trip from hell back to Middelburg

 Now it was time to get on a tram and head back to Middelburg.  When we got off at the Central Station and walked to our subway site, it was deserted and there was an announcement on the screen in Dutch of course that we couldn’t understand.  So, we went to a person that worked

  at the station and she said that she thought that it worked, but I would have to talk to a different system person, so I wait in line to hear that the E line isn’t coming this way today and we will have to take a different line out to a station where it is coming.  So, John and I go 

 upstairs and get on another tram that takes us to a station outside of the Hague where we are able to catch the line to Rotterdam.  Now our tram ticket from before counted to get us to the this station and we already have the return ticket to Rotterdam, so we’re good and the tram 

 disgorges where the other line stops, so no ticket booth to go through.  The trams and buses have all their validation equipment on the vehicle, so we don’t notice the validation machine by the ticket machine, but once we’re on the train, John notices and is pissed that we 

 forgot because now we’ll get in trouble if we are checked.  So, a loooonnnngggg train ride to Rotterdam where no one checks our tickets, but I’m starting to worry that the machine at the end won’t let us out with unvalidated tickets, which is exactly what happens.  So, we

 have to go to a booth and explain that we are total idiots (when we know this stuff) and the woman is so nice because when we say the station that we got on at, she points out that it’s a direct transfer and a lot of people forget.  She swipes us in to swipe us out and says that we still get a free ride if we want it

and we should have taken it straight back to Rotterdam Central station and got a train to Middelburg, but we don’t know yet that our bus doesn’t run today.  When we find this out, we ask and find out that there is another bus that will take us south where we can

  pick up another bus to Middelburg, but we have an hour wait.  So, we grab some food and eat real quick before the bus gets there and get jipped on the bathrooms that we have to pay for, and get on the bus to Oude Tonge that costs 14 euro each!!!  And we’re still going to

 have to catch another bus to take us the rest of the way.  So, where we saved 30 euro and only lost an hour on the trip down, we didn’t save any money and it took us 5 and a half hours to get home.  So, trip planning was a total wash this weekend, but at least we got to see some great things.