Travel to the Netherlands

I had intended to travel to the Netherlands on the 23rd. That is quite close to Christmas, but that was on purpose. I am uncomfortable leaving the cat alone for too long! But then the strike of the border force was announced. That started that very day.

There was mention of the army stepping in, but I wasn’t reassured. I was a bit scared I’d end up in a long queue and miss my flight. I decided the cat had to take one for the team and miss me for one night more! I moved my flight to the early evening before. I figured I would still be on time to have a glass of wine with my mum that night.

Things were not going entirely as planned. I had only recently had a cold, and I really didn’t think I had pushed things too far recently, but the day before travel I felt the next one come up. Oh dear! Colds and travel, a bad combination, and one that has spoiled my Dutch trips many times before, like 2018 and 2017.

The day of travel I tried to have some quality time with the cat first. That worked! We had a lovely time sitting in the chair by the fire together. But at some point I needed to go.

I drove to the airport without issues. It was very misty in places, but there was no dangerous driving, nor were there noteworthy queues. So far so good. I got through security without issues too. Then I decided to sit down, have a sandwich, fill my water bladder, and check my flight status. Oh dear. It looked an hour late.

I sat down again. No rush then! I ended up chatting to a lady who was also delayed; she was trying to get to Dubai. She offered me a shortbread biscuit! That was nice. 

I ate my sandwiches and my fruit, and did some reading. Periodically I checked my flight. The time crept back! It turned into an hour and a half delayed. I wasn’t happy with that. There went my glass of wine with my mum! And if I’m not 100% I need my sleep even more than normal. But I wouldn’t be in bed at a responsible time that night. At least there were messages coming through from the usual suspects to keep me entertained.

Finally we could board. The crew said the issue had been heavy mist at their previous destination, Guernsey; they had only just managed to land there. And it had been decided they needed a plane that was more modern, and thus better equipped for such risky manoeuvres. And the plane swapping had caused the delay.

Nightly Amersfoort 

From there on all went well. I arrived at my mum’s without any further incident! But by then it was just past midnight. Fortunately, my circadian rhythm thought it was only just after 11pm. But that’s still past my normal bedtime, and especially past my bedtime when I’m precariously hanging onto my health! I could only hope this would pan out ok…