This past week was Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Spain and therefore I had the week off. Instead of staying in Spain to witness the traditional processions with giant floats of virgins and saints, people dressed in colorful outfits that resemble the KKK, weeping women, and self-flagellation (not to mention insane amounts of tourists), I fled to Germany and Holland.
The reason why I left Granada in Semana Santa
My plans were as follows:
Granada to Malaga 4/12 @ 7:45AM
Malaga to Oslo 4/12 @ 11:00AM
Oslo to Berlin 4/12 @ 3:30PM
Berlin to Amsterdam 4/16 @ 7:00AM
Amsterdam to Malaga 4/20 @ 5:20PM
Malaga to Granada 4/20 @ 9:30PM
Fortunately, almost all of the above went according to plan, although there were quite a few bumps in the road.
A common form of transportation in Spain, and other parts of Europe, is called Blablacar. It's a ride board where people post trips from A to B and offer to take passengers for cheaper than a bus or train (usually). I'd say it's like public transportation with private vehicles. For some, it sounds scary and unsafe, but rest assured, I've used it dozens of times without problems.
So to get from Granada to Malaga, I arranged a Blablacar leaving at 7:45AM the first day of my vacation. I had been in contact with the driver for weeks, confirming and reconfirming our trip so that I wouldn't miss my flight. He assured me several times that I would make it. Even so, while I was still waiting for him at 8AM, I thought that he had ditched me and I would definitely miss my flight. He arrived a few minutes late and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. I made it to the airport in Malaga just past 9, with time to spare before my 11AM flight.
For some nonsensical reason, my layover was in Oslo, Norway. If you know anything about European geography, you'll know that it is a bit out of the way to go from Spain to Norway with a final destination of Germany. Half way through the flight, I realized I didn't know our ETA. I approached a flight attendant who said we would be landing at 3:15PM. I panicked a bit because my next flight was at 3:30PM so the flight attendant moved me to the front row and told me to run when I got off the plane. And so I did. I made it onto my flight to Berlin without problem. When I arrived and got through baggage claim, my friend was already waiting for me outside. I spent a beautiful few days with two German friends that I had met in Guatemala this past summer. They took me around their city, gave me delicious food and a comfortable bed in which to sleep. I couldn't have been more grateful for their hospitality.
Granada to Malaga 4/12 @ 7:45AM
Malaga to Oslo 4/12 @ 11:00AM
Oslo to Berlin 4/12 @ 3:30PM
Berlin to Amsterdam 4/16 @ 7:00AM
Amsterdam to Malaga 4/20 @ 5:20PM
Malaga to Granada 4/20 @ 9:30PM
Fortunately, almost all of the above went according to plan, although there were quite a few bumps in the road.
A common form of transportation in Spain, and other parts of Europe, is called Blablacar. It's a ride board where people post trips from A to B and offer to take passengers for cheaper than a bus or train (usually). I'd say it's like public transportation with private vehicles. For some, it sounds scary and unsafe, but rest assured, I've used it dozens of times without problems.
So to get from Granada to Malaga, I arranged a Blablacar leaving at 7:45AM the first day of my vacation. I had been in contact with the driver for weeks, confirming and reconfirming our trip so that I wouldn't miss my flight. He assured me several times that I would make it. Even so, while I was still waiting for him at 8AM, I thought that he had ditched me and I would definitely miss my flight. He arrived a few minutes late and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. I made it to the airport in Malaga just past 9, with time to spare before my 11AM flight.
For some nonsensical reason, my layover was in Oslo, Norway. If you know anything about European geography, you'll know that it is a bit out of the way to go from Spain to Norway with a final destination of Germany. Half way through the flight, I realized I didn't know our ETA. I approached a flight attendant who said we would be landing at 3:15PM. I panicked a bit because my next flight was at 3:30PM so the flight attendant moved me to the front row and told me to run when I got off the plane. And so I did. I made it onto my flight to Berlin without problem. When I arrived and got through baggage claim, my friend was already waiting for me outside. I spent a beautiful few days with two German friends that I had met in Guatemala this past summer. They took me around their city, gave me delicious food and a comfortable bed in which to sleep. I couldn't have been more grateful for their hospitality.
