It’s 11:30 p.m. at the Vienna International Bus Station and I’m dead on my feet. My best friend and I have spent the last three days exploring Munich and Vienna, and we’re about to board a bus back to my home. It’s a nine-hour overnight ride, dropping us off at the Stuttgart Airport. From there we have another 40-minute bus ride back to my apartment. Needless to say, we’re exhausted. Once we’ve finally made our way through the line toward the driver scanning tickets and checking passports, I would give anything to just take off my backpack, sit down, and go to sleep. Unfortunately, my ticket doesn’t scan. Figuring it’s just a technical problem, the driver asks me my name. He scans the list, and -- just my luck -- I’m not on it. We’re asked to wait until everyone else is checked in and on the bus, at which point the driver tries the scanner a few more times, to no avail. Now I’m not only exhausted, but frustrated as well. We check my ticket against the list for a few minutes before the driver finally realizes the problem -- I booked the ticket for the wrong date. I instantly go into panic mode. Can I buy another ticket? He says yes and gestures toward the bus station. We run over, only to find that it’s closed. I throw open my laptop, prepared to quickly book the ticket online with my credit card. We run back over to make sure the bus doesn’t leave while I’m booking the ticket, and the bus driver tells me that I can buy the new ticket from him in cash. Some frantic digging through my wallet and borrowing money from my friend later, I’m out 55 extra euros but finally situated on the bus home.
Everyone I know has at least one travel misadventure story: missed flights, canceled reservations, forgotten documents. Some stories are absolute nightmares; others (like mine) are stressful but were easily resolved. Of course no one wants these scary mishaps to happen, but it seems impossible to travel for any extended period of time without running into at least a few bumps along the road. And I think there’s something to be learned from situations like these. There’s the obvious: always double check dates before booking bus tickets. But I also try and view these as moments where the universe is trying to teach us something. We can take these moments of stress and panic, and learn to go with the flow, keep a cool head, and be able laugh at ourselves. If, like me, you’re an uptight traveler, misadventure moments give us proof that plans going awry isn’t the end of the world. And of course, every bad moment is a story to laugh about later.
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If you’re a frequent traveler, don’t fear these moments -- embrace them! We’re only human, and mistakes are bound to happen eventually. If we can tell these stories, laugh about them, and use them to reflect on ourselves and our journeys, then we’ve not only had a good trip, but learned a little more about ourselves in the process.
