A world without planes

The closure of the airspace in many european countries was unprecedented. Not once before did a natural disaster have so much influence on our travels as the eruption of the Iceland volcano.

The newspapers were filled with stories and all the news channels started their broadcast with news about the closure of the airspace. At first people were understanding of these safety measures, but as time progressed people started getting anxious to get home and so started the debates about the justification of the closure.

Yesterday we were sitting at home watching TV when Tim yelled: Joreel, did you hear that?!?!

At first I was like "Huh? What?" but then I realized we were actually hearing the first plane fly over since days. It was new, it was weird, yet it was so familiar. Truth be told we were really enjoying the peace and quiet that the closure of the skies had brought us. We live in an area of Amsterdam where many planes fly over during the day, yet for days now it had been completely quiet.

Having said that, let's get back to these debates and all the media attention this closure has been getting. I must admit that I very much enjoyed reading about the stories on the net and on Twitter about people being stuck in foreign cities and not being able to get home. Not that I enjoy reading about other people's misery, but it was so interesting to read how everyone deals with the issue at hand. Many people complained about being stuck and not being able to get home. But honestly though, if you don't have any important things to get home to (i.e funeral, wedding, very ill people) why would you make such a big deal about being stuck? I was talking to Tim about what we would've done if we were still in Oz and this whole situation occurred. I think we would've thanked the volcano and celebrated the fact that our holiday was being prolonged.

I totally realize that there's so much more to it than just looking at it as a prolonged holiday. Extending your stay means many extra costs that not everyone can pay for. But as I recently tried to "Always look at the bright side of life", so that's what I'll try to do (and so should you)!

I end this story by welcoming back the planes above our heads, because let's face it; We live in a world where being able to travel has given many of us the freedom to explore foreign countries, cultures, foods and so much more that we are not able to find on our own continent. And I personally would really hate not being able to hop on a flying machine and explore the great unknown.