Eating my first bratwurst in front of the TV Tower
They were so hospitable in fact, that they offered to drive me to the airport on the 16th at 5AM. I told them I would happily take the train but they insisted it was no problem. I looked at my boarding pass, saw that my flight left at 7AM, calculated that they should be boarding at 6:30AM and so if I arrived at 5:45AM, I would have plenty of time. Boy, was I wrong.
We stopped for coffee and breakfast, then were on our way out of the city and to the airport. The moon was full and illuminating the early morning sky. Once we got out of the city, we drove through the countryside with the moon setting on our right and the sun rising on our left and fog covering the fields like a blanket. It was stunningly beautiful, but it was then that we started to get lost. We missed the first exit for the airport, so we took the next exit which took us to the new airport that hasn't even opened yet. At this point, it was 6:15AM. So we got back on the highway, going in the wrong direction, got off the highway to turn around but ended up on a different highway... still going the wrong direction. My friends, who are sisters, spoke to each other in German and would occasionally turn around with forced smiles and say "You'll make it on time. It's okay." I said "Okay, but they're boarding my flight now" as it was already 6:30AM. So I took out my boarding pass to make sure I had my facts straight. No they weren't boarding my flight. They had already finished and the boarding pass read "GATE CLOSES 6:30AM". At this point I knew it was too late, but when we arrived at the airport at 6:45AM, my friends insisted that I try anyway. One friend spoke to the woman at security in German and then shouted "RUN!" and so I did. I ran through security, up the stairs, through the duty free store, stopped at the screen and saw they were no longer posting my gate, but I continued to run through the concourse, down the stairs and passed gates with black screens. I had missed my first flight.
As I walked back out of the terminal, with my head down in shame, a young Hispanic girl followed behind me hysterically crying. The security guard let us out and we went to buy new tickets. I bought a new ticket for that day at 7:25 PM and fortunately my friends waited for me to make sure I got on the plane (which I obviously did not). The sobbing girl behind me had arrived at the airport with her boyfriend, also late for their flight. They ran through the concourse and somehow lost each other. When she got on the airplane, she saw he wasn´t there and got off the plane to look for him. She didn´t find him and when she went back to the plane, the gate was closed. What´s worse is that the boyfriend had all of her money, credit cards and even her passport. She had no way to call him and the airport security said it was strictly forbidden to page him on the intercom system. I gave her a few euros to use a pay-phone and told her to breathe deeply. She was unconsolable and so worried because she didn´t speak English or German. I don't know how that story ended but she wasn't at the airport when I returned 12 hours later.
We stopped for coffee and breakfast, then were on our way out of the city and to the airport. The moon was full and illuminating the early morning sky. Once we got out of the city, we drove through the countryside with the moon setting on our right and the sun rising on our left and fog covering the fields like a blanket. It was stunningly beautiful, but it was then that we started to get lost. We missed the first exit for the airport, so we took the next exit which took us to the new airport that hasn't even opened yet. At this point, it was 6:15AM. So we got back on the highway, going in the wrong direction, got off the highway to turn around but ended up on a different highway... still going the wrong direction. My friends, who are sisters, spoke to each other in German and would occasionally turn around with forced smiles and say "You'll make it on time. It's okay." I said "Okay, but they're boarding my flight now" as it was already 6:30AM. So I took out my boarding pass to make sure I had my facts straight. No they weren't boarding my flight. They had already finished and the boarding pass read "GATE CLOSES 6:30AM". At this point I knew it was too late, but when we arrived at the airport at 6:45AM, my friends insisted that I try anyway. One friend spoke to the woman at security in German and then shouted "RUN!" and so I did. I ran through security, up the stairs, through the duty free store, stopped at the screen and saw they were no longer posting my gate, but I continued to run through the concourse, down the stairs and passed gates with black screens. I had missed my first flight.
As I walked back out of the terminal, with my head down in shame, a young Hispanic girl followed behind me hysterically crying. The security guard let us out and we went to buy new tickets. I bought a new ticket for that day at 7:25 PM and fortunately my friends waited for me to make sure I got on the plane (which I obviously did not). The sobbing girl behind me had arrived at the airport with her boyfriend, also late for their flight. They ran through the concourse and somehow lost each other. When she got on the airplane, she saw he wasn´t there and got off the plane to look for him. She didn´t find him and when she went back to the plane, the gate was closed. What´s worse is that the boyfriend had all of her money, credit cards and even her passport. She had no way to call him and the airport security said it was strictly forbidden to page him on the intercom system. I gave her a few euros to use a pay-phone and told her to breathe deeply. She was unconsolable and so worried because she didn´t speak English or German. I don't know how that story ended but she wasn't at the airport when I returned 12 hours later.
