Early college, pre-phones (only calling cards), Flight into Europe, told my cousin what time it was landing, to meet me at the airport station at such and such

Early college, pre-phones (only calling cards), Flight into Europe, told my cousin what time it was landing, to meet me at the airport station at such and such a time. I landed, walked to the train platform, waited on the bench, read a travel book while I waited. He showed up and we were on our way around Europe by train for two weeks. Looking back how did we pull that off pre-cellphones. Had my flight been delayed on the runway for hours or we just missed each other on wrong train platforms I had no way to get in touch, he wasn’t staying in the last hotel any longer…