Baby's First Overseas Trip
Friday, 17 June 2022
21:58 EDT
I left a little after 19:00—7:00 PM—and I got through security at 20:35, when the flight was supposed to start boarding. I converted $320 USD to €250 EUR...
My group got called and now I'm standing in a big mass of people waiting to board. I'll need to text the taxi people and let them know I'm delayed a second time.
ANYWAY! Research says that the currency conversion desks at airports don't have favorable exchange rates, but I'll chalk it up to a convenience fee.
It was at gate B31, and my gate is B30, but for some reason once I went to B31, my brain said I was at B40, which doesn't exist. (I only found this out after a long trek to the end of the terminal; thank you random airport worker.)
23:40 EDT
Just found out my old writing app has a Copy HTML function; that's gonna come in handy.
We just took off!
Looks like we're not gonna arrive until a quarter to eleven. Fine by me, I just gotta text the taxi person again 🙃🙄
The sun will be rising as we cross the ocean! 😮 But I won't get to see it because:
- I'm not at a window, and
- We had to close the windows to let people sleep
$21.95 USD for wifi? Ugh. I could buy it, but I refuse.
Saturday, 18 June 2022
Day 1: Recap
I watched Free Guy on the plane. I also chatted with the taxi people via text, and a man named Damian let me know he'd be there whenever I finally arrived. Customs was a breeze, and I had no checked baggage, so I ended waiting for Damian a bit since there's no area for taxis to wait near the airport without paying for regular parking.
I hung out in the arrivals area, went to the bathroom, decided not to get some coffee, and we were off to the hotel. I realize now that I got in the front seat accidentally, but that meant we just chatted the whole way there which was really nice. I told Damian about my trip, and it turns out he used to be an electrician and had actually worked down in the Chunnel back when it was being built in the 80s! He told me a funny story about how they actually drilled a small hole through the final bit separating the two sides of the tunnel to measure and make sure they hadn't stuffed up, and then they filled it back in so they could have a big media moment the next day.
Wren Urban Nest is really nice. They let me leave my bags there even though I couldn't go to the room yet, so I set off into the city. I checked out some bookstores, visited the park, ordered some beef & Guinness pie as well as my first alcohol of the trip. I checked out Trinity College since it was nearby, and I think some people were getting married? That was interesting.
I watched some Irish TV, read a bit, and then went to the bar where the pub crawl was starting. It was actually where I had ordered food earlier, so that was fun. The pub crawl was led by two actors, Ben and Finbar. Finbar was sort of shadowing Ben, since they had a few bits together, but Ben led most of the tour. We started at The Duke and visited three other bars:
- O'Neill's, where I got a half-pint of Galway Hooker,
- The Old Stand, where I got Smithwick's Red Ale, and
- Davy Byrne's, where I got a half-pint of Island's Edge
It was a literary pub crawl, so they told stories about James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Brendan Behan, and other Irish literary figures. There was a quiz at the end, and I got one point. (I knew some other answers, too, but you had to be first and I was never quick enough.)
I got some ice cream at Murphy's Ice Cream and headed back to the hotel. I felt like I should eat some more, so I wandered over to Leo Burdock's and got some fish and chips. Even though their site said otherwise, they closed at 23:00, so I got there just in time and was actually the last person they served for the night.
I was a little absorbed in my thoughts on the way back, so when I walked past a group of people and one of them said something about me to the others in Irish Gaelic, it took me some time to process. The only word I could pick out was cailín (girl), so I assume he was saying I looked like a girl because of my long hair. Once I realized that, I turned around and glanced at them, and the one who made the comment went, "Yeah!" and pumped his fist in the air. I did an awkward little invisible tip of the hat and walked away laughing.
I kicked myself the whole way back that I had missed my one chance to deliver a little quip to someone in Irish on my first-ever visit to Dublin. I let myself stew in it for a bit once I got to the hotel, and then I cracked into my fish and chips. They were alright, definitely tasted better just because I knew I was in Dublin.
