First, we planned on catching the 9:44 train from Brussels to Schipol Airport (Amsterdam). I was a little slow getting going, so we raised across the street from our hotel at 9:10 to have the quickest of breakfasts (and it was really good too--those Belgiums know how to make good coffee!). Then we raced back to the hotel to check out, and then get to the railway station, which thankfully was just a block away. We got there at 9:38...a few minutes to spare.
Now, the trains in Europe are pretty darned reliable, and when the schedule says 9:44, that is what it means. When it was 9:54 we were pretty sure that there was a problem. And there was--the train had broken down on the track, which meant that the other trains behind it were stalled too. The announcement eventually said that the train would be fifteen minutes late, which it didn't mean because it had already been twenty....and so, together with a contingent from Dubai, we waited and waited. Thankfully, the Dubai group had a lovely guide who kindly helped us make sense of the announcements--she could understand all three languages and she had some experience with the trains. She told us that she was pretty sure we would make our plane, because usually, when there was a delay, they got things going again reasonably quickly.
One announcement said that we could get on a different train, go to a different city and transfer to an appropriate train from there. She didn't recommend we do that, because we could easily be stranded in that city. She encouraged us to wait, and in the end, we are glad that we did. Her group however was not patient, afraid to miss a luncheon in den Haag. We were sorry to see them go! In the meantime, there was a young couple named David and Victoria who were planning a romantic day in Amsterdam. They were frustrated too, but eventually, the train came at 11:14.
It was a great train....we sat in the front of the car, going forwards for a change, and had ample space to stretch out with our luggage. What a relief, it looked like we would make it after all...the two hour trip would put us at the airport in time. So we sat back, enjoyed stroopwaffles from the concession cart and enjoyed the ride.
Until Rotterdam which was about half way there. Apparently, even though they said this train went to Schipol, they meant that it would connect to a train to Schipol. So, off we got, and waited with David and Victoria for a half hour for the new train (though it was challenging finding the right track in the first place). We were no longer sure that we would meet our plane...we were still an hour away!
When we finally got to Schipol, we literally ran for the ticket counter, only to find out that we had seats 12 rows apart. We were already twenty minutes late for boarding, so we ran through the airport. The boarding time however was actually the time to start going through security so after all of that, we were good to go. Whew, that was a relief!
Well, as plane rides go, this was really long. I had the seat-by-the-screaming child, and as much as I love kids, I have to admit that I sure wasn't liking this one. He kicked, he shrieked, he screamed, his parents got up and down and up and down, and since I had the aisle seat, so did I. He stuck his hand in my spaghetti, and then grabbed my shirt...in short, he was such a delight.
I was so glad when we landed--and very thankful that this was a B747-400 instead of the scheduled MD-11 because the trip was actually an hour shorter than advertised. YEA!
Customs was no big deal, and then we waited for the bus to come. We were in Montreal, and this was the charter bus to Ottawa that was part of the ticket. It was slow in coming and even slower than leaving (and this was possibly the most tiring part of the whole entire trip). Of course we had to wait for the last person to clear customs before we could leave....which sort of made it frustrating because we had packed so well and were off the plane and out of the airport in just a few minutes. Oh well.
The bus ride was a little hairy and I was praying the whole time. The fog was thicker than snot, and our driver did a great job of getting us home safely and in a reasonable time. If the bus hadn't been part of the ticket, we would have stayed an extra day in Montreal. There is no way we would have attempted to drive in that. And we didn't really want to stay so we just sat quietly and watched him.
Getting to the train station was the best part--we traveled with only carry-on luggage the whole entire way, and it paid off big time when the bus arrived at the station. Within a minute we were in a cab, and on our way to the girls.
Boy my feather pillows felt good! And Charlie's purring...not much beats that!
1 comment:
welcome home :)
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