Travel Delays: Edinburgh Tried to Keep Me Forever
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I remember giving a specific piece of advice regarding independent travel while abroad, and that advice rings true after this past weekend. What was that piece of advice? Everything isn’t always perfect. Let me tell you, traveling to and from the UK sure wasn’t.
But First… Edinburgh!
I had such a wonderful trip over to Scotland for the weekend. This trip had so much built-up excitement, as I had been planning to visit Olivia in Edinburgh since the beginning of my program. Although we are both in Europe, the UK island has its own classic charm in comparison to the ornate feel of Germany.
After landing late in the afternoon on Friday, Olivia picked me up from the airport to bring me to her apartment. From there, we met up with Maya Lunt, who was also visiting from her program near Geneva, Switzerland. The community of Hope is so comforting, and having a weekend to catch up and share about our experiences abroad was so refreshing! We got to goof off, reminisce about missing Hope, and just catch up. Finishing off the very rainy night, we watched the Royal Scottish National Orchestra perform at Usher Hall, with a beautifully nostalgic program. I’ve missed making music a lot (shoutout Hope College Orchestra <3), and it was so freeing to finally experience an orchestral concert abroad.
The next morning, we began a busy day wandering the streets of Edinburgh, getting some coffee and window shopping on Victoria Street and the Royal Mile. We also walked through the Grassmarket and met a lovely woman named Muna, who was selling her authentic, homemade Ethiopian food. Since we had good energy and danced with her, she let us have a free plate of her food, and it was delicious. That had to be a 10/10 highlight of my time in Edinburgh, as all the people you speak to are so genuine and kind. After the market, we did some more browsing and thrifted some cool vintage sweaters. I did admittedly purchase a (La) Baabaa, which is a little homemade knit sheep unique to this small business in Scotland.
We visited the outside of the castle after that and then picked up some snacks from the Co-op as a late lunch. Around 7pm, we headed to the Christmas market! This was my first one of the season, and it is definitely a huge part of German tradition in the cold months. Ironically, I went to my first one in Scotland and not Germany, but it was still so charming! We all tried Glühwein, or mulled wine in English, which is a Christmas market classic. There were so many local businesses, including mac n cheese, crepes, purses, ornaments, dream catchers, and more! We also enjoyed the carnival rides, and as overpriced as they are, you truly can’t go wrong with a swing carousel next to the Scott Monument.
The following day, we had to say goodbye to Maya as she headed back to Switzerland, and Olivia and I set out on another day of wandering the streets. After going to Dean Village for some aesthetic photos by the river, we got some cute homemade tarts at the market before going back to the Christmas market. Yes, we went back for the 10£ mac n cheese, and yes, it was worth it. After taking a visit to the gorgeous Edinburgh Uni (hey, grad school?), we got the famous Uplands Roast hot chocolate. The line took around 45 minutes, and it was freezing… but it did meet expectations. After heading back to Olivia’s apartment to grab my stuff, she graciously dropped me off at the airport two hours early, for my flight to Basel at around 8pm.
Where Things Go Wrong
The one good thing about this first experience at the Edinburgh airport was that they were so efficient with security. Within about 5 minutes of saying goodbye to Olivia, I was in the terminal and through security. Congrats to Edinburgh Airport, you get the best airport security award; however, this is exclusively pertaining to security efficiency. They still did not give me my gate until 40 minutes before departure, and then still delayed even more.
When my gate was finally announced, the first sign of disaster was the giant line for boarding and the sheer number of gate agents there. Normally, you have two, and there were way more than two, but they began to board us for our Jet2Holiday. At this point, the red flags start popping up. First red flag: we stopped in the boarding hall. No big deal, people always take forever to put their bags in the overhead and have no sense of awareness for the whole flight behind them. Second red flag: the neon-vested gate agent cutting through the line. Third red flag: I saw our supposed plane being pulled away before any announcement had been made.
They initially announced that our flight was canceled. Oh joy! We all filed from the hallway as the gate agents panicked, trying to bring a whole flight back into the airport. They frantically tried to calm passengers as they began yelling at them, coming at them, and swearing. At the end of that, our flight was rescheduled and delayed overnight until 5:30pm the next day, as the plane was severely damaged and unable to fly. Luckily, easyJet gave vouchers for refreshments and paid for all accommodations, food/drink, and transport until the flight the following day.
PSA: If you ever find yourself in this situation, don’t blame the gate agents. They are merely the messengers, and the number of people getting both physically and verbally aggressive was astounding. Sure, it is an annoying situation, but at the end of the day, it is not their fault. Don’t give them crap because the plane was physically dangerous to fly. They are often the last to know what happens in these situations anyway, and they know you have to work or, in my case, go to class. But it is what it is, so I asked my few questions politely and headed back to Olivia’s for another night of our weekend sleepover.
The next morning, I called my program and explained the situation and that I would miss my classes. Unfortunately, they do not excuse absences for private travel due to their independent travel policy. As frustrating as it is, I understand why they do not; however, there was no flight early enough to get me back to Basel (or Freiburg) before 9am the next morning. Even if I had bought a flight for upwards of $500 USD, I still would have missed classes. Although this was upsetting, I made the most of it and enjoyed another partial day with Olivia to explore the main strip of the city, and we got coffee (on easyJet). I eventually made it back after a very long travel day, after getting to the flight the following day (which they still delayed on the runway by half an hour), and was able to return to class and life in Freiburg. Needless to say, I will not be taking another Jet2Holiday while I am here.
Closing Thoughts
Flight delays are frustrating, but they happen. My trip to Edinburgh has been one of my favorites, and the extra time was great, even with the external travel changes. Travel is never perfect, especially when on a budget. My advice? Take it with a grain of salt. I have traveled with people who think travel changes are earth-shattering, and that the time you spend worked up and angry is wasted. If you get stuck in Edinburgh, embrace it! I got to spend a whole extra half day with my friend in a beautiful new city. You may not be able to fly out until later, and your program may not excuse it, but there is little you can do to change the situation. Nothing will come from being angry and aggressive. Enjoy your time travelling, as it only lasts so long!
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