Sunday, 19 June 2022
Day 2: Recap
I slept in and watched some Irish morning TV; I didn't want to be racing to different landmarks 24/7. The Jameson Bow Street Distillery Tour was at noon, and public transit couldn't get me that close, and anyway I hadn't used the public transit yet and didn't wanna risk missing my booking. I had a nice walk there and then a relaxing and informative 45-minute whiskey tasting led by Saoirca; it was only her second day doing the tours and she did great!
I looked at everything in the gift shop like seven times and ended up leaving with some wooden coasters and some Distillery Edition whiskey. We got a free drink with our tour—in addition to the different whiskey samples—so after leaving the gift shop I got some Jameson with Ginger Ale & Lime; very good.
I dropped my stuff back at the hotel, got some lunch, and then I was on the hunt for a place to buy a transit card. I went into a shopping mall and left with a wooden bookmark, but the bookshop that also sold transit cards—TFI Leap cards—had closed while I was in Carroll's Irish Gifts.
I listened to some buskers and found a shop selling Leap cards. I hung out in the same park I'd been in the day before—I hadn't realized I was near it—and then decided to use my new transit card to visit another park somewhere else in the city; shake things up a bit and explore. I read my book in this other park for a bit, heard the church bells ring on the hour, and then remembered a new plan I'd made for the trip: I wanted to visit a cemetery in each country, since the main destination of the trip—if it had one—was the Museum for Sepulchral Culture in Kassel, a museum I was visiting to do research for this fall's in-person version of Where Are You?.
I looked up nearby cemeteries and was on my way. I got close, then went around and around the same few streets trying to find an entrance to the cemetery, or even an indication that it was actually where maps said it was, to no avail. (Unless that wooden door in-between all the other regular houses somehow led to it.) On this journey, I accidentally discovered that there's a Glasnevin Cemetery Museum in Dublin; it had already closed by the time I saw the sign, so I'll have to go back another time.
I spent the rest of the night hanging out in the hotel: using the minibar, watching TV, and checking how long it'd take me to get to port for the ferry the next morning.
Monday, 20 June 2022
Day 3: Recap
Today was the day I'd be taking the ferry to Holyhead in Wales, then boarding two separate trains to get me into London. I woke up with just enough time to get to the ferry if I left that exact instant. I started stuff everything into my suitcase, rushing around for a few minutes before I thought, "I'm not gonna make it, might as well reschedule."
So I did. There was no fee for moving my ferry from 08:40 to 14:40, and losing a hundred bucks on the non-refundable train tickets was worth a peaceful travel day.
I packed all my stuff, watched some more Irish TV, and checked out right at 11:00. I headed toward the port, paused to have a wonderful Irish breakfast, and continued toward the ferry terminal. I got pretty close, but then my maps weren't being too helpful, and neither were the exact GPS coordinates of the place that Irish Ferries had on their website. I wandered around, and eventually went into a building near a big Dublin Port sign and asked for help. Two guys were hanging out in the lobby, and one of them gave me directions. I said thank you and was on my way.
As I left, they flagged me down and one of them offered to give me a ride. What luck! Turns out Dublin Port is an actual labyrinth, and it was still an absolute trek to the ferry terminal. The guy giving me a lift had never been all the way into it, either, so he was nearly as lost as me. We chatted a bit along the way, and we made it to the terminal with an hour to spare. I thanked him again, got out of the car, and headed into the terminal. The woman at the counter asked me if I had any bags to check, and that was when I realized: I'd left my carry-on in the boot of that man's car!
I had my backpack with me, and I only ever let my passport and wallet leave my pocket at the airport, so I wasn't too panicked. That small suitcase only had all of my clothes, toiletries, and my camera. Now, when I packed my camera, I made peace with the fact that I might lose or break it on the trip, so even that didn't work me up too much. I wasn't upset, but I was definitely spinning every gear in my head at max speed.
He'd pulled away immediately, but thankfully he introduced himself as we parted ways; his name was Colm. That's a start. I'd taken a photo of the Dublin Port sign when I walked past it, and I knew my photos have their GPS coordinates attached. I looked up the different buildings near that photo, and found the one that had a giant metal sphere out front that I remembered walking past. (How could you not remember that?). I called the Dublin Port Company and explained what had happened; I got transferred to a few different people, and eventually the woman on the other end said that since I had nothing but a first name, there was nothing she could do. The man that gave me a lift could've worked for any company in the building, or even been working at a site nearby and just been hanging in their lobby.
