From one side of the world to another in a day

Current location: 41°9’10’’ N 73°20’23’’ W Westport, CT, USA

Travelling back and forth between the world’s continents in a matter of months is starting to feel a little ridiculous. Yesterday was another big travel day that started with the rooster heading down from Umeå (the north of Sweden) to the international airport close to Stockholm. It took me and my mother about 8 hours to drive – but our spirits were kept high by the scenic route of colorful trees and mesmerizing lakes and rivers. We also had fika (fika: verb, to enjoy the regular coffee break that is of utmost importance in Swedish culture) at IKEA which was as stereotypical Swedish and cliché as it was amazing. After hours of driving I was finally dropped off at the airport. For those of you who know me, you will also know that the Eckardt family has a history of missing flights. I am no exception to this rule. So it didn’t really come as a surprise that I initially was refused to check in. Reason: I did not have a return ticket. Having anticipated that something always happens every time I try to enter the country of ‘Merica I simply just asked if a ticket to Costa Rica would do if I bought in on the spot? The lady at the service disk was unsure; there are a couple of countries to which you cannot travel to leaving the US, she believed that Costa Rica was one of them. Mexico, Puerto Rico and Canada were amongst those countries that didn’t “count” as departure countries. I wasn’t surprised to hear that the US has a number of countries they consider be their possessions, and I started thinking about where I should buy an exit ticket to if not to Costa Rica. I was for sure not about to fly back to Sweden. Luckily for me, Costa Rica is not one of the countries with the US as their patron so I walked away to the far side of the hall, sat down on the floor and pulled out my computer. Ten minutes later I had a ticket to Costa Rica and was about to go through airport security. Well in JFK, New York, the airplane was commanded to stay put on the ground for an hour before receiving its assigned parking slot. I had a train to catch. I came to the realization that I most probably would miss the flight due to the long customs line. Here follows a travelers tip: If you are late arriving to the US and have a connection that you are running the risk of missing, all you have to do is to tell any given immigration officer about your situation and you will be fast tracked into the very front of the line in immigration. Well outside of the chaos of the bag area I surprisingly found my friend happily waving a colorful humongous sign with the letter L written on it. The morning after was spent in a nostalgic aire biking around in Westport. I truly belive that visiting beautiful mends the soul.

#usa #ct #westport