July 15, 2016 – JFK airport, NYC.
Despite careful planning and anticipation, today was a bit of a whirlwind day. I worked for about 5 hours and had to hustle to finish some things before leaving, since I’m resolved not to check work emails during this trip. It was hard to feel psyched during the day because I was so focused, but as soon as I walked out of the door it hit me, and I walked down the horribly humid and smelly NYC streets with a smile. It’s a great day to leave the city.
I successfully avoided the train delays on the way home, so I was left with about an hour for last minute items at home. My suitcase is pretty heavy, but it has wheels so it’ll be alright. I have just a backpack otherwise. I successfully took the bus to the E train, as per usual, and with full knowledge that there were bad subway delays on that line. The train moved for about 5 minutes, but soon it was crawling and when the announcement came that it was switching to an F and also being held in the station, I quickly got out and took a cab, which got stuck in some traffic but was the right decision. I repeat, it’s feeling good to get out of the city.
I was more nervous than normal for airport check-in because there was a typo on my boarding pass. Either me or the booking company mixed up a letter in my middle name. When I called the airline they said it would probably be fine, but if I really wanted to I could reissue the ticket through the booking company. The booking company wanted to charge me $75 to do this, and I was mad about the principle of this (the airline could have done this for just $25), so I researched TSA policies and decided to risk it. All 3 people who looked at my passport and boarding pass did not say anything, and as I waited to take my shoes off in the security line I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
An overpriced sandwich later and I’m ready to go!
Before I move on, though, I do want to preface this trip and explain what I’m setting out to do. I’m going to Scandinavia for two weeks, from July 15-30. Tonight I’m flying overnight to Reykjavik, Iceland, where I will stay for 1 night. Then I fly to Stockholm, as part of a long layover deal that Icelandair offers in Reykjavik. I then have 3 nights in 3 major cities: Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Oslo, Norway. I take trains to get around, including at least one high speed train. I then head into Western Norway and the fjords, with stays in a small town called Flam, a tiny adventure-centric town called Voss, and finally out to the city of Bergen which is where I fly out from.
I’m going by myself. I’ve really come to love traveling solo. It’s really nice sometimes to totally escape from your regular life and reconnect with the world in new ways. I think it opens you up in unique ways, like talking to more strangers and letting your mind wander without expectations or pressures. Going with other people can make it a different experience, for example catching up and thinking about big picture issues in your lives. There’s real value in that, and certain types of trips lend themselves to being with other people, but there’s something rare and unique about solo travel that I really enjoy. I suppose there’s also the element of risk and adventure in being alone without a safety net of another person to lean on, which I look at positively.
I’m not totally sure where the idea for Scandinavia came from. It hasn’t been at the top of my bucket list for years, or anything. I think last summer a family friend told me that the fjords in Norway are beautiful, and that’s what planted the idea in my head. I also really wanted to take a vacation that was longer than a week.
I started thinking about the trip in December after the holidays. I started mapping out countries I wanted to visit and looked at flight and train prices. I worked up the nerve to ask work about it sometime in March, and of course it wasn’t a problem since things are very quiet in July. Over the months I worked on finalizing the itinerary and booking lodging and transportation, which I didn’t finish until late May. I also simultaneously booked some tours and activities, most of which happened in June and early July. This all culminated in a 25-page travel guidebook complete with transportation plans, lodging details, public transit instructions, maps, activities, and less structured ideas and places to explore. It’s both very practical and very hysterical.
I’m naturally concerned about my ability to sleep on this 5 hour and 45 minute flight tonight, which takes off around 8:40pm and through time differences arrives at 6:15am. I jump right into activities tomorrow. I’m sure adrenaline will both prevent me from sleeping well and also get me through the day.
And I’m off!
travels.of.tara 