At the East Side Gallery in Berlin
I was incredibly early for my flight to Amsterdam that night and waited patiently for them to post my gate number. When they finally posted the gate, it was already time to board. At the gate, everyone just sat down and waited for the plane to arrive. A man dressed in all white with a beard like fire came and sat next to me. He hummed and I tapped my foot. Eventually, he took out some green leaves and a white substance in what looked like a film canister. He would lick the white stuff off his finger and then make noises like he had a hairball. So I put in my headphones to block out the guttural sounds. It was already 7:25PM, the time we were supposed to take off, and there was no plane at the gate. I saw the man talking to me out of the corner of my eye so I took out my headphones and he said "Thirty minutes late at least" and we began to talk. The usual "Where are you from? Where are you going? What are you doing?". The man was from Bangladesh and was very well-travelled "I go Rome, Paris, Geneva, London, Newark, Berlin, Amsterdam, Moscow, Newark. Newark very nice." He explained that he travelled for business as he grabbed his white scarf and said "Textiles. This my textile." He asked if I was traveling alone like him and of course, I answered honestly. Then he asked if we were friends and feeling uncomfortable, I laughed and said "Yes!" Then it got really weird. He invited me to a hotel all expenses paid and I laughed awkwardly and said no thank you. I told him I was going to meet my friends at the train station and he said he would accompany me to the train station. Again, "No, thank you. That's not necessary." Next, he offered to fly me out to Bangladesh, put me up in a hotel, take me to Malaysia and Thailand. Getting more and more uncomfortable, I laughed and said "No really, that's okay." When it came time to board, we parted ways.
I had agreed to meet three Dutch friends at the train station at 9:15PM. Well, we didn't land until 9:30 and so when I finally got off the plane, I ran passed the man from Bangladesh and hopped on the first train to the city center. I was so stressed all day from the complications of travels, that when I got off the train and saw my friends waiting for me on the platform, I couldn't have been happier. I let go of my suitcase and threw myself at my friends, hugging them all multiple times. They were friends I made while hiking for five days through the jungle of Colombia and it had been almost 2 years since we'd seen each other. So we went for some drinks and caught up. While at the restaurant, an American friend who happened to be in Amsterdam with her father, stopped by to say hello.
Then it was time to find my hostel. I would have just walked but my two guy friends insisted they would take me and my bag. Well, one friend put my suitcase in between his legs on a scooter and drove my bag to the hostel. The other friend insisted I hop on the back of his bicycle and he pedaled through the city, pointing out landmarks. Dutch people hop on the back of bikes like it's no big deal but I am so clumsy, it was a disaster. I held on for dear life and both my arms and legs were sore for the rest of the trip. And it was only 15 minutes! Mildly embarrassing, but oh well!
I had agreed to meet three Dutch friends at the train station at 9:15PM. Well, we didn't land until 9:30 and so when I finally got off the plane, I ran passed the man from Bangladesh and hopped on the first train to the city center. I was so stressed all day from the complications of travels, that when I got off the train and saw my friends waiting for me on the platform, I couldn't have been happier. I let go of my suitcase and threw myself at my friends, hugging them all multiple times. They were friends I made while hiking for five days through the jungle of Colombia and it had been almost 2 years since we'd seen each other. So we went for some drinks and caught up. While at the restaurant, an American friend who happened to be in Amsterdam with her father, stopped by to say hello.
Then it was time to find my hostel. I would have just walked but my two guy friends insisted they would take me and my bag. Well, one friend put my suitcase in between his legs on a scooter and drove my bag to the hostel. The other friend insisted I hop on the back of his bicycle and he pedaled through the city, pointing out landmarks. Dutch people hop on the back of bikes like it's no big deal but I am so clumsy, it was a disaster. I held on for dear life and both my arms and legs were sore for the rest of the trip. And it was only 15 minutes! Mildly embarrassing, but oh well!
