Traveling in a Pandemic World.
Things seem normal - or at least the sense of normalcy that I have come to expect in the time of a pandemic. Being in the airport doesn’t seem any different than being in any other public place. Yet, in a way, it almost feels safer. There is stricter enforcement of wearing masks and it is required to show proof of negative covid tests at different checkpoints. People are still out and about.
I left Boise after my April fools day hiccup. I got to the airport early and made it through security very quickly. Boise has six machines they use to check the contents of bags. Five of them look like they are from the 80’s. The other one is super new, which is awesome because you don’t have to take anything out of the bag. I am bringing my laptop, drone, and camera among other things, all carefully packed inside my carry-on bag. I stood in line for the new machine so I didn’t have to take all my stuff out and then repack it. It was a breeze getting through security. In fact, it took longer to wait in line for a bagel than it did getting through security this morning.
I got my bagel, went to my gate, and then boarded the plane. It was a smaller plane and it was still only half full. On each side of the isle there was a row with two seats. There would be only one person per row. There were a couple rows with two people sitting next to each other. I am assuming that those people are traveling together. As soon as the plane took off, I fell asleep. I must have been very comfortable because I remember the pilot announcing the arrival and I thought to myself, “circle around a few times so I can keep sleeping.”
I remember traveling pre-pandemic and there would always be random announcements made over the airport intercom system. Things like, “the red zone is for loading and unloading only” or “don’t leave baggage unintended.” But this time when I traveled through each airport, in between the announcements of the departing planes, there was a voice over the loudspeakers reminding travelers about the mask policy.
In the Seattle airport, after I got off the plane and started to walk toward my next gate, I passed by a little restaurant serving breakfast. I look over at one of the tables and sitting there, stuffing his face with an egg and cheese croissant, was my good friend Sawyer. It was completely random to see him there. Last year he moved to Oregon and was flying back to Boise, so it was cool to see him in the airport. I sat down and we talked for a while. We decided to try out a local Seattle coffee shop at the airport. It’s called Starbucks, maybe you’ve heard of it? Then he boarded his plane to Boise and I went to my gate.
Before boarding the international flight there was another checkpoint where they checked for negative covid test results. The flight to Amsterdam was very empty. I sat in the middle isle with four seats, and I got the whole row to myself. I looked back behind me and there was maybe 20 people. Which was great because I got to lay down and stretch my legs out. I could get used to this. Stay home people! But I still got a little restless during the nine-hour flight. I watched a little tv, read some of my book, and slept.
We landed in Amsterdam and there was less than 30 minutes to get to my next flight. There were a few people on the plane that were going to the same gate as me. The flight attendants told us not to worry, there was plenty of time to catch the next flight. After waiting in line to get off the plane, I had less than 20 minutes to get to my next gate. Luckily there is English on the signs in Amsterdam, but the extremely busy airport is still confusing to navigate. I looked around for the group of people that said they were going to the same gate but I couldn’t find them. I was on my own. I ran over to the tv that had all of the flights on them. My next flight was at terminal D, so I started to run towards the gates, following the signs.
It was hard to run through the busy airport with a heavy backpack on while wearing a mask. I probably ran a good ten minutes before I got to the gate, just in time. They were loading the last few people onto the plane. I checked in to the International flight and showed them my passport, when the flight attendants told me that my baggage might not make it onto the flight. We were going to be cutting it close. I load onto the plane, which was the most packed out of all of the flights. There were three seats to a row on each side of the isle. Some of them were full with 3 people on each side, but my row only had two people, so the middle seat was empty. We were delayed about 15 minutes while they did something with the gasoline, so I was relieved because it gave more time for my checked bag to make it. I fell asleep after we took off. It was 10:00 local time, but something like 3 am in Boise.
We landed around 1pm local time in Ukraine. I woke up a little before we landed, and since I was at the window, I got to see some of the Ukrainian landscape after we broke through the clouds. I sat next to the door where the airport staff was unloading the luggage. I watched them while other passengers in front of me were unloading from the plane. I didn’t see my luggage get unloaded, but as I was departing the plane, I realized there was another door they were unloading bags from. I was a little relieved, because there is a chance that my bag made it after all.
I started following the crowd of people to the arrivals. This airport only has a few signs in English, so I just became a sheep and followed people until we came upon a large crowd of people talking to some guards in military uniforms. This was some sort of checkpoint and they looked at my passport and covid results really fast, then let me through. Then I stood in a long line to get through customs. There was a group of people standing by a pillar and filling out some paper document. I asked the person next to me if he spoke English and he said he speaks German and Russian, so I asked the next person if he spoke English and he said no. I didn’t know what the paperwork was so I just decided to go over and grab a piece of paper and look at it in line. It looks like maybe a customs form or something so I filled it out while standing in line.
I was in line for about 45 minutes. The German guy and I try to talk to each other in a mixture of German, English, and Russian. He quickly becomes my best friend. The line is moving slow. There are eight gates, but only three of them are for non-Ukraine passports. Eventually, I get to the point where I am talking to the guard and she asks me questions about my visit. I hand her my passport and covid results and then I give her the piece of paper that I filled out. She asked me what it is. I replied with, “I have no clue what is going on.” She laughed and said I could throw that piece of paper away. It turns out that paper didn’t apply to me.
After I get through, I see the German guy again. We both say bye to each other and go to different baggage claims. I stand where the bags from my flight are getting regurgitated from below and wait for my bag. About 10 minutes go by and I realize my bag never made it. I check my phone and Zhenya, the guy who was picking me up from the airport, said he was outside waiting. He wasn’t allowed into the baggage area due to corona virus limitations. I went over to the lost baggage desk to talk to a worker there. Luckily the employee spoke English and she helped me out. I had to fill out paperwork and I was told my bag would be here to pick up tomorrow. That bag had all of my clothes and stuff like toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. All I had was my electronics in my carry-on bag.
Zhenya lives in Kiev and is a friend of my friend, Nina. Her husband went to Moscow university with Zhenya. The original plan was for Zhenya to help me from the airport to the train station, buy a ticket, and then we go our separate ways. When he heard my bag wasn’t coming until tomorrow, he offered for me to stay the night at his apartment. We took the bus from the airport back to Kiev. On the way home we stopped downtown and we walked around and he gave me a tour of the beautiful city. In the evening, when we got back to his apartment, he gave me an extra towel so I could shower after the 20 hours of travel. We had a dinner and then played Settlers of Catan while we drank a few beers. In a way, it turned out to be a good thing that my bag was delayed, because now I made a new friend with Zhenya and I was able to see Kiev. I was exhausted though, and as soon as I my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.
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