Flight Cancelled

The news came on Tuesday 20 April in the afternoon after I returned from an day on the beach in Split.  We left our villa that morning and took the ferry back to Split and checked into our favorite Beach Hostel and went straight to the beach.  After we got news of our cancellation, Andrew and I spent much of the afternoon looking at possible options and prices, and then the decision struck: Should we move North and refund the cheap flight from Croatia? or Should we stay until Saturday, when we could get the next flight, but if that doesn't take off, we'll be stuck in eastern Europe with 3 days to get back to Belfast before class...?

Wednesday morning we caught a 5 hour bus to Zagreb where we found a bus that went to Koln, Germany that left in 3 hours.  After finding a kind hotel concierge, Andrew checked his email and saw no sign of cancellation of his flight on Thursday night so Mary and I caught the 17 hour (which ended up being 19 hours) to Germany from Croatia.  We travelled through northern Croatia, Slovenia, stopped in Austria for dinner, then came through Germany until we arrived in Koln (Cologne) at 11:30am.  Mary and I missed the cheaper 9:30am bus to Brussels, so we caught a 1:30pm train which got us to Brussels at 4:30pm.

It's now Thursday afternoon and Mary and I are shattered from our travels, so we got situated in Leuven, Belgium where Andrew graciously let us stay. Friday morning Mary caught the Eurostar bus to London then a ferry from Liverpool to Belfast.

As Andrew says, "I never actually expected to be back in Leuven with you." And it's true, I didn't realize my return trip to Leuven would be so soon, but I'm glad I got to spend the extra time with Andrew and his friends.  On Friday, I received some unexpected news after referencing my online bank statement.  Seems that at some point over my semester, my debit card information was stolen and roughly $700 USD was stolen over a two day period from an ATM in Bulgaria.  Then having to cancel my debit card, I've never been more thankful for being with a close friend.  Andrew was more than helpful with the situation and we found me a cheap flight to Dublin on Tuesday 27 April.  That evening we met up with friends at a house party then went to a bar, Bloc for some amazing music (as expected)!

Saturday we had a picnic in the park and got some reading done. And in the evening we attempted to have a barbecue but personally I think it was just a sad attempt because we were barbecuing over half hot coals and tin foil... fail. At least we were in good company!

Sunday brought more sun, church in the morning, and another day in the park with friends.  In the later afternoon Andrew showed me around the old Leuven Beguinage where women (mostly widows and religious) stayed and lived quiet religious lives being seamstresses and other traits.  Mostly it was just a beautiful place to walk around with its cobblestone streets, brick buildings, and built along a river, it was beautiful.

Monday, Andrew had class all day so I took some time to get more reading done while I was away, and we enjoyed Amy's favorite Thai for lunch.  That afternoon after Andrew was done with class he and I took some time to go through pictures from the first time we met when we were kids in the Ulster Project in 2004.  We then looked through the pictures from 2005, 2006, and 2007/2008.  We were speechless, but happy to see that we both have grown into better looking 21 year olds, past the awkward teenage years.

Monday night after a brief scare with my boarding pass, we got to the Brussels train station where I would catch a bus to Charleroi Airport.  Andrew came with me to the airport to make sure everything went smoothly. I caught my 6:45am flight to Dublin without a problem and then caught a bus in Dublin at 8:20am to Belfast where I arrived at 11:00am.  Glad to be home, and would never give up any of my experiences for anything in this world!

How to handle unexpected natural disasters when abroad

Dobre Dan (Good Day in Croatian) from the island of Brač just south of the Croatian city, Split.  As I wake up to the sound of small fishing boats and the majestic mountains that line the mainland coast of Croatia's Dalmatian Islands, I can't help but wish that I never had to return to the business of Belfast and exams.... Little did I realize that my wish could become a reality, at least for what I hope now to be as little time as possible. On April 15th there was a volcanic eruption that took place in Iceland which caused a cloud of volcanic ash to follow the winds east over northern Europe and quickly making its way south over all of Europe making flights impossible to move.

I guess this wouldn't be such a problem if I had stayed in Belfast these last two weeks, but I have been exploring southern and eastern europe along the Adriatic Sea.  I arrived in Rome on Friday night, 9 April and after taking a shuttle from the airport to Termini train station I searched for my hostel, which led me to meeting a kind Italian man named Alfredo who left his restaurant to help me find the hostel. The next morning I spent the day touring around all of Rome walking everywhere seeing almost every popular Roman attraction from the Colosseum, Palatino, Campo de Fiori, Vatican City, the Castel Saint Angelo, walked along the Fiume Tevere, the Piazza del Popolo and my favorite, the Gardens that look down on the Piazza! I eventually walked down to the Trinita dei Monti where I enjoyed a gelato on the Spanish steps, and then made my way to the Fontana di Trevi, the Quirinale, the Piazza della Repubblica, and finished my afternoon with a Saturday vigil mass at Santa Maria Maggiore.
That evening I enjoyed pasta, pizza, and a bottle of red wine with my friend Mary, a friend from Queens, who I met up with after her travels in Naples.

