So long, Amsterdam

We were only just getting acquainted with customs and life in the Netherlands, but all things must come to an end eventually. It was a solemn morning as we ate our last Dutch pancake and reminded each other that we'd seen and done so much great stuff, as if it were consolation for having to end our tour. As ever, I didn't manage to do half of what I'd planned. Nonetheless, I saw quite a lot of the country and culture, and had an adventure with my mates. I paid the bill for breakfast and strapped my pack on for the final journey home.

John and I flew out on the same flight from Schiphol to Heathrow, Dan was traveling back down to Rotterdam to visit with his pal, Remi, who we'd missed on the previous journey. The Dutch have a very easy to follow system at the airport: check in, go through passport control, then security at each gate. This makes it possible to get through in a matter of a few minutes as you only wait behind a hundred or so people instead of thousands. We were impressed and delighted by the ease of getting to our flight on time.

Heathrow airport, on the other hand, is about the worst experience I have ever had! They provide you with a map indicating the approximate amount of time it will take you to get from one terminal to the next - I noted that for me to get from terminal 4 to terminal 4 was about an hour. That wasn't a typo. Half of the folks on our plane from Schiphol were alarmed to find out that their 2 hour layover at Heathrow was probably NOT going to be enough time for them to make their connections. Not only that, but at security, they force you to separate every little thing to put through the scanner. What I normally put into one tray, I had to put into four trays just to get through the security checkpoint. Of course, this pushed tension in the screening area to a maximum as people freaked about their connections.

Once I finally made it through security to the terminal, I had to find my gate. This was difficult because, at Heathrow, they assign gates to flights no more than 20 minutes before departure. That means that if you are at one end of the terminal and your flight leaves at the other end, you might have just enough time to get there. To make matters worse, you have to wait and watch the kiosk, but there are only a couple of places to do this and they are at the opposite end of the terminal. Otherwise you have to wander the terminal, which is really a mall. I don't think I can adequately express my feelings about this system without the use of extreme profanity. Don't go through Heathrow if you don't have to. British Airways, on the other hand, are one of the best airlines I have flown with... probably THE best. