The One Where I got Stuck in Iceland

Last Sunday morning, I was unsuspectingly packing my suitcase to go on a work trip to Denver. I even obtained a special return visa to ensure that I will be able to return to the Netherlands. I kissed goodbye to Sofia, N, and Sherlock and walked to the train station. Last Sunday evening, I ended up in an extra nice hotel in Iceland.

So there is, as you can guess, a story in between. I headed to the train station, got my ticket, and caught my train to Schipol. Everything was on track for my flight – even with crazy queues at Amsterdam airport! I did not get a queue at all!

I checked in, grabbed my lunch, and got on the plane. I was flying to Denver through Iceland, with about 2 hours to catch a connecting flight. My plane was running 30 minutes behind the schedule but I did not consider it to be a big deal – there would be still more than one hour left for the transfer. We left the gate and were about to take off when the pilot pulled back. He said they had some technical difficulty and asked for patience. I only had about an hour of that patience in reserve. The pilot connected again and said there was an issue with the tire and they have to call for mechanics. As the tire was replaced, I was looking at the time slipping by and realizing that I am kind of stuck in the plane. I could not go out but I also could not catch my connection. I had to take the plane I was in but I had no way to go further.

We eventually ended up leaving 3 hours later than scheduled but I already knew my fate. As we touched down in Keflavik airport, I knew I was stuck and no Denver was happening for me that night. The airline placed me in a nice hotel and gave a voucher for a nice dinner. I was in the hotel and having nice meals, just without my team, and in the completely wrong country. As I was waiting for my meal in the hotel restaurant, I had a strange feeling – sometimes you zoom out of your life, and you see yourself from the side and you just wonder how all of this happened. That was me, in that restaurant.

Eventually, I headed back to my room and was planning to call customer support but they closed at 16:00 and only opened the next morning. They were able to sort out the flight back to Amsterdam for me but only the next morning as there is only one flight per day at 7am and since their support was closed, I could not catch it the day after my failed attempt to get to Denver.

Ironically, I also did not have my European adaptor so I strolled around Reykjavik to find Apple store and grab one. I have been to Iceland before. It was cold, it reminded me of Canadian cold and it was wonderful. A few months ago, I told N that I really wanted to go somewhere alone during my sabbatical. I guess you ask the universe and it delivers, sometimes in very unexpected ways.