I’m taking a solo trip! It’s a little strange going on my own- the entire dynamic has shifted– experiences are no longer shared, planning is different, spending is different. I’m writing this a few days in, but I’m going to try to write my first few days, up until getting to my first real stop.

I flew out on Friday afternoon. My first flight was to Chicago. Since the plane’s overhead storage was full, they made me check my baggage. So much for specifically buying carry-on sized luggage. I took all of my electronics out, and put them in my day-pack bag for safe keeping.

I boarded my next plane at the Chicago airport. The flight initially looked promising. I had an aisle spot, so I would have  little wiggle room for my legs- my neighbor to the right of me was an eighty-something dutch physicist, which seemed like good conversation fodder. After a half an hour on the plane, without it taking off, I grew nervous. Then things all started going wrong.

We were informed that the plane did not have the proper documentation filed after its last repair, so we waited another hour for that to come in. The physicist to my right turned out to study polymers, which I could not hold a conversation about. The guy in front of me reclined his chair into my legs, and wouldn’t stop pushing on them until my knees were half broken. The physicist kept leaning on me and touching me, instead of leaning to the right where his wife was. The guy behind me kept kicking or kneeing right into my back, and everybody in the aisle kept hip-checking me as they walked by. It would be 7 hours of not being able to sleep. But the worst thing, was that I was going to miss my connection. Possibly, I was going to miss my flight to Zagreb if the connection wasn’t before the next morning.

On getting to Amsterdam, I was given information about my new transfer, which would be happening at 9pm through KLM. Luckily, I was going to be able to make it to Zagreb. My original plan was to get in Copenhagen, unwind for an afternoon, then fly out the next day. This had changed it so that I basically would land in Copenhagen at 1am and have to be on the plane at 9:30am. I asked people at the counter to confirm that my luggage had made it this far, and that it would be loaded onto the plane to Copenhagen, and I was reassured that it was in fact in Amsterdam, and that it was ready to be loaded once the plane made it.

Arriving at Copenhagen, I had finally completed my first leg of the trip. I disembarked the plane, then headed towards baggage claim, where my bag never showed.

In a panic, I talked to the attendants at baggage claim. They mentioned that this happens pretty frequently. We put in a ticket to keep track of it, with the hopes that it would be found and returned to me. There was nothing else I could do at the moment. I had to make a decision, to wait for my stuff to show up in Copenhagen, essentially cancelling my trip to Zagreb and Split, or to go without any extra clothes.

Tired, exasperated, and defeated, I left baggage claim, giving them my address in Zagreb, picked up a Danish SIM card for my phone (after all, it was important to have a contact phone number), and bought tickets for my train into town.

I met a fellow traveler, Rodrigo, on the train platform. Neither of us were entirely certain that we were on the right platform, but we were able to confirm it. After a stressful day and a half of airport shenanigans, it was great to talk with a real human being for once. Once we made it to the Copenhagen central station, we went our separate ways. My hostel was three blocks north of the station, so I just went on foot.

Those three blocks were a little sketchy at 2am. Prostitutes and pimps were patrolling the streets. My understanding is that prostitution is legal in Copenhagen, but even still, I would prefer not to have to interact with them, especially not when I’m tired and upset.

I got to the Hostel, where check-in was done by self-service, which lost me an opportunity for a simple human to human interaction. It was a big, modern, swanky hostel, with a bar, gym, and computer access. But that late at night, it just felt cold and unwelcoming. I got up to my room, where I tried as hard as I could to not wake up my ro0mmates.

My alarm set for 6:30, I tried to get to sleep, but after three unsuccessful hours worried about finding my luggage or missing my next flight, I just got up and left for the airport.

While at the airport, I learned that I couldn’t check in until 9:30, so I caught a few necessary hours of sleep before my flight to Zagreb!