Getting there and lining up to do so, is a big part of traveling and it doesn't have to suck.
For most it is an inconvenience, a bother.
This doesn't have to hold true for you.
The one thing that you have going for you is that EVERYONE around you has to line up as well.
It is a global phenonmenon..the line...the cue, the hurry up and wait.
Sigh...it can be the most frustrating experience..or...it can be fun...really.
I think about it as guilt free time. You can't possibly be doing anything else but being in the moment, for as long as that moment takes.
When waiting around, feeling like an idiot in your socks, holding your shoes in your hand, belt in the other and waiting for security..lol..try and strike up a conversation with people close to you.
Start up questions could be " is this the line to ....(fill in your location)?"
"Where are you headed?"
"What has been your favourite place so far" ..... and see where they recommend.
You can find out about cool places to visit and great stops not in those guide books.
People really like to share what they have discovered. You will be amazed.
It helps to pass the time and can even include meal companions when you find a kindred spirit.
I was at a train station in Cologne enroute to Prague, cued up on an outdoor platform.
All night trains delayed by hours.
Cold, hungry and not even sure I was on the correct platform I asked a young man if this was the platform to Prague.
It helps to pass the time and can even include meal companions when you find a kindred spirit.
I was at a train station in Cologne enroute to Prague, cued up on an outdoor platform.
All night trains delayed by hours.
Cold, hungry and not even sure I was on the correct platform I asked a young man if this was the platform to Prague.
We started chatting, He confirmed I was in the right place. Whew!
He spoke many languages, was heading home from a job interview and interested in Canada.
A couple listening to us, started to chat and became very animated waving at us.
He spoke many languages, was heading home from a job interview and interested in Canada.
A couple listening to us, started to chat and became very animated waving at us.
I did not have a clue what they were saying but they were so warm and lovely we moved closer.
They were an older couple from Kosovo and this young man spoke both our languages a little and translated.
They insisted we join them in their evening meal (it was 10:00pm and nothing was open, we all were hungry).
We sat on a bench eating delicious homemade soup/stew and bread with cheese.
I offered up some bottled water and some chocolate wafers ( mmm Europeans make the best wafer cookies) and Jan had some coffee in his thermos. It was a grand picnic.
They were an older couple from Kosovo and this young man spoke both our languages a little and translated.
They insisted we join them in their evening meal (it was 10:00pm and nothing was open, we all were hungry).
We sat on a bench eating delicious homemade soup/stew and bread with cheese.
I offered up some bottled water and some chocolate wafers ( mmm Europeans make the best wafer cookies) and Jan had some coffee in his thermos. It was a grand picnic.
I passed on the coffee but the stew was unbelievable.
When our trains came, we said goodbye as friends.
They gave me their address in Kosovo in the hopes I could visit them in the future.
That was one of the best meals I had in my entire two months abroad, on a slate grey landing, on a cold October night wet with the fog, with people I will probably never see again.
Those moments of "cueing up" can be really special moments that make your journey so much more colourful than ever imagined.
*I have also learned, and this is important, keep reading....there is a time for talking and a time when shutting up and looking otherwise occupied is a good plan.
When you sit down on that long haul flight/bus/train however..might I suggest those earphones?
If it is a short trip...no worries, chat away and if you are not kindred spirits, enjoy the moment and say goodbye.
If you strike up a conversation with the person next to you on that 9 hour plane ride however, and they end up drinking so much that they:
When our trains came, we said goodbye as friends.
They gave me their address in Kosovo in the hopes I could visit them in the future.
That was one of the best meals I had in my entire two months abroad, on a slate grey landing, on a cold October night wet with the fog, with people I will probably never see again.
Those moments of "cueing up" can be really special moments that make your journey so much more colourful than ever imagined.
*I have also learned, and this is important, keep reading....there is a time for talking and a time when shutting up and looking otherwise occupied is a good plan.
When you sit down on that long haul flight/bus/train however..might I suggest those earphones?
If it is a short trip...no worries, chat away and if you are not kindred spirits, enjoy the moment and say goodbye.
If you strike up a conversation with the person next to you on that 9 hour plane ride however, and they end up drinking so much that they:
A-piss off the airline staff
B- get cut off and become beligerant and loud
C- climb noisilly across your lap every 5 minutes to pee cause you are on the aisle...( I speak from personal experience)
then feigning sleep and wearing earphones can really be your only peace.
This lesson I learned the hard way, sigh..they seemed so calm at the beginning of the plane ride. Heading to a month in Ibiza should have been my first clue.
Lesson learned-pick your chat times and your escape plan ..lol. Mine is my Ipod.
Meeting people really is the easy part-how much you want to talk is up to you.
So you see....readjust your thoughts about the great line up.
Meeting people really is the easy part-how much you want to talk is up to you.
So you see....readjust your thoughts about the great line up.
Cues can be a good thing..they are a "life-line" to the rest of the world!
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