I talked with the woman at the ferry desk and contemplated moving my ferry to that evening. That'd mean sacrificing Stonehenge for the solstice, and I didn't want to do that, so I decided I'd miss the ferry and head back to the building where I'd gotten a lift to try my luck at getting my bag back. I called two taxi companies, neither of which had any drivers nearby. A bus pulled up, but it wouldn't be leaving for another half hour. As I was talking to the bus driver, a taxi dropped someone off, and the bus driver asked if he could give me a lift. I ended up in the front seat again—I stopped myself and then the driver said it was fine—and he gave me a quick ten euro lift back to the general area of the building.
I went in, and the men weren't there any more; their lunch break was probably over. The woman I'd spoken to on the phone was there, and she reiterated what she'd said before: she didn't have enough info to help me in any way. I asked if I could leave my info in case the man eventually saw my suitcase in his car and mentioned it. She took down my info, I said thank you, and walked out. There was little park next to the carpark, so I pretended to read the sign while my wheels kept spinning: He'd pulled his car out from here, so my suitcase has to be close by. I was looking into the back of cars with no luck because the windows were quite dark, and eventually I decided that looking into strangers' cars in a foreign country wasn't a good look if anyone saw me. It was already almost four, so I would just wait until the end of the workday and then catch the guy on his way out.
I didn't have to wait too long—maybe thirty or forty-five minutes—before Colm emerged; somehow word of the situation got to him. I thanked him again and apologized that his trip was for naught since I'd missed my boat; I'd catch a direct flight to London instead. I told him how incredibly lucky this was, since the luggage tag on the outside of the bag was empty, even though I'd noticed it that morning and thought, "I should really put my info in there." My only chance at retrieving my bag was just waiting in the carpark, and it worked! If my name had been on the suitcase in any way, I probably would've just got on the ferry and crossed my fingers that Colm would find it and call me. I wrote my info on the tag right after I got it back, though.
I bought an Aer Lingus flight for 17:55—I really wanted to fly with them on this trip and it hadn't worked out, so silver linings, I guess—and caught a bus to the airport, chatting to a nice Polish woman while we waited for it to arrive. Her husband worked for Yahoo and was on a business trip.
At the airport, I checked in and went through security. I triple-checked the different policies, but I was looking at dangerous goods and not prohibited good or whatever, even thought alcohol was on it. I couldn't take my Jameson on the flight. I had to go back downstairs, check my bag, then come back up and go through security again; all minor inconveniences after almost losing all of my clothes.
The flight was delayed but I made it to London, and got to ride the train to London, and then take the Tube to my hotel. I rested for a few hours—what a day!—and prepped for my Stonehenge bus ride.
Tuesday, 21 June 2022
16:00 BST
I'll totally give a recap of last couple days in a bit, but I haven't eaten a proper meal in at least 24 hours because of the chaotic travel changes, so I'm gonna stay in the moment right now.
19:50 BST
Food was alright, I left quite a bit of it. I could've walked across a bridge to Elizabeth Tower and Buckingham Palace, but the souvenir coin I got also had the Tower of London, so I figured I'd go there, too. There were buses and ferries, and after the to-be-explained Irish Ferries debacle, I was pretty determined to ride on some boat. The Uber Boat by Thames Clippers was arriving soon, so I got a ticket.
Unfortunately, the line was longer than the number of available seats on the boat, so lots of us watched other people board. Then, after waiting a bit longer, they let us know that there'd been an error, and the next boat wouldn't be coming for 35 minutes; so, here we are, waiting.
Sounds like the one that didn't come got cancelled or something, and apparently there's not normally a queue like this; probably to do with the railway strikes.
There's a woman tapping a plastic bottle on the ground absentmindedly!!!
