The Challenge of Travel

I think we can credit "it's a different culture" for a lot of it, and "tourist fatigue" for the rest. ( tourist fatigue is a great expression I read on someone else's post.)

You were politely persistent, and you prevailed.

I lived in EU for enough years to not take the American concept of " customer is always right" for granted. It always seemed a society that was more interested in making the customer mold themselves around the business' ways. Small stores with the 3 hour siestas, for example, and no air conditioning or ice in drinks. Not bringing butter for your bread when asked, or Parmesan cheese for certain dishes. Front desk attendants that are bothered by early morning requests for assistance. Even our Belgian bank took my husband aside to whisper a recommendation that the bank account be in his name only. (La code Napoléon, don't you know.)

Yes, it's a challenge because our differences run deep, on levels we can't even perceive, sometimes.

Hi Sarah,

What an experience! It's a good thing the taxi you waved down was available.

I totally agree with the tips you listed.

My experience happened this June while visiting France during their train strike.
My daughter & I were in Avignon & had TGV tickets to Paris. I had asked at the train station if our train would be running & was adviced to return the evening before the date of travel, to confirm if that train would be running or not. So, the day before we were to travel, I walked to the train station, only to find out that the door to the ticket office was locked, & the posted sign taped to the door read that they had to close early, due to the strike (in French, no doubt. It's a good thing I'd reviewed my high school French!)
So, I asked myself, now what?
I looked around the station & noticed a couple of SNCF staff answering other worried travelers questions, so I asked one of them about our tickets. He checked his hand held computer & confirmed that our train would be running. He also explained that the train that normally runs from Avignon Centre to the Avignon TGV train station, would not be running, but that there would be a shuttle bus available in front of the station & he pointed to the bus schedule posted on the wall. I thanked him & went back to the hotel. The following morning, we arrived early to catch the bus. After a few minutes, the crowd increased, as we were all waiting for the same shuttle bus.

There was a SNCF agent standing at the bus stop, so I decided to ask about the cost of the bus ticket, to which she replied; "I don't know, you buy ticket at train station!"

What?!? Yesterday I'd been told that I could buy the ticket from the bus driver!
Now the bus was scheduled to arrive within 5 minuets & we didn't have bus tickets!
I asked my daughter to wait with our luggage (we had been waiting toward the front of the line which
had started to form), & I ran into the train station only to find a long queue at the ticket office & only 2 persons working the ticket counter.

Now what? I noticed a couple of men who were at the front of the line & asked if they could do me a favor & let me go ahead so I could buy our bus tickets for the bus which would be departing in 5 minutes.
They were waiting to buy bus tickets too, so they said yes, & we waited, and waited... Finally, it was our turn & we asked for 4 tickets, I paid & we all ran to the bus stop. Fortunately for us, the bus had been delayed & was running late.
When the bus arrived, I asked my daughter to board the bus & to save me a seat. Once I'd placed our luggage in the bus hold, I realized that my daughter had not yet boarded, because everyone else was pushing their way in & she didn't feel like doing the same.
In the end we managed to get a seat & that bus was packed to the gills! Many of the passengers were standing.
When we arrived at the TGV station, we, along with most of the other passengers had to run to the station, to catch our train.
Once we boarded the train we took a big breath of relief!
We hadn't expected this stressful situation, but it all worked out in the end.

On airport days I hate dealing with adversity and make every effort to avoid it. I'd probably have planned out my walk to central station in Brussels and caught a train to the airport. There are 5 or 6 per hour.

On other days I see these situations not so much as adversity but as opportunity, part of the fun of travel. Hand gestures, pointing, one-word utterances, crying... I casually relinquish all adult responsibility for communicating properly, draw on all those skills I had at age two, and see if I can get what I want (which is usually something to eat.) Sometimes I get it (something to eat, that is - not necessarily the chocolate-almond croissant I had in mind.)

It turns out that I do this often in French-speaking areas, where English and my other two foreign languages just don't get me very far. Recent trips to Eastern Europe, where I'd hoped to be flailing about once again, were a tad disappointing in this regard. I was surprised how frequently I came across shop clerks and servers who seemed able and eager to listen to my English and serve me a snack or whatever, often tossing in a few friendly words in English.

