Having never been on an international flight, I could only hope that it was more comfortable than the many flights I had on Southwest to Houston. Not really much improvement. The seats were the same: uncomfortable, hard and small. The food and the entertainment were much better.
During our roughly 20 hours of travel I watched 5 movies on the little 8” screen on the back of the seat in front of me, listened to some music and slept fitfully. Finn Sisu was sick several days before departure so his trip was particularly stressful. The first 8 hours were filled with strong turbulence. By the time we got to Schipol in Amsterdam we were both so ready to touch solid ground.
The hustle off the plane is a familiar experience, we’ve all done at least a few times. But when we reached the concourse we realized just how lost we were. Schipol is one of the largest airports in the world. It can easily take 30-40 minutes to walk from one end to the other-and that is if you know where you are going. We weren’t sure which way the main terminal was or how far away. We had “reservations” at a Yotel (more below) but saw no signs for it. What if it was at the other end?!
About 40 minutes later after asking several staff and retracing half our steps we found the Yotel. Our layover was for 5 ½ hours, I wanted to make the most of the time. Yotel (click here) is a retail space inside the terminal, inside the security zones, that provides “cabins” of about 10 square meters. The cabin is nothing more than a private space with TV, a bed and a full bath. For 3 full hours I slept – stretched out and on a flat surface. What a real treat. Finn Sisu got a little rest, but I’m not sure sleep is what he would call it.
Luckily our departure gate was 20 yards away. We set off on the second leg. It was a considerably smoother flight, but we had a lady pilot so what do you expect? J As I said before the food was good. It wasn’t excellent, but it was a far cry from paying for stale peanuts. The wine and juice were free. The meals were hot and actually pretty tasty with tender chicken in a mustard sauce, rice and couscous. The flight attendants handed out hot moist towels to wipe your face, to freshen up.
I was glad that the lighting was set to nighttime levels during both flights. Most passengers found empty seats and spread out to relax, making for a quiet flight. We did not have one screaming child, thank goodness.
I wish I were a poet and could say something elegant about the experience of rushing headlong into time (traveling east to meet the sun), but that is about as poetic as I can muster. It was a unique experience to see the sunrise twice in one day.
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