I caught a morning train to Florence on Sunday where I met up with some good friends from Stonehill (Anna, Erin, and Laura) where we spent most of the afternoon catching up and talking about Volleyball, Stonehill, and life abroad.  That evening Anna and I made homemade Gnocchi and her boyfriend Mike brought over some chocolate desserts!
The next morning Anna and I woke up and got showers in before walking around Florence.  We planned on seeing the David but was disappointed to see that it was closed on Monday's.  We then walked over the another museum to see if it might be open, but that as well was closed because it was Monday.  We ended up walking through the various markets in Florence, and stopped for one of the nicest iced cappuccino's I've had since coming to Europe at a cafe called the News Cafe.  Eventually we made our way to Anna's favorite Panini place where we got a huge and delicious sandwich for under 4 euro! That afternoon I (first missed my train then) caught a train to Bologna where I waited and walked around for about an hour a half before catching a train to Ancona to catch my ferry to Split, Croatia.
The ferry was slow and took about 12 hours to cross the Adriatic Sea, but Mary (who I met again in Ancona) and I arrived early on Tuesday morning to Split where we first went to our hostel to catch some sleep.  We walked around Split that day with two other girls, one American, one Canadian, who were also studying in Ireland, and traveling around Europe for their break.  That evening we got one of the largest pizza's in Split from 'Nonne's' and shared it between all of us.  We stayed in and watched a film that evening and enjoyed being able to relax.

The next morning I spent a lot of time speaking with the manager of the hostel, a woman by the name of 'Ladybird' who could be one of the most positive people I've ever met in my life.  She is a Norwegian woman who lives in a room the size of a closet with her paintings and knitting, experiencing the world through all those who walk through the doors.  She has so many wonderful stories and such a great outlook on life, she makes life seems so simple.  I stayed in the Beach hostel again that evening and Andrew arrived to Split that evening we caught the early ferry to Brač. The island is only a 45 min ferry ride from Split, but it's seems so peaceful and far from the rest of Croatia.  My favorite thing about Brač would be the view of the mountains from the island.  I've been here for about 4 nights now enjoying the sun and stone beaches of the island.  We walk from our villa in a town called Splitska to the nearby towns of Supetar and Posteria.  
Since the unexpected eruption of the volcano in Iceland, I've found it harder to relax and really enjoy my time here in Croatia because I'm not sure if my flight will be cancelled or not, and if it would be cancelled how we'd be getting home in a timely manner.  I guess there isn't much to do here besides enjoy my time here in Croatia, and plan accordingly.  
More to come as events unfold....

Easter Update, 4 April 2010

    Happy Easter everyone! Thought I should give everyone a brief update on how the first leg of my spring break ended up, and how I've been enjoying myself up until now here in Belfast.  I've now returned to Belfast and will be in Belfast until Friday April 9th  when I will then fly out of Dublin for adventures to Rome, Florence, and around Croatia.

   Friday, 26 March I travelled to London where I didn't actually see London, but slept in the airport for about 8 hours before catching my flight to Copenhagen, Denmark.  In Copenhagen, I first met with some friends from Stonehill, one of whom, Emily, is studying in Copenhagen.  In the afternoon I met up with my long time friend from the Ulster Project, Andrew, who travelled from Leuven, Belgium to travel with me.  We stayed in Copenhagen for two days then took a quick train to Malmo, Sweden for a morning/afternoon trip.  On the 29th of March we caught a 4pm bus that took us from Copenhagen through Germany, the Netherlands, and finally brought us to Brussels, Belgium at 6am the next day! Long trip! That same day, Andrew and I took a train to Brugge, Belgium and saw the 'Venice' of Belgium with their beautiful canals.  My favorite part of Brugge was our stop for coffee and waffles with chocolate! The next day I went into Brussels to visit with my friend Martin who I met during my semester in Washington DC last fall.  Martin showed me around Brussels and it was great to see him and catch up! Finally on Thursday, 1st April (yes, April!) after having a relaxing day in Leuven, Andrew and I caught a flight to Dublin and then took a bus up to Belfast.

    Overall, I have been having the best time of my life, living out a long time dream.  Belfast continues to feel more and more like home, and I can't think of anywhere else (except home in Wisconsin, obviously!) I could imagine being on this Easter Sunday.  I have been blessed with the love from so many families here in Belfast who have shown such hospitality to someone they have really only ever met once or twice, or not at all.  I have a community of friends and flat mates who are coming together tonight to celebrate as a family would.  As much as I wish I could have been with my family today, I know that I will be with them in spirit today and I hope they know that I am with those who I love and show the same love that they taught me to look for in the world. All my love and blessings of peace to my friends and family this Easter season. x

(Photos from top down: (1) Malmo, Sweden; (2) Canals of Brugge, Belgium; (3) Cafe and waffle et chocolat, Brugge, Belgium; (4) Sunset on the Ferry between Denmark and Germany.