Day 4: Recap
Stonehenge was incredible. There's a very long trek from the bus stop to the stones, but that made it even more special. We we all making this long hike in the morning darkness to see this incredible monument. They let you get right up close to the stones, which they don't normally allow. They say not to touch them, but everyone was. We were so tightly packed. I was right there, in the middle of it all! I got to watch the sunrise and everything. The walk back to the bus was also really special because you got to see and hear the English countryside in the early morning as the sun was rising.
I was back at my hotel around 09:00 or 10:00, and I 'd had an absolutely wild twenty-four hours. The fact that my trip was still on track was a feat of its own. After getting stopped by airport security in Dublin because of my alcohol, I decided to check the alcohol policy for Eurostar, the operator of the Chunnel trains. No large bottles of spirits were allowed; I'd have to drink all 700 milliliters in twenty-four hours...
I took a small sip, and that was enough to make me give in to my tiredness and faceplant into the bed. I woke up in the early afternoon and caught a taxi to the London Eye. I had to hold myself back from getting sick; it was a very close call. I'd bought an all-day ticket for the London Eye, so I could go whenever I wanted and also skip the line. That was the best decision. They handed me my tiny binoculars and I got onboard. The string for the binoculars was all tangled, so I spent some time trying to undo it as we rose in the air, but then I gave up and just used them without wearing them. The binoculars were worth the few extra pounds, and it was cool seeing so much of London at once. I'd definitely do it again, especially if it's a night ticket.
I bought a souvenir coin and decided to visit the Tower of London, since it was most out of my way. I finally got to ride a (very delayed) ferry, and Tower Bridge was actually going to be raised in a bit, so I hung around and got to watch that. I caught a bus back across the river and walked by Elizabeth Tower, the building that houses Big Ben (that's the bell). What a wild thing to actually see in-person after having a photo of it on my wall as a teenager.
It had just started getting dark, but I walked to Buckingham Palace because I'd be leaving the next morning.The palace is also wild to look at. It's surrounded by a massive park and there are cars driving through and around it, which made me think it'd be easy to get a taxi. What a silly thing to think. My phone had, like, eight percent left, and FREE NOW was keeping me waiting, so I ended up doing the forty-five minute, three kilometer walk back to the hotel. Then, I started scheming.
Wednesday, 22 June 2022
12:16 BST
Nothing is on time for this trip haha. We are still waiting to board the train. First I was "late"—lots of conflicting info about when the gates close before departure, but I was, in fairness, accidentally cutting it close—and then the train was late. Every bit of private transit in Ireland was delayed in one way or another, and I'm sure my busses into Germany will be just as rocky.
Writing this log in real-time is taking more energy than I thought it would, again maybe because it's on my phone. I don't want to just fill it in at the end, but c'est la vie. :)
15:43 CEST
Almost to Paris. I wish I could speak another language. (Just in general, doesn't even have to be French.)
Day 5: Recap
In the morning, I went to a Sainsbury's and bought fruit juices. I took them back to the hotel, drank some of them, and refilled them with Jameson. Problem solved! I got to St. Pancras and missed checking in for my 10:22 train by a few minutes; I got different closing times for the check-in from various Eurostar emails. I just rolled with it, and went to rebook online. There was a train for 16:31, so I booked it and planned for a long six-hour wait in the terminal. But I decided to try booking a new train ticket instead of an exchange, and there was a 12:31 train! I couldn't get Business Premier for that train, so I got Standard Premier and cancelled my rebooked ticket. That means that I saved money by missing my train!
On the train, the language barrier started to sink in. I was too nervous to even say that I don't speak French or even ask for English, even though that'd an entirely unsurprising request on a train from London to Paris. I had a nice meal on the train, and the train ride was quite relaxing. I have no idea how customs works: in Dublin, I had to go through it to leave the airport; in London, the airport was pretty empty for a bit and then when I finally saw a bunch of people, I was in a plain old train station, no customs required; I went through passport control when boarding the Eurostar train and got a train stamp that said I was leaving London, so I guess I didn't have to do anything once I arrived? I've got no clue.
Trying to buy a train ticket was tricky, since the train stations are in different zones, and my phone map was having an encoding problem every now and again when telling me which direction to go—I wish I'd taken a screenshot to explain—but after ignoring the guy speaking French to me while I tried using the terminal, I got a one-way t+ ticket to Châtelet–Les Halles, a train station super close to my hotel. I checked in, dropped my bags, lounged around for, like, a few hours, and then headed to the Eiffel Tower.
