also brought be a large glass of still water which was luxurious. The only downside was the rap music playing too loudly on a speaker next to me but I managed to focus on the pizza and the ambiance.
Came back and brushed my teeth and went to bed. Had to drop my shifts today but at least I managed to let the teachers know. Maybe I can pick up some other drop shifts to make up for it.