Oct 2 and 3, 2017, Days 1 and 2, Traveling to Europe
Woke up early and after breakfast finished cleaning up the house and final packing. The taxi came earlier than scheduled and we got on the road right on time at 7:30.
As we were driving up commuter crowded PCH/Sepulvada Blv'd I wondered what happened to airport travelers whose taxi's were involved in an accident and how they would be able to reschedule their flights. Then, as we were going through the intersection at PCH and Imperil in the right lane with a green light I saw a car turning onto PCH and thinking this is going to be close. Then we were hit in the right passenger side by that car. Jolting, but the end result was that no one was hurt, the rear of the taxi was badly damaged, but the cab could still drive. The drivers took about 30 minutes to deal with their issues. All this when we were just short of the airport entrance. However, unusually for me, I had left lots of time before our schedule 10:20 departure, so even with the heavy congestion on the departures roadway (we should have gone in on the departures level and walked up.) the confusion in check-in terminals (Delta's website said Terminal 2 for international, but since we were going to Salt Lake City first for the connection to Amsterdam we had to walk to terminal 3 for check-in.), we had enough time to check in and go to the airline club. A calm environment there and some eats and drinks. I was surprised at the number of people drinking at that early hour.
The first leg of the trip was fine and we arrived on time. No snow yet on the mountains in Utah. We had an almost 2 hour layover, so off to another airport lounge for more eats and drinks. That side trip somewhat detracted from the joy of landing at gate D 10 and departing from Gate D 6.
The flight to Amsterdam was very long. Lots of young, fresh faced Mormon missionaries on the flight. As usual, I was unable to sleep on the plane so I read several days of NY Times and watched two movies. We saw the sunrise over the sea and landed almost 30 minutes early. That however was dissipated by an inability to use a jet way, so we waited as buses ferried the passengers to the terminal. We waited a long time since we were seated in the very back of the plane.
Easy transition through immigration and I got the first stamp in my new, but abbreviated (only 2 years) passport that I had obtained for the aborted trip to Iran. We had to wait a bit for our luggage, but then walked right though customs without inspection in the entrance for "nothing to declare". That did not provide a warm feeling about security.
We met up with some of my wife's co-conference participants just outside Customs and began a debate about the best means to get to The Hague, Uber or the train. The latter is cheaper and we were not sure that an Uber car could accommodate all four of us and our luggage, so we opted for the train. It was very conveniently located just below the airport and the tickets were about $12. We just missed a train and had to wait almost 30 minutes, but the 30 minute ride was smooth, comfortable and offered a view of the very flat landscape. Lots of agriculture, small towns, canals and a few large windmills.
When we got to The Hague I got a bit confused leaving the train station, but once I got myself oriented it was a 10 minute walk to the hotel, Holiday Inn Express. We were able to check-in even though it was about 10:00 am. The desk clerk spoke excellent English and was very helpful.
I was tired and should have gone to sleep, but instead I went out into the rain to get oriented and do some shopping, convert money and buy transit tickets for all. The dollar has weakened a lot against the euro since our last trip. I was surprised at the very small amount of auto traffic and the large use of bicycles. There are dedicated bike lanes and as a pedestrian one must look out for the bikes.
I finally collapsed around 2:00 pm and took what I had hoped would be a short nap to try to get on local time. Instead I slept too long and was unable to get to sleep on normal European time. Instead I walked around a dark city taking in the sights. Woke up way too early and went down to the hotel lobby at about 4:30 am. Worked on my email and response to ski apprenticeship job offer. What to do?
Woke up early and after breakfast finished cleaning up the house and final packing. The taxi came earlier than scheduled and we got on the road right on time at 7:30.
As we were driving up commuter crowded PCH/Sepulvada Blv'd I wondered what happened to airport travelers whose taxi's were involved in an accident and how they would be able to reschedule their flights. Then, as we were going through the intersection at PCH and Imperil in the right lane with a green light I saw a car turning onto PCH and thinking this is going to be close. Then we were hit in the right passenger side by that car. Jolting, but the end result was that no one was hurt, the rear of the taxi was badly damaged, but the cab could still drive. The drivers took about 30 minutes to deal with their issues. All this when we were just short of the airport entrance. However, unusually for me, I had left lots of time before our schedule 10:20 departure, so even with the heavy congestion on the departures roadway (we should have gone in on the departures level and walked up.) the confusion in check-in terminals (Delta's website said Terminal 2 for international, but since we were going to Salt Lake City first for the connection to Amsterdam we had to walk to terminal 3 for check-in.), we had enough time to check in and go to the airline club. A calm environment there and some eats and drinks. I was surprised at the number of people drinking at that early hour.
The first leg of the trip was fine and we arrived on time. No snow yet on the mountains in Utah. We had an almost 2 hour layover, so off to another airport lounge for more eats and drinks. That side trip somewhat detracted from the joy of landing at gate D 10 and departing from Gate D 6.
The flight to Amsterdam was very long. Lots of young, fresh faced Mormon missionaries on the flight. As usual, I was unable to sleep on the plane so I read several days of NY Times and watched two movies. We saw the sunrise over the sea and landed almost 30 minutes early. That however was dissipated by an inability to use a jet way, so we waited as buses ferried the passengers to the terminal. We waited a long time since we were seated in the very back of the plane.
Easy transition through immigration and I got the first stamp in my new, but abbreviated (only 2 years) passport that I had obtained for the aborted trip to Iran. We had to wait a bit for our luggage, but then walked right though customs without inspection in the entrance for "nothing to declare". That did not provide a warm feeling about security.
We met up with some of my wife's co-conference participants just outside Customs and began a debate about the best means to get to The Hague, Uber or the train. The latter is cheaper and we were not sure that an Uber car could accommodate all four of us and our luggage, so we opted for the train. It was very conveniently located just below the airport and the tickets were about $12. We just missed a train and had to wait almost 30 minutes, but the 30 minute ride was smooth, comfortable and offered a view of the very flat landscape. Lots of agriculture, small towns, canals and a few large windmills.
When we got to The Hague I got a bit confused leaving the train station, but once I got myself oriented it was a 10 minute walk to the hotel, Holiday Inn Express. We were able to check-in even though it was about 10:00 am. The desk clerk spoke excellent English and was very helpful.
I was tired and should have gone to sleep, but instead I went out into the rain to get oriented and do some shopping, convert money and buy transit tickets for all. The dollar has weakened a lot against the euro since our last trip. I was surprised at the very small amount of auto traffic and the large use of bicycles. There are dedicated bike lanes and as a pedestrian one must look out for the bikes.
I finally collapsed around 2:00 pm and took what I had hoped would be a short nap to try to get on local time. Instead I slept too long and was unable to get to sleep on normal European time. Instead I walked around a dark city taking in the sights. Woke up way too early and went down to the hotel lobby at about 4:30 am. Worked on my email and response to ski apprenticeship job offer. What to do?
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