A stitch in time saves nine, is what I learnt. Oflate I found it might save 48.60€ , something which I experienced. This incident happened some 45+ days ago on the day of my flight to India. The day started very early and I organized most of the important things necessary for the travel. Amidst the terrible cold weather, I got sweat due to the heavy sized baggage which I have lifted down from my 2nd floor flat. The bags are on its way as far as 8000 KM forth.
The taxi driver is so kind to be in time and helped me pick the bags to the trunk. He dropped me to the hop off point and helped me remove my bag. So overexcited by his punctuality & commitment, I grabbed all the euro coins which I had as tip besides paying the rent.
It is now 4:02am, pitch dark, the snow sanders were busy ploughing snow and spreading salt. Else the city is completely silent. After 13 minutes, there came the long snake like trailer bus heading airport. Most of the passengers are airport staffs, crews, a few passengers and not to mention that my interests were limited to those beautiful airhostesses who sat near to me.
Did I forget something, yeah the bus ticket, after settling my bags I moved to the driver’s cabin. A single ticket costs 2.40€, while paying for the ticket to the driver; I surprised to see all bigger denominations in my wallet. I gently picked a 50€ note and offered it to the bus driver. He started gazing me strange, “Ich bin nicht eine bank”, he alleged (which means „I am not a bank“). I have to tell him that I had no lower denominations, but he seemed unconvinced.
What should I do? My mind started cogitating crazy.
· Should I give him the rest of the money as Christmas gift? 
· Should I ask someone for change/exchange? Apparently none had for so much.
· If it is India, I should have told the driver to wait until the next motel to get the money changed.
The effect of not having enough coins and over-tipping the taxi fella had put my already sweater morning into a hapless one. Understanding my helplessness, the driver offered me a cash back voucher. So it is only possible to get my money after me coming back.
The refund process was still more interesting one. After my return from India, I have scheduled a day to process this voucher. All I have to do is go to an office in a small town, which is about 40kms from city centre, produce the voucher and get it refunded. I had little information about the town, no internet hence no google maps, my mobile phone GPS doesn’t had the appropriate map installed. So all I have to do is to rely on the plan of the city, which I found it to be very tough. After rounding the town for 1 hour, asking 6 to 7 people, I managed to find the office.
Well, there is an officer, I explained him the situation. He then started to read rules & regulations and surprised me by telling that this voucher can’t be processed by him. But he is so kind to check with the other transport authorities and got me the right information. I have been informed that I have to travel to another village opposite in direction, before 17:00 hours.
My watch said it was already 14:50 hours. After more than an hour of travel, changing trains and buses, a lift offered by a young lady, I managed to reach the place. It was about the office closing hour I got my voucher exchanged for cash. This incident reminded me the adage which I mention in the first line. By this I am not cursing the person involved, nor blaming the German system; moreover it is not all about money but the effort and time you have to spend to rectify it. This incident will be just another strong lesson learnt in Germany. It is a punishment which is resulted from a slight flaw in planning one’s day.
Forty eight euro and sixty eurocents is ever remembered.
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