Never ride a train with a guy named Ruud...

It all started out innocently enough. Ruud had come down from Groningen (a town in northern NL) to visit, and we had played pool just long enough for him to miss his last train home. That was no big deal, he just stayed the night in the spare room, on our comfy mattress. The trouble started the next morning, after I woke him up at 0630.

We of course missed the 0647 train so decided to try for the 0714 one. Since I was traveling with a full-time student (they get to travel for free on the public transportation here; nice, eh?) I asked at the ticket window if I could also travel for a discount. I was told yes, so I bought my round-trip ticket for about 40 guilders as opposed to the 70 guilders it normally would be. Great! We had just settled down on the train when the conductor came by to check for tickets. I had read about this in my Nederlands voor Buitenlanders (or Dutch for foreigners) class in a chapter called "Ik heb je nergens gezien!" Basically in Holland, they don't always check your tickets, and they even tell you that if you're just traveling for short distances, the chances are that you won't get caught. They work on the honor system here, and they just expect you to pay for your tickets. It the same on the tram or metro system. But if they DO catch you, I was warned, be prepared to pay through the nose.

So there I was, blissfully unaware of what was about to befall me. Ruud showed his student pass, but when I showed mine, the conductor stopped and looked at it a little too closely and I started to get nervous. Ruud did his best to persuade the conductor that my ticket was valid, but apparently it wasn't. In all the Dutch that went back and forth, the only thing I could figure out what that it wasn't after 0900 and therefore my ticket wasn't valid. Pretty much ignoring me, the conductor pulls out a little pocket computer and starts punching away at it, as happy as can be. It beeps a couple of times, and then he looks up at me and says, " round-trip ticket, 86 guilders please." I almost fainted. As I was checking my wallet to see if by some miracle I actually had that much cash on me, Ruud piped up and told me not to buy a round trip ticket, as, if nothing else, the ticket I had already purchased would be valid for the trip back home. He argued with the conductor for a minute or two until the guy relented and recalculated for me: 60 guilders. Sheesh. I still didn't have enough cash on me. So I ended up having to buy a ticket to Rotterdam, promising that I would get out there and purchase another ticket. 20 guilders for a 15 minute train ride, and what should only have cost me maybe 7 guilders. Can you believe they charge a 10 guilder handling fee?

We got out at Rotterdam and went to the ticket office to complain there. They gave us a little form to fill in and send to the main office to see if I could get any money back. I had to laugh at the situation, but Ruud was determined to get me my money back. *grin* I bought myself a one-way ticket to my destination, and then we hopped on the next train and waited for it to leave the station. After sitting around for about 10 minutes, an announcement was made: there was a problem with the tracks between Utrecht and Groningen and the train would not be leaving. Are you kidding me? So everyone got off the train and rushed down the stairs to try to catch another one. There were some people crowded around a sign so I stopped and read: "Travelers in the direction of Groningen and Leeuwarden should take the route through Schiphol." Wouldn't you know it? We had to go back in the direction that we had just come from.

And of course, by the time the next conductor came by to check for tickets, it was after 0900. *sigh* Talk about bad luck! If we had just known and headed toward Schiphol in the first place, I more than likely wouldn't even have been caught. We got to Schiphol and had another 10 minute delay with the trains. Ruud is writing down every delay because apparently if the total delay times adds up to 60 minutes, you automatically get all of your money back for your ticket. We hopped on the train heading to Zwolle when it finally arrived, and I listened to Ruud tell me how he was plotting to get me all of my money back and more. *chuckle*

In Zwolle there is yet more confusion, as no one seems to know what is going on with the trains or if the one I need to ride is coming. The conductor actually tells me to get back on the train that I was just told to get off of, before he checks again for me and tells me to get on the one coming up behind the one I just got off. Confused? Well, so was I. But in the end, I made it. Several transfers and about an hour later than I had expected to be, but I made it.

Ruud later told me that he finished filling out the complaint form for me. Whether I do or not, Ruud actually felt that it was his fault and offered to cook for me when I go to visit him in Groningen. I wonder if I'll actually get any money back... but even if I don't, I get a home-cooked meal out of it all. So I have to ask myself, is the glass half-full, or is it half-empty? *wink*