Back to Vienna

By the time the bus had stopped at the border check post, I was figuring out all possible ways of getting out of this mess. I didn't see many options, but for some weird reasons, I was all charged up to face the situation and knew I would come out safe. If only I knew what was in store for me!.

A young Austrian policeman walked into the bus, started checking every one's ID to whom I handed over my Indian passport that didn't have a visa stamp that he was looking for. I saw disbelief in his eyes first, then he looked at me. Since there was just one empty page remaining in my passport, he started flipping through every single page with patience. Finally he came and very politely requested me to get down from the bus as 'he needed' to talk to me.

All the co-passengers who were very friendly with me until then turned their head to the other side as if they were disowning me. They definitely didn't want to be seen knowing me if this was an attempt of a desperate South Asian to get into Europe! It doesn't matter that I was coming from Austria.

In fluent English, the Austrian police officer said,

"Hi, I speak English, looks like we have a problem here!"

And our dialogue went on like this for some time.

"Well, yes, I can see it,anything we can do now"?
"How come you don't have a visa?"
"Hmm, This was a flight ticket booked by someone else, who presumed that I had a visa for Slovakia?"
"As a passenger, isn't your responsibility to attain a visa before travelling?"
"Yes, of course! But I had no idea that I was flying out of Bratislava which happened to be in Slovakia and not Austria! (I only knew that i was supposed to fly out from an airport not that far from Vienna"),Somehow I need to be in Paris tonight? Can you please help me?"

He didn't ask me any more questions but promised that he will see if he can help me out. So with all my luggage and all,we both walked to the small cubicle ( really wonder how these guys manage to be working in that open space in such an extreme climate!) where the Slovakian guys were stay put.

He was talking to the Slovakian border police explaining my situation in a language that I didn't understand at all. So that had to be Slovakian :) Not that I speak or understand German, but at least I had a feel of the language after having quite a good number of German friends in my Bangalore apartment. I was stupidly asking them if it was possible to get a visa stamped at the airport as I am only on a transit.

I was buying time to get some ideas work in my favour, but there was actually none other than going back to Vienna!

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