There are two types of tickets you can buy for the Eiffel Tower: tickets to the second floor and tickets to the top. You can buy both types in advance and reserve them in advance, but the tickets to the top sell out online very quickly. Instead of buying tickets online, you can also wait in the ticket line and buy either type of ticket for immediate use. My plan was to wait in line and get a ticket to the top because why wouldn't I wanna go all the way to the top?? Well, I suppose I'd used up all my luck on the bag retrieval in Dublin because the top was closed "due a technical incident". Whatever, I still get to go up the Eiffel Tower!
The line wasn't very long, and the second floor is still quite high up. We got free lift use because the top was closed—normally the lift is only reserved for those who pay for it or otherwise have tickets that allow it—and I happened to visit right around sunset time; incredible! I bought a pretzel with some of my last few euros and soaked it all up. I bought a postcard on the way down—I should mention that I was trying to send a postcard from each place—and then walked over that bridge that used to have all the locks on it. There were musicians there, and I listened to them for quite a long time, enjoying my single full night in Paris, as I'd be on a bus in twenty four hours' time.
Thursday, 23 June 2022
Day 6: Recap
By now, you've probably come to the conclusion that this trip has been very chaotic. Allow me to recap day number six. I woke up with a small itinerary for the day: visit Père Lachaise Cemetery and board the bus to Kassel. I had a croissant in the hotel breakfast area, went back up to my room, and took a nap. I'd need another transit ticket, but I wanted a proper one like my Oyster or leap cards. I wasn't able to get the Navigo card, but I got a Paris Visite travel pass, which looks the same as a regular ticket, but is essentially unlimited inside of—or maybe just between?—the zones you specify; you can already see the issues approaching. I chose zone 3, and I was starting in zone 1. I headed to the cemetery no problem; it's massive! There are some famous graves, but the only one super close to my entrance was Molière, a playwright whose work I'd partially read two years prior in a class called Drama and the Novel; didn't expect I'd be visiting his grave, but there I was.
Some Paris landmark aficionados among you may be asking: "Did you visit the catacombs?" Surely, someone on a hunt for burial sites in each country they're visiting would leap at the chance to visit the famous catacombs! You'd be right; I really wanted to go to the catacombs. The only problem is, I'd only remembered them once I'd arrived in Paris, and unlike the Eiffel Tower, you can't just waltz up and buy a ticket; they have a strict capacity limit and tickets were sold out until the end of the month.
I'd resigned myself to missing the catacombs when I first learned this, but because I'd been on the receiving end of so much serendipity on this trip, visiting the catacombs just kept nagging me, especially as I wandered Père Lachaise. I got out my phone and checked tour company listings; surely, one of them would have purchased some tickets and would be selling last-minute tours to schmucks like me. I found one on Viator and booked it; I'd leave the cemetery and head straight to the catacombs! I received a text with my PDF ticket and was generally in shock. I couldn't believe this had worked. I caught the train there and arrived a bit early to be safe. As I showed my ticket, the man asked, "Just one?" I nodded or whatever, and he let me know that my ticket was actual for next Wednesday, 29 June, not today; ugh. I went back to the hotel in shame. I did nothing for a bit, packed my stuff and headed to the bus stop.
Boarding the bus was a breeze, and nobody sat next to me the whole time, so that made it even better.
Friday, 24 June 2022
07:10 CEST
Every now and again in the chaos of this trip, I get moments where I go: "I'M IN GERMANY!"
Just had one of those.
Day 7: Recap
I finally booked my return flight while on the bus, and then I caught the Deutsche Bahn train to Kassel. I noticed that we stopped at Frankfurt airport on the way, which I kept in mind for later. I milled about in the train station for a bit, buying a sandwich and getting stumped by the turnstile at the toilet. (It wouldn't let me put a coin in, but then I watched someone use it, so I tried again and it worked.) My first stop was the Artists' Necropolis in Habichtswald Nature Park.