Freelance announcer Kanda details big travel mishaps on Europe trip

Enjoying Germany

Over this New Year period, I traveled with my mother to Frankfurt, Germany, and neighboring Luxembourg. We first arrived at our hotel in Frankfurt for a four-night stay. Once the frustration at check-in had passed, our trip finally began.

Frankfurt was below freezing every day. Even though we were well bundled up, walking just 30 minutes through the city made the cold seep into our bones. Observing the locals, I noticed that nearly all adults wore thick, long down coats that reached the ankles. In Japan, similar coats are either sporty bench coats or slim, fashion-focused styles. So I added one of my trip goals: to find a thick, long down coat I liked!

We visited the impressive Frankfurt Cathedral and the charming buildings of Römer Square. Walking on cobblestone streets and soaking in the atmosphere, we enjoyed giant sausages and enormous German beers at a popular local restaurant.

Before we knew it, it was New Year’s Eve, the day to move on to Luxembourg. We said goodbye to Frankfurt and headed to the central station at 8:00 a.m., waiting for our 9:06 train. We had a roughly one-hour transfer at Koblenz and were scheduled to arrive in Luxembourg at 14:23—a five-hour-plus train journey planned at my mother’s insistence.

However, 15 minutes before departure, “Koblenz” disappeared from the platform’s destination display. At the same time, a German announcement played, which I couldn’t understand. People on the platform gradually began moving, and I thought, “Did the boarding platform change!?” I ran to the main information board and saw that our scheduled train was marked canceled. My blood ran cold. “What do I do!? I need help!” I handed my large suitcase to my mother and dashed to the information desk.

I showed my reservation to the attendant and said, “Distrain—no service!” She immediately spoke fluent English. I told her I didn’t understand English; she silently typed on her computer and handed me a new reservation, saying, “Go to platform 23!”

The rebooked train had originally been scheduled to depart Central Station at 8:54 but was delayed to 9:24. The Koblenz transfer remained the same; only the connection time was shortened to 45 minutes. The following train was unchanged, which was a relief.

Even with a reservation, you can’t let your guard down

However, while waiting with my mother on platform 23, the destination display suddenly vanished again. “No way!?” I checked the main information board and saw it read canceled. Fear gripped me, wondering if we could even reach Luxembourg today. I dashed back to the information desk. This time, the attendant was an older man. I said, “Distrain—no service!”

The new reservation he rebooked required two transfers. I certainly didn’t feel confident managing two transfers in an unfamiliar place with my elderly mother. So I said, “Please—transfer one time.” He handed me a new ticket. At a glance, it seemed there was only one transfer with a 20-minute connection. “Okay, we can manage this!” I thought and accepted it.

The new journey would depart Frankfurt Central Station at 10:09, with a 20-minute transfer, arriving at Luxembourg Station at 14:45.

However, even the train we finally boarded left 10 minutes late. (I thought trains in Germany ran as punctually as in Japan) I glanced again at the ticket and was shocked.

The transfer station was “Saarbrücken Station” (not Koblenz!?). Moreover, from Saarbrücken onward, it was “Bus” (not a train!!). Wait a minute—without any familiarity with the area or the language, I would have to find the bus stop while hauling heavy luggage, and with the train already 10 minutes late, the actual transfer time would only be 10 minutes. (Impossible!!).

I didn’t have the courage to tell my mother, who had been waiting exhausted for two hours on the freezing platform, about this fact immediately. For the time being, I looked out the train window and repeatedly told myself, “Calm down, Aika, calm down.”

Aika Kanda: Born 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Gakushuin University. Joined NHK as an announcer in 2003. Left NHK in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, has been active mainly on variety programs and currently appears as the main MC on the daytime program Pokapoka (Fuji TV).

★ Her first book compiling this series, “Ōdō tte iu michi, doko ni tōttemasu ka?” is now on sale and highly praised!

From “FRIDAY” February 20/27, 2026 issue