Well, the big day has finally come.
After a more or less sleepless night it was time to get up at 5:10 am.
After saying goodbye to Janina and closing the suitcase it was time to go to the airport.
The car was waiting and and the trip to the airport went smoothly. We got there far quicker than expected.
Checking in was also fine, even though I had 28.9kg which was politely pointed out to me by the guy at the desk. No extra charge though...
Okay, so far for the the good part of the trip.
After sitting down and starting the first of many Sudoku attempts that day, I looked back up to the departures screen after maybe 10 or 15 minutes. There were some words which I did not want to read:
0745 KL1554 Amsterdam INDEFINITE DELAY
Rrrrrrright, ah, I do have a connecting flight to catch, so what now? After checking with the KLM folks, the news is that there is some trouble with the incoming flight and it could well be a while. The one thing we could do is change me to the flight at 8:45 which should be on time, however I still might not make my connecting flight. Grrrrrreat.
To cut a long story short, this is what we ended up doing and I made it to Amsterdam at about 1115.
For those of you who have been through Schiphol know that it is quite a massive airport. So, with me arriving in B and needing to go to E, there is now 2 things I don't like to read:
1) 1200 KL0735 Curacao BOARDING
2) Terminal E Journey Time 20 to 25 minutes
So, I'm off running and I do make the plane (flight is uneventful, but I think I do like KLM), but, as it turns out about 10,5 hours later, my luggage doesn't.
KLM knows this already, so the good news is that it is not lost and gone somewhere else in the world, but that it sits in Amsterdam waiting for the next flight to Curacao.
This takes me another 45 minutes to sort out and dealing with the lady at the desk gives me the first taste of what it's gonna be like working with these very nice, but possibly a tad slow, folks here.
Anyway, KLM gives you $50 for not having your luggage, so it's not too bad. And, to make me appreciate this even more, I don't have 3 little overheated kids and a slightly exasperated wife with me like the guy next in line who now have no swimming gear or anything else for that matter. Life might not be great, but it could certainly be worse.
But whatever, I'm finally here, somebody is there to pick me up, and 30 seconds after stepping out of the airport building I'm sweating. Boy, it is warm.
20 minutes later we are in the hotel and it does really look like it is shown on the website.
I get my room, meet my new boss and have a quick walk around. To beat the jetlag, I'm trying to stay awake for as long as possible which, thanks to American TV, is not all that hard.
Yes, there is ESPN (with lots of NFL previews and some feigned interest in the Tour de France), FOX (Simpsons, 24(!)), HBO and many other channels with stuff like Home Improvement, Seinfeld, King of Queens and other rubbish to keep me happy.
So, I guess this is enough for one day. I have to go back to my room and watch some more TV if you don't mind. I haven't quite figured out how to attach pictures properly, but I hope to do so for the next episode.
More soon! Sweaty Greetings from Curacao
Wolfi
