{"id":115,"date":"2026-06-03T10:50:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T15:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/san-sebastian1-summer-2026\/?p=115"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:50:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T15:50:36","slug":"would-it-really-be-that-bad-to-be-left-stranded-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/san-sebastian1-summer-2026\/2026\/06\/03\/would-it-really-be-that-bad-to-be-left-stranded-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Would it really be that bad to be left stranded here?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maybe it was a sign<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That last day of the trip started smoothly: a timely check-out from Olarain, a peaceful bus ride to the airport, and no issues checking our bags and getting through security in Bilbao. Our flight itinerary back to the U.S. was the reverse of the one we’d taken to get here: an 11:55 AM departure from Bilbao to Munich, an hour-long layover, and then the eight hour-long flight back to Boston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Except, it was already 10:00 AM and we didn’t have a boarding gate yet. This is when some of the unease started to set in. We busied ourselves getting food and walking around the unfamiliar terminal. It took a while to get a gate back in Munch, so we should get one any moment, right? But that’s when the notifications started coming in. One delay after another, until finally:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Simulated Lufthansa app notifications.
Created using Knock push notification preview generator<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

That 11:55 AM flight to Munich wasn’t expected to depart until fifty minutes later. And given our only hour-long layover, things weren’t looking good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our flight wasn’t the only one to be delayed that Saturday. Drones sighted at the Munch airport<\/a> that morning had been the cause of delays and cancellations for thousands. We just barely<\/em> made it to MUC before out flight took off. But then we got stuck in the lines for passport control. And the plane left without us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next flight out from MUC to BOS was the next day which meant being stranded in Germany for a night. But I could help but wonder, what if I just stayed and went back to San Sebasti\u00e1n? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually by the end of a long international trip plagued with delays and travel uncertainty, you want nothing more than to get home, collapse, and sleep for a week straight. But in that moment, something about the Basque Country felt more like home than back in the States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeling out of place.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my first night in San Sebasti\u00e1n I set out into the city with a handful of the members of our group to find something to eat. Having watched shows such that Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown<\/em> and Somebody Feed Phil<\/em> it’d be an understatement to say I was excited for the food. Which is why it felt a little odd that we settled on a Japanese restaurant for our first meal. Don’t get me wrong-I love Japanese food. But we were in the culinary capital of the world and I wasn’t immediately delving head-first into the specialities they had to offer. It felt like I wasn’t ready to understand what it was like to truly experience San Sebasti\u00e1n. However, any doubt subsided when I ordered a Poke bowl and has this placed in front of me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Poke Bowl from Yaku Nikkei in San Sebasti\u00e1n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It only took one bite to know that this wasn’t some cheap approximation. It was good. Really<\/em> good. Professor Zabalbeascoa had told us it would be good, but not that everything<\/em> would be this good. Basques don’t compromise on their food, no matter its origin or culture. That’s when I realized that Basque cuisine was an ideology which extends beyond any list of typical dishes or regional cookbooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s the humblest of moments which will shape your experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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