I suppose my airport paranoia has to do with a bus from Guadalajara that broke down about 45 minutes outside of Puerto Vallarta airport about 3 hours before my departure for home. A colectivo happened by and I shared someone's lap. Nunca jamás.

Two weeks ago I was flying to Copenhagen on a two-leg flight that depended on a connection in Stockholm. I always give myself at least 2 hours so I don't get stressed about not making a connection. All was well until I arrived in Stockholm.
Turns out that not only my connecting flight was cancelled, but all of the flights to Copenhagen for the rest of the day were cancelled. I HAD to be in Copenhagen that day so I sat down and calmly evaluated all of my options.
Train...went to the train counter and it turned out that it was about 11 hours to Copenhagen. Checked that off my list.
Ride sharing...got on a couple of websites and couldn't find anything.
Another flight somewhere else?
I am a huge fan of House Hunters International and remembered an episode that was in Malmo, Sweden. I also remembered that Malmo is just across the water from Copenhagen.
So I approached the transfer counter and found a flight! The desk agent assured me that there was a train station right in the airport that would whisk me directly to Copenhagen upon landing. I had to wait about 2 extra hours but I was going to be in Copenhagen soon so I didn't really care! A few beers later and I was on my way!
I get off the plane in Malmo, walk onto the stairs onto the tarmac in pouring rain, happy that I'm just a short train ride from my final destination.
Into the terminal I went to find...there is NO train station in the airport, only a shuttle bus service that is cash only. I have no Swedish cash.
So I head to the only ATM in the tiny airport. It isn't working.
Now I am starting to lose my optimistic, I-am-a-master-traveler-and-can-get-anywhere attitude. I'm getting pissed, tired, and impatient.
My one and only option now is a taxi. 66 kilometers to Copenhagen and I just don't care anymore. So I hand a nice Iranian man my Visa card and he drives me all the way. We had a nice conversation about crazy American politics, I found out he is a US citizen and is moving to Silicon Valley next month, and we bonded over our love for learning languages.
$230 later I finally arrive at my little apartment just on the right side of midnight.
I have a million other stories like this one but this is the most recent! Travel usually doesn't go how you think it is going to go. But if you just keep on keeping on it's mostly good and you get great stories out of it!

Wow! Two things to pack: patience and resilience.

I flew into FCO the day after Terminal 3 caught fire, could not get another flight (to Palermo), so I ended up taking the train after spending the night in Napoli (and discovering a great new hotel near the train station). Small potatoes compared to Anita's story!

When I look back on this now it seems sort of silly, but at the time it was nerve wracking for both of us. Last fall we flew our first trip to Europe to stay in Amsterdam for a week prior to a RS tour. As we would arrive before check in, our landlady had told me to call or text her when we were ready to leave the airport so she could call the maid to let us into the apartment building. I'm a planner and an organizer so I had all arrangements made: a Verizon global plan and pre-paid taxi service. And then it all fell apart. After a wonderful flight over we arrived at the red and white meeting point to discover two things: My phone didn't work, and the Tinker Taxi girl was nowhere to be found. We wandered the airport looking for our ride, unsuccessfully fiddled with the phone (which Global Verizon had repeatedly told me was ready to go once I turned it off and then back on), and had finally decided to buy train tickets, ride in, and then walk to the apartment hoping we would be let in. Hubby decided to look for the Tinker hostess one more time and found her flitting back and forth through the airport. They had our reservation but not our flight number. The taxi driver called our landlord and then saw us to the door making sure we were let in before he left. So, it all worked out in the end but it wasn't a fun experience.

We had wifi in the apartment so could communicate that way but it took me two days to get that darn phone to work! The secret was clicking on the sim card description way down at the bottom of my settings to turn global usage on. Pfffttt.

I am prepared for our upcoming return to Amsterdam: No Verizon plan (work on wifi only), text landlord with free airport wifi, then take the train and walk to apartment. We'll see how that works out.

