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Our flights to Zurich via Doha were first rescheduled.

Then cancelled.

I stared at the email for a few seconds, hoping I had misunderstood something.

I hadn’t.

My heart sank.

The US-Iran talks were happenning

It wasn’t the money that upset me the most.

It was everything attached to this trip.

Years of convincing.

Months of planning.

The excitement of buying jackets and walking shoes.

The dream that had finally started to feel real.

And suddenly, it wasn’t.

With tears in my eyes, I broke the news to my mum.

Of course she was disappointed.

But like she had done her entire life, she tried to make it easier for everyone else.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it anyway,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter.”

But I knew it mattered.

A few weeks ago, she was the one dragging me to Uniqlo.

The same woman who had decided exactly what she would wear to the airport.

The same woman who had started asking questions about Switzerland.

…

For days, I became obsessed with the news.

Every headline.

Every update from the Middle East.

I kept asking myself the same questions.

Why didn’t I take a direct flight?

What could I have done differently?

The questions were endless.

The answers were useless.

The flights were cancelled.

And all I could do was try.

I remember telling myself:

I will make this happen.

No matter what.

What followed was a blur of airline calls, waiting times, flight changes, and uncertainty.

Every time a flight was rescheduled, I grabbed the next available option.

Because as long as there was another option, there was still hope.

And through all of this, one thing surprised me.

Qatar Airways.

This is not a promotion, but a genuine experience.

When you’re on the verge of giving up on a trip that means so much, you remember the people who help you.

Every time I called, the executives patiently answered my questions, explained my options, and helped me navigate a situation that felt completely out of my control.

And then, things started falling into place.

The flights were rescheduled.

The transit arrangements were made.

The transit visa was sorted.

And slowly, what felt impossible started feeling possible again.

Looking back, I genuinely don’t think this trip would have happened the way it did without their support.

And as a bonus, we got to add another country to our itinerary.

Qatar.

A country that wasn’t part of the original plan, but ended up being one of the most pleasant surprises of the trip.

Beautiful people.

Beautiful hospitality.

And a wonderful first impression.

Then, in the first week of May, we finally boarded our flight.

A few hours later, somewhere between looking out of the plane window and checking the flight map, it finally hit me.

We were actually going.

After years of waiting, dreaming, postponing, planning, and almost giving up—

we were finally on our way to Europe.

TO BE CONTINUED…