Oh, that was very nearly not a good start...

I'm here! Hello, Amsterdam. Thank you for not raining yet.

So, Aged P drove me to the airport yesterday, and after we left I realized that I'd forgotten to do several important things, like empty the rest of the tea from the pot and toss the veggies and milk that won't keep from the fridge -- oh, yay, something to look forward to when I get home! However, I couldn't worry too much about it because I WAS ON MY WAY!

Having checked in online, I got through the dropping off the bag process very quickly, although my suitcase seemed to have gained a kilo on the way to the airport. The very nice lady behind the counter said "Well, we can't
always be accurate" and sent it through. She then said "You'll have to have your carry-on bag approved."

So off I went to get my duffle bag, which I had not filled and which was the same size as my regular carry-on, approved. I stuck it in the bin and it fit, although some of the stuff shifted around before I tried to get it out, and it got stuck. I yanked it out, got my sticker, and went off to be screened.

The security guard found much to interest him in my duffle bag and took everything out. I think the kalimba confused him, but it was probably the cables and so forth that occasioned the search. He then put everything back, but not quite as compactly as before. No matter, la la. I had my sticker. The whole process had taken less than 45 minutes. All was right with the world.

I went off to find my gate. Why is my gate always at the very far end of the airport? How does that work? Anyway, I sat down and waited and shortly before we were supposed to board, a very nice lady in a blue KLM suit came up to me and asked if the duffle bag was mine. I said yes, and she said: "Come with me."

They are taking maximum carry-on size very seriously at KLM. I've seen people get on flights to/from the US with bags that clearly wouldn't fit in the special bin, and mine had already passed the test, so I wasn't worried. Yet.

I got up to the front and stuffed my bag in. It wouldn't go, due to all the shifting around from the security guard. The very nice lady in the blue suit said: "You have to take what you need from that bag and leave the rest behind."

You know that feeling you get when your brain is about to quietly pop out through your eyes? Yeah, that's what I was feeling. There. Was. No. Way. There was also no arguing. It didn't matter that it fit into the bin at the front and that I already had a special sticker. I spent 20 frantic minutes rearranging and reassigning some stuff to my purse/laptop bag. Meanwhile, everyone was boarding. I let the lady know that I had rearranged everything and it should fit.

And it did. Oh. My. Sweet. Lord. That would have, to use a vulgar expression (beg pardon, Aged P), sucked. Royally.

I was not the only person who had to deal with this. I saw one guy go off to check his bag and another woman was pleading that one of her three bags was for her friend. I made it onto the plane and to my seat. There were more adventures getting the bag into the overhead bin because obviously some people never learned how to pack a car from my dad -- to the person upon whom I accidentally dumped someone else's souvenirs, so sorry! Eventually I was in my seat and ready to go. The plane took off and landed without incident. I ate some pretty good food (although they served "breakfast" -- yogurt, OJ, and a really nasty muffin -- 3 hours after dinner) and watched Up in the Air, which seemed appropriate, and part of Whip It -- I didn't see the whole thing because I really thought I should try to get some sleep. I didn't. Best laid plans.

There were more adventures in getting from the airport to the hotel, but I'll leave them for the next post. Here I am, ready to take on the city. I have two Dutch phrases ready to go: Dank U wel, and Spreekt U Engels? I'm sure they will come in very handy.

By the way, I have decided that I will suck it up and pay the extra weight charge on the flight from Athens to London. I'm not going through that again.