I spent four days in Amsterdam and on Easter Sunday had to head back to Spain. I had a flight at 5:20PM and had arranged a Blablacar from Malaga to Granada an hour after my arrival. The driver had confirmed the day before that he could still take me, but at 1PM on Sunday, he wrote and said that he changed his flight and could no longer take me to Granada. As my battery was dying and my time running out, I frantically sent messages to everyone leaving Malaga for Granada between 9 and 11PM. Most people said their car was already full. One girl said the car wasn't full yet, but she couldn't pick me up from the airport. So I figured I'd just get a bus, which was only a few more euros and an extra 30 minutes of travel.
When I got on the plane, I had this vision of me standing up and saying in a loud voice "Is anyone on this plane from Granada? Please take me with you!" I knew that wasn't really the best idea, so I jokingly asked the guy next to me "Any chance you're from Granada?" He said no and I explained my situation. He couldn't take me to Granada but when we got to Malaga, he decided to help me find my way. We had spent the whole flight talking, laughing and drawing silly pictures in my journal.
When I landed, I had a message from the girl from Blablacar asking is she should wait for me at the bus station. I responded "Yes! Please please please!" but then received no confirmation. So I called her and the call wouldn't go through. And then... my phone died. So I used this guy's phone to write to her and she responded shortly after saying because I didn't answer her soon enough, she had left without me. Well, I would just take the bus after all.
So this guy went with me to the bus station. While on the tram, he added me on Facebook and we discovered we had a mutual friend. A Dutch guy I studied with in Ecuador in 2012, had also studied with my new friend in Malta in 2008. What an insanely small world! I thanked him for his kindness and we said goodbye.
I bought a bus ticket and some snacks and waited for the bus. While I was standing outside, the guy I had met on the plane came running up to me, sweat dripping down his face. "The girl is out front! She is waiting for you!" WHAT?! I thought she had left without me... Apparently, there was a misunderstanding and she thought I was someone else when I wrote to her from the guy's phone.
While I tried to return my bus ticket (I only had 5 minutes to do so and there was a line), my friend went outside to ask the girl to please wait a few more minutes. I successfully returned my ticket, losing 20%, and got into the car and we were off! Eventually, I made it home without any more problems. It was such an insane adventure.
When I got on the plane, I had this vision of me standing up and saying in a loud voice "Is anyone on this plane from Granada? Please take me with you!" I knew that wasn't really the best idea, so I jokingly asked the guy next to me "Any chance you're from Granada?" He said no and I explained my situation. He couldn't take me to Granada but when we got to Malaga, he decided to help me find my way. We had spent the whole flight talking, laughing and drawing silly pictures in my journal.
When I landed, I had a message from the girl from Blablacar asking is she should wait for me at the bus station. I responded "Yes! Please please please!" but then received no confirmation. So I called her and the call wouldn't go through. And then... my phone died. So I used this guy's phone to write to her and she responded shortly after saying because I didn't answer her soon enough, she had left without me. Well, I would just take the bus after all.
So this guy went with me to the bus station. While on the tram, he added me on Facebook and we discovered we had a mutual friend. A Dutch guy I studied with in Ecuador in 2012, had also studied with my new friend in Malta in 2008. What an insanely small world! I thanked him for his kindness and we said goodbye.
I bought a bus ticket and some snacks and waited for the bus. While I was standing outside, the guy I had met on the plane came running up to me, sweat dripping down his face. "The girl is out front! She is waiting for you!" WHAT?! I thought she had left without me... Apparently, there was a misunderstanding and she thought I was someone else when I wrote to her from the guy's phone.
While I tried to return my bus ticket (I only had 5 minutes to do so and there was a line), my friend went outside to ask the girl to please wait a few more minutes. I successfully returned my ticket, losing 20%, and got into the car and we were off! Eventually, I made it home without any more problems. It was such an insane adventure.
A statue in Rotterdam
Overall, it was an amazing week. I visited Berlin, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. I saw 7 friends that I had met in Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala or Nicaragua and 2 American friends that I had met in North Carolina. In Berlin, I took an underground tour of a bunker and air surveillance tower from WWII. In Amsterdam, I revisited the tulip fields and Van Gogh Museum which I had loved so much when I visited with my mother 10 years earlier. It was all fantastic.
I only have a few months left here in Spain. Let's see how many more adventures I can manage to fit in!
I only have a few months left here in Spain. Let's see how many more adventures I can manage to fit in!
The view from the plane as we were landing in Malaga
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