ndmckinney|net

I arrived in Rotterdam this morning, and I couldn’t be happier to have arrived. As I noted earlier, the massive storm that worked its way across Europe yesterday really played havoc with my travel plans. What follows is a summary of my travel adventure.

Leg 1: Washington, DC to London (Heathrow)
My trip begins at Washington’s Dulles International Airport. I arrived far ahead of schedule, and, when I check in, find that the flight is very empty. The woman behind the British Airways counter is very nice and gives me an entire row to myself in the back of the airplane. After a light lunch, I move quickly through security and on to the gate. I board the aircraft (747-400) and take off for London at 1900h Washington time, deliberately fifteen minutes late.

The flight itself was great. The captain, Nigel Wellington, gave the passengers what seemed to be a ten minute briefing about the flight, the weather, the estimated time, and the landing procedures. The meal consisted of a baked chicken and rice dish with a few sides; it probably wasn’t as nice as the first-class meal, but I was happy with what I received. With the only small children on board seated in business class, I am able to get a few hours sleep listening to the Beatles White Album.

We arrive at Heathrow in record time, just five hours and fifty minutes in the air. Fortunately for us, the 0600h landing curfew at Heathrow has been lifted, so our plane, along with a number of other trans-atlantic flights, are able to land instead of holding and waiting for the runways to open. We touch down at 0550h London time.

Leg 2: London Heathrow to London Gatwick
Leg two of my epic journey was not in the agenda. Originally, I was scheduled to fly from Dulles to Heathrow to Schipol (Amsterdam). The entire journey was to take about ten hours. It was from this point on that the flight conditions, not to mention my morale, deteriorated.

What I thought my next leg would be began normally. After I landed at Heathrow, I disembarked from the airplane (via the stairs, getting the complete Air Force One experience) and proceeded through the Flight Connection Centre (translation: security checkpoint). After I work my way through security, I find myself looking for my flight.

Because of the exceedingly strong winds, Heathrow is a nightmare for planes to get in and out. Periodically throughout the day, the airport restricts landings or closes entirely. I watch as many aircraft struggle on their landing, including a 777 that nearly has an engine strike on landing and a 747 that had to abort its landing twice. My next flight is delayed by an hour and a half, so I spend the time watching the BBC equivalent of the Today show, BBC Breakfast. The main news story is, of course, the weather.

Finally, my plane begins boarding. I have an aisle seat, not my preference, but for what was suppose to be a short flight, I don’t mind. I sit back with my free copy of the Financial Times and get ready to head to Amsterdam. Or so I thought.

Once all the passengers board the plane, the captain announces that, because of the weather, we won’t be able to depart for another 90 minutes or so. To help expedite the process, the captain announces that he will taxi out onto the ramp (1) to free up the gate stand and (2) to be ready to take another take off slot, should one open up sooner. So we taxi out to the ramp. The time is now 0940h.

After sitting on the ramp for half an hour or so, the captain announces that our flight is now going to be delayed by another two hours. At this point, things do not look good for getting to Amsterdam on time. Time continues on, and the delays also continue. Finally, around 1330h, the captain announces that the flight has been cancelled. He wishes us luck on our attempt to get to Amsterdam, and we taxi back to the gate.

On the way back to the gate and through customs, I meet a nice American couple, John and Katherine. They are on their way to Amsterdam on vacation, ultimately bound for Paris. We begin talking and because of the circumstances quickly became friends, along with several other passengers.

Our little groups heads to the BA ticket counter to rebook our flight. The only flights remaining to Amsterdam leave from London’s Gatwick airport. My options at this point were (1) wait until tomorrow and try to get a flight or (2) take this flight and go from there. I decided to try and get to Amsterdam today.

Leg 3: London Gatwick to Schipol
After a long wait, I board the shuttle bus to Gatwick airport. It spends most of its time on the M25, so I didn’t get to see anything redeeming in the UK during my brief transit through the country. I get a few micronaps during the trip, but nothing substantial.

Gatwick and Heathrow are polar opposites. While there were thousands of people in Heathrow, there were were only a few hundred in Gatwick; similarly, there were only a handful of ticket attendants to help me check-in. I finally get my boarding pass, and, after failing to charm the attendant into upgrading my seat, I’m off through security. Getting the pat-down by the old British guy was definitely the highlight of my trip.

The flight to Amsterdam is miserable. Heavy turbulence is only part of the problem. Screaming children only compounds the problem. Even worse is the descent into the airport. The plane was tossed about quite violently on the descent, and I’m just glad that all the wheels touched down at roughly the same time. We had arrived.

Leg 4: Schipol to Amsterdam
After I arrive at Schipol and clear customs, I have a new challenge: get myself to a hotel. The storm I encountered in the UK is the same storm is also causing massive disruptions in the Netherlands. The trains are not running, so there’s no way to get to Rotterdam. Of course, even if I were able to get to Rotterdam, I wouldn’t be able to get into my apartment, so there was no point in trying. I needed to find a hotel, and soon.

John and Katherine have reservations at a hotel in Amsterdam, so I decide that I should follow them, since it will at least get me closer to my goal of sleeping. Through the chaos of the airport, we learn that the busses are still running, so we decide that we shall try and get into town this way. We’re not sure which bus to take, nor do we know where the busses will end up, but we decide that it was a better solution that a 3 hour wait for a taxi. We board a bus heading towards town. We meet a nice Dutch girl on the bus who tells us that, if the trams are still running, we can get off the bus after a few stops and take the tram exactly where we want to go. We decide to chance it. After all, if the trams aren’t running, another bus will eventually come by and pick us up again. Success! The trams were running, and we are able to get into the city. It really was quite lovely, but I wasn’t there to sight-see. I wanted to sleep. Now.

The hotel where John and Katherine were staying was completely booked; however, the staff were kind enough to find me accommodations at another hotel nearby. After a short cab ride, I had arrived. I checked into the hotel and went straight to bed.

Leg 5: Amsterdam to Rotterdam
Finally, a new day has arrived, and I’m ready to continue my journey to Rotterdam. After a descent night’s sleep, I experience my first real meal since leaving Washington, DC. Continental breakfasts are nice, but they’re going to take a bit of getting used to. After I eat, I check out and head to the Amsterdam Metro (subway). This isn’t so bad, except I haven’t the slightest idea what I’m doing. I find some kind Dutchman to help me, and I’m on my way to the train station.

Amsterdam Centraal is a huge train station. The architecture is amazing. I don’t have any pictures to post at the moment, but I’ll be back there again, so I’ll take some to share then. I board my train and I depart for Rotterdam.

The countryside of Holland is beautiful but surprisingly flat. I’m talking about Indiana flat, either. I guess living below sea level does something to the land, especially when the land used to be below the sea. I saw a number of sheep, goats, ducks, swans, and other animals one would associate with Holland. After an hour on the train, I arrived in Rotterdam.

I’d never been so happy to get anywhere in so long. Rotterdam’s Centraal station is nice, but it is obviously much newer than the station in Amsterdam. I walk outside and down to the Metro. Here, I buy my first strippenkaart (strip card) to use the metro. Like Washington, DC, the Metro fare is based on distance; however, unlike DC, you have to figure out what your fare is. This works well if you know the language. If you’re an illiterate American, you’re SOL. Thankfully, almost everyone here speaks English, so I ask a RET employee and I’m on my way.

I had already researched where I needed to take the subway, so I was at least a little bit ahead of the curve. I got off the train, walked to my apartment and, after a brief misunderstanding (thanks again for the help, Carl), I was able to get my key and into my apartment. Thus ends my epic journey.