Soaring technical superpowers open myself, and Scotland, to the world.
I’m sat in the terminal, finally able to relax. The anxiety-ridden march to the security gates is over. The anxiety-ridden processing in security is over. I have nothing to hide, but it doesn’t make the angst any easier.
But now, it’s time to drink in the reality of where I’m standing. Right now? At a window. Watching planes taking off into the world beyond.
Where do these mighty machines take us?
For me, right now, Berlin. I’m waiting on a mid-afternoon flight to take me from Edinburgh to Berlin. Having fuelled up on a hearty breakfast I’m braced for the journey ahead.
But stop and consider for a moment what seems like an impossibility. It would take me over two hours to walk the length of my home town and back. But in that time I have travelled from Edinburgh to Berlin. Two amazing capital cities.
But it isn’t just Berlin. I think back to five years ago flying out from this very same airport to Dublin. The flight took 45 minutes to get from the Scottish capital to the Irish capital. That’s faster than a bus from Kelso to Galashiels! Surely that’s not right? Surely that’s mad? It’s certainly mad for me to think when standing in the middle of Princess Street in Edinburgh that Dublin is just up the road. But that’s how it feels, because of the planes.
What delights lie beyond the gates?
Edinburgh airport’s slogan is, ’Where Scotland meets the world’. And it does. But what exactly is it meeting? What am I meeting when flying out from Edinburgh?
The Brandenburg Gate. the Reichstag. Checkpoint Charlie. Three places dripping with historical significance, not just in German history but also world history. How about more modern attractions? Alexanderplatz and the Berlin TV Tower? Built by the Soviet controlled German Democratic Republic (DDR) between 1965 and 1969 as a broadcasting facility and symbol of Communist power, the Fernsehturm is the tallest structure in Germany and third-tallest structure in the European Union. The Berlin cathedral? Or the many parks, lakes, shops, zoos and other attractions that Berlin has to offer. My stomach is making a noise however, reminding me that it, too, is on holiday. Good job Berlin has a huge and varied restaurant scene!
But travel west to Dublin. St Patrick’s Tower. The Guinness Storehouse. Dublin Castle. So much to see in the Irish capital, so little time. I stood on the Ha’penny Bridge and soaked in the city. It’s vibrancy and hospitality screaming from the rooftops. The Ha’penny Bridge itself has an interesting history, being built in 1816 as an alternative to seven ferries that crossed the river Liffey. William Walsh, the operator of the ferries and builder of the bridge, was granted the right to extract a ha’penny toll from anyone crossing it for 100 years. Standing on this 200-year-old pedestrian bridge, I felt I was truly, I was among friends.
Or head south. Bristol. Tucked away in the south-west of England this thriving modern metropolis doesn’t leave me short of things to do. From being the home of the iconic Bristol Suspension Bridge and the final home of the SS Great Britain to being an ecstatic and lively city, Bristol is a settlement that does not settle and gives everyone a fantastic time. A mere stone’s throw away, time-wise, when compared to taking the train from Edinburgh to Stirling.
Not always a perfect gateway
The anxiety of leaving your luggage in the bag drops; what if something goes wrong? The cramped queues to security; so many people. The scans themselves. Have I packed correctly? What if I’ve done something wrong and get in trouble? What if you get your gate number wrong? What if you get lost on the way and miss your flight? Some might not worry about these minor things, but when you have anxiety you worry about them a lot. And that’s before you’ve even got on the plane.
And then there’s the environmental aspect and the emissions the planes produce. Such harm to the atmosphere and the planet. As an environmentalist I know it’s wrong, but as someone suffering the cost of living crisis if I want to afford to travel flying is the cheapest way to go.
But put the negatives to one side and embrace what air travel offers. When I look at Edinburgh airport I see abundant opportunity. I feel like just beyond those gates is Dublin, as if it is just up the road, or Bristol as if it is in the opposite direction, and Berlin as if I was hopping on a local bus.
Because that’s how it feels with the speed of air travel. In the duration of one bus journey to visit friends, I can be in Ireland, the south of England, and add the bus journey back and I can be in Germany. The speed of flight makes this possible. It makes it hard to reach places reachable, and some ticket deals make travel affordable.
Airports everywhere are the gateway to everything. Edinburgh’s slogan rings true: it is where Scotland meets the world. Moreover, it’s where I meet the world.
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