When travel plans go awry, like they’re often want to do, there’s really nothing you can do about it except go with the flow and pass around some candy.
What to Do When the unavoidable happens
We can plan and plan until every last detail is taken care of, but sometimes you just can’t predict what the future may hold. When I bought my Eurostar train tickets two months before my trip, I didn’t plan for a strike. I couldn’t have. On my list of “Possible Bad Things That Can Happen”, a strike was never on my radar. And if a strike wasn’t even on my radar, then striking ferry workers setting fire to the tracks definitely wasn’t either. Now, I knew about the strike happening and the problems at the Channel tunnel. I had kept watch on the news in the two weeks leading up to my trip. However, there was no way to predict whether I would have trouble on my travels. So, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best…oh well. The best laid plans and all that.
My Eurostar Strike Saga
Around noon on Tuesday, striking ferry workers laid out tires along the train tracks and lit them on fire, disrupting Eurotunnel services for the rest of the day, and stranding multitudes of people on either side of the channel. Eurostar urged people not to even show up for the cancelled trains. On the hottest day of the year so far, it would have been better to reschedule tickets and try again another day. Unfortunately for me, I had already left Scotland early in the morning, and I didn’t hear the news until I arrived at London St Pancras.
It was quite a shock to look up at the departures board and see every train cancelled. It wasn’t hard to find the Eurostar ticketing office, I just had to follow the line of upset people heading off in the same direction. I still didn’t know the reason for the cancelled trains, but I was sure someone could tell me. As I drew nearer, I saw that the Eurostar ticket and boarding area was teeming with sweaty, angry travelers. I spoke with one of the Eurostar staff members floating about explaining the situation.
EuroStuck in line…Halfway through the queue.
Yes, all the trains for today are currently cancelled.
No, we don’t know if the trains will start running again later today.
Yes, that [huge] queue is for re-ticketing. Please get in line.
Food Usually Makes everything better
I took one look at the massive queue wrapping around the entire length of the hall and decided I would probably get hungry before I ever got to the front. I grabbed a sandwich and water from a nearby shop and queued up with the rest of the sticky, angry mob of people.
Sometimes there’s nothing to be done but accept the situation, grab some food (everything is better with food!), and stay positive. Eventually, the tracks were cleared and limited trains were running. Of course, my train wasn’t one of the ones reinstated. Instead, Eurostar did its best to fill the empty or cancelled seats on earlier or later trains. They even ran extra trains into the night to get everyone somewhere other than the Eurostar ticket office. I figured I would eventually reach my destination.
While waiting in line, I spent my time chatting and passing out candy to the other travelers around me and met people from all around world. I did eventually make it to Brussels–albeit a bit later than I had originally planned. I only had time for a few hours of sleep and a shower before heading off to Berlin in the morning.
The best tip ever: don’t stress
Not stressing about my situation was the best I could do–not just for myself, but for everyone around me too. Stress and unhappiness spreads in crowds–but so does calm and happiness. I’m not saying I don’t ever get stressed when something goes wrong, but this is a reminder to me as well as anyone reading this blog, that getting stressed and taking it out on others usually makes a situation worse.
So the next time you’re stuck somewhere or your trip plan changes unexpectedly, take a seat, read a book, or chat with your fellow stuck-ees. Always be courteous to those trying to help, and pass around some candy. It’ll all work out eventually.