Well, I'm finally in Holland. But it took a lot to get here, and that's what I'm sharing today.
I woke up at 5am, was inside the taxi by 6am and was just in time to catch the plane at 7:50am. The news about most of Europe was pretty bad, it's all full of snow storms now. I was watching the screen on the airplane and I noticed we were almost flying past Paris. I looked over to my mom and said, "it would be kind of nice if we stopped in Paris for a few hours, I miss Paris." About two minutes after I said this, the captain informed us that "we had to stop in Orly airport in Paris because the airports in Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland were closed down because of the snow, and they were only accepting 15 to 20 flights per hour, which is less than 10% of the usual flights they receive". I was shocked.
We landed in Orly and it was snowing like hell. After about an hour, everyone decided to get off the plane. We had two options: go back to Lisbon with our luggage or stay in Paris. No expenses paid by the airline, no refund (those TAP SOBs). There was a catch though, we could only keep our luggage if everyone on the plane left and stayed in Paris. We were 20 portuguese and 5 dutchmen in the plane. There was no one important and it was a portuguese flight. Of course they didn't risk landing in Amsterdam. Of course not.
Everyone eventually stood up and got off the plane with their luggage. We had to buy a train ticket (TGV train, pretty cool), which is about €100 per person. I called my dad and told him everything and he said it was best to buy a ticket to Roterdam instead of Amsterdam, that would give him time to drive there and not stay hours waiting in Amsterdam. After everyone bought their tickes, the airport found us all a bus (free of charge) and we drove towards the Gare du Nord train station. We stayed there for three hours. In the cold. We should have waited only two, but the train got delayed another hour. While we waited (remember, every portuguese person who didn't know each other sticked together for everything), people took turns to go to the bathroom and buy something to eat and drink while the others guarded the luggage. A lot of luggage.
After three hours, the TGV finally arrived and eight of us were in the same carriage. We wished a Happy Christmas to the others and faced another three hours until Roterdam (and even more to Amsterdam for the others). At least the seats were comfortable. I'd pick the TGV over a plane any day. Everyone slept for about an hour and we talked until we got to Roterdam. I even talked to this sweet Australian girl who was backpacking through Europe with her girlfriends (which is, like, my dream).
We met my dad and my grandma who had left home twelve hours before. We still had to drive to Enschede which is two hours away from Roterdam. In the snow. In a snow storm. So, naturally, a drive that should have taken two hours took four, and we only arrived home at 3am. I was up for practically 24 hours.
Although it was kind of a nightmare, it was the best trip of my life. And plus, not many people can say they woke up in Lisbon, had lunch in Paris and slept in Holland all in one day. Everything unplanned and everyone sticked together. This is why I love being portuguese. I'm proud of being portuguese. We never back down and we always help each other when we need it. People who didn't know us trusted us with their luggage, and people who were only staying here for three days and meanwhile wasted their first day were laughing and joking about the situation and being nice to each other, almost as if we've done this before. Bonus: one of the girls on the plane was friends with a friend of mine. Small world.
The portuguese rock, and we're one of the best people in the world and no one can take that away from us. While some people would get pissed and stick with their own families, we sticked together. And that's what makes a nation a nation. Sticking together.