For my husband's 50th birthday, we had planned an around-the-world trip. We started with a couple of days in London and were then to head to Hong Kong on an evening flight. On the day of the flight we had planned to go to Windsor for the morning, returning in time to pack, check out and get to the airport by 5:00pm for our 8:30pm flight. We overslept a bit and literally missed our Windsor train by seconds. ( we were staying at the Hilton in Paddington Station by the way). We headed back, towards the Tube entrance, figuring we'd just hit some of the London markets. As we were walking we heard an announcement, "Anyone wishing to leave London must board the train on platform # ___." As we had read about several train wrecks near/outside Paddington in the months preceding our trip, we guessed that was the problem and blessed our 'luck' for oversleeping. As we reached the Tube entrance however, we saw a line of Bobbies blocking it. We quickly we back up to our room to check the TV to see what was going on. Well, it was July 7... and the bombers had just hit buses and Tube trains and stations. Well! We began to question if we'd be able to get out to the airport? Would flights be allowed out? etc...... Hubby went to get his shower and finish packing (I'd packed the night before) and I went down to see if the concierge could help us find a way to the airport (we'd planned to take the Heathrow Express, but knew that wasn't and option now). He informed me that taxis were still running and that, for now, the airport was open and flights leaving. But he advised us to go ahead and head to the airport as soon as possible (it was now 10:30am). He said there was a taxi stand just around the corner and that when he looked a few moments earlier, the line was very long and he estimated at least a 2-3 hour wait for a taxi. We hurried up, check out and headed to the taxi stand. No line of waiting people... in fact there were 3 taxis waiting for fares. We took our first Black Cab ride (this after about 35-40 trips to London). Boy was it interesting. Some streets were blocked or closed- so our driver took whatever way he could- even going the wrong way on some one-way streets! As we got closer to the airport, it was obvious that LOTS of others had the same idea. Traffic was unbelievable. We was some people abandoning their cars and walking to the terminal! Our driver assured us he would get us to the terminal, though. And he did! And it was only 11:15 am!!!!! When we checked in we asked if they thought the flight would be canceled... they said no, it didn't look like that would happen, but the problem would be getting flight crews to the airport. We spent all day watching the sad news and eventually were able to call someone back home (NC) and let them know we were ok (this was before cell phone were widely available - and you certainly didn't carry them out of the country unless you were filthy rich). Our flight did leave that evening but this was definitely a day for the memory books.

My challenge is happening right now. I leave for Europe next week for two months. I had the trip loosely planned but some of my favorite things to do is just wander around in towns and cities.

Last week, I pulled a muscle in my lower back. Walking and standing too long are painful. I have to reconsider what I want to do because the pain can be extreme. (And the worst part is that I have a tour of Ireland starting in 12 days and it will include a lot of walking.)

I was planning on spending much of the time exploring around the UK. Now, however, since my mobility is impaired, I may expand my horizons and travel to other countries via train. To me, the journey is just as important as the destination. I enjoy looking at the scenery. And when I get to the cities, take the HOHO buses, public transit or even taxis between the sites I want to see when normally I would just walk.

I am not, however, cancelling the trip.

So many great stories! Anita, you are my hero! Proof that having some monetary reserves can solve some problems.

We've had adventures: exploding ovens, keys that won't come out of the key safe for after-hours entry, the absent check-out clerk at 5:00AM, missing cab drivers, cats that let themselves into our agriturismo apartment, and of course cancelled trains.

The SNCF erratic strikes this past summer were fun. (Priscilla, we had similar experiences in Avignon!) We did learn that signing up on the app and registering our trips was worthwhile. SNCF was able to send me an SMS at 21:00 the night before telling me our next day's journey from Chamonix to Geneva -- only 10 hours away -- "was not possible." Before I went to sleep that night I was able to find (thank you Internet gods!) the last two seats on a shuttle to the Geneva Airport. International cell phone and internet service is invaluable, isn't it?

Frank--2 weeks prior to my trip to Paris and Budapest I pulled a muscle in my upper back-shoulder blade area, and since I'm prone to lower back spasms would have just ignored, but whatever was pulled this time was hitting a nerve that caused horrible pain all down my arm. Armed with pain patches and muscle relaxers and pain meds I went anyway--the plane ride was excruciating--and once I hit the ground I was so busy falling in love with Paris that I didn't notice the pain until I stopped every evening. I allowed myself a few slow-start mornings and moved just a bit slower than my usual fast pace. Here's hoping your back settles down by the time you leave.

Another lesson from Sarah's experience could be: allow more time than you think you need. In London last month, I arrived in a train station much earlier than I usually would, but was glad that I did, since the ticket-collection machine at that small station (Waterloo East) was broken and I had to go to the larger, neighbor station to collect my pre-paid ticket (all well explained by friendly staff there).

Priscilla and Laurel: I think all of us who were in France in June have travel strike stories to tell. This was the first year I have travelled with a mobile phone (I don't normally use one at all) and it proved invaluable to have the SNCF info about train cancellations. I also used it to book a hotel in Agen at short notice when my journey from Arles to Sarlat terminated abruptly there, and to cancel my first night's accommodation in Sarlat. Being a Sunday the Agen hotel was closed until 6.30 pm, so I asked the only bar that was open if I could leave my luggage there for a few hours, and so had a chance to explore the town. Leaving Sarlat my 7.30 am connection was cancelled but not until 8 pm the night before, so my only choice was the 6.05 am to which my wonderful B&B host (Terri at La Lanterne) gallantly drove me in pouring rain - earning my eternal gratitude.
At least, the ticket inspectors were accommodating in accepting pre-booked tickets on a different train.

Thank you all for your stories! I'm proud to be part of this gutsy, resourceful community of travelers.

Russ, I laughed out loud at your post about resorting to the behavior of a two-year-old when all else fails.

Frank, I hope you can travel for the whole two months with some modifications to your itinerary. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Laura, I'm a big believer in allowing lots of time for things. When my sister and I left Paris in April to come home, the transit strike started the day we went to CDG. We left the hotel early enough to get to the airport 3 hours before departure, but we easily spent 20 minutes in the St.-Michel RER B station trying to figure out how to get to CDG because all trains terminated at Gare du Nord. An announcement came over the P.A. system and I understood enough of it to realize that we had to go to Gare du Nord and find a different RER B train which would take us to the airport. We did that, spent 10 minutes looking for the right train, and eventually got to the airport 2 hours early. Security had no lines and we got to the gate with an hour and a half to spare.

What bugs me is even when you do all the "right things", fate has a way of intervening. First trip to London, we had to take a very early flight out of Gatwick. I scoped out Victoria station, found the track the Gatwick Express was leaving from, double checked times and was ready . .. .except for one thing. That early in the morning, not all the doors to the station were open. We couldn't find how to get into Victoria for 25 minutes. This was even after asking a taxi driver where the door was and another person walking by. Another time, getting from our hotel in Amsterdam to the train station. Again, scoped out the bus stop, double checked times, again, really early in the morning only to have the bus not show up. There were ton's of people in the same predicament, and they were snatching up taxi's left and right. We decided to hoof it and made it with some time to spare. The train strike in France this summer also caused mishaps. Now I'm always ready with plan B and plan C and just go with the flow.

We seem to have bad timing with London. Our first trip there we arrived 2 days before Princess Diana's funeral. It was a terribly sad and poignant time to be there as well as remarkable. Never in my (and likely never again) have I witnessed mourning on such a scale. London was not really London during that time so we missed a lot.

So we planned a return trip..oh yes...September 2001. We were in Wales on the 11th and the horrible news started trickling in. We made our way to London by Saturday and arrived at our hotel only to find they had given our accommodations away to someone who was stuck there with the planes being grounded. Fortunately the hotel was able to rearrange things a bit and give us a room for the week. But once again the mood since the 11th was somber. We visited many memorials and were touched by the notes, photos, and momentos left by Brits who had visited the towers or DC. Without fail, upon hearing we were American we were offered condolences and prayers. Again, while we were able to visit many top spots it not the London we were hoping for.

Really afraid to try for third visit.

Two stories: London with my 9yr old.Last day: Son tells me he was playing with my watch(the old kind with hands). I check , seems ok. Wondered why we just kept missing things , but still having a nice morning . Arrive at Paddington Station to go one block to hotel and notice the clock say 2PM. I think -thats wrong -its one pm. Then another clock 2PM Yipes-race to hotel, beg to cut [lne to get our left luggage. Run to station- lose son. London Police appear out of no where to find him- WOW , efficent. Just made flight home. Lesson learned - when son says he played with watch, believe him and leave more time for airport.

Second story- at front desk while large tour group is assembling for their departure/ Ask clerk where we can leave luggage for day until train to Paris. Put luggage where he says. Get back with 2hrs to get to train. Where's luggage? With the tour group on their next stop. Luckily that was about 1/2 hour away and hotel managerr was able to get it to us at station.
Lesson learned/reinforced Keep passport, tickets and keys with you. Dont check out at same time as tour group.

But yes= these are 2 of my laugh at now stories