Another nailbiter of a trip for us flying standby! Of course I got called off of reserve, making me land back in Providence the same night we planned on leaving. So i told Richie to meet me at the airport when I landed and I literally ran off the plane just to change and get right back on it.
We were able to sit together on the flight to Dublin (not something we often get since standby flights usually put you in the empty middle seats). During our four hour wait we wandered around looking for a smoking section for Rich which took far longer than necessary because we just kept getting lost. We’re very bad at following directions as it turns out.
With only a few seats to spare, we made it to Copenhagen where we would spend the night before an early morning flight to Tel Aviv. So of course we spent our time in the chilly Scandanavian city, eating pork sandwiches, drinking beers in a little jazz bar, and enjoying the vibes in Free Town Christiana. We’ve already decided to come back another time and see more, including Tivoli Gardens which we sadly missed this time around. 
When we were heading to Israel the gate agent told us the flight was overbooked by two and said to keep our fingers crossed for a few people not showing up. By the amount of passengers who kept lining up to board, I started looking at flights to Jordan instead just in case Sukkot brought a completely full flight. But, even though we were kept waiting for a long time before we were given our seats, we did get seats so I have little to complain about.
Landing in Tel Aviv I had heard many stories about it being a bitch trying to get through the border and don’t be surprised if you’re answering questions for a long time and other types of horror. But for us, we made it through with the same line of questioning we would get going back into the US. The only strange question was what is the relationship status between Rich and I.
Unfortunately our vacation was cut a few days short due to a foot injury I got from walking in poor-fitting shoes so much. We received the same line of questioning leaving Tel Aviv, complete with asking how long we’ve been together, a question Rich got a kick out of, so the nightmare of hours of security and questioning trying to leave Israel also didn’t pertain to us.
Finally, our layover in Copenhagen became increasingly longer until our flight changed to be operated by a charter company. I was again told I might have to sit in the jump seat but luckily my name was called and I got an actual seat. This one was a much older plane than I’m used to flying on, but I have to say the seats were so much more comfortable and they reclined a hell of a lot more.
But the flight landed so late we had to run down down 34th St to get to Penn Station to catch our train. We probably only made it because the conductor saw us racing down the escalator. But hey, we made all flights and trains and got home in one piece. Just another adventure in our lives.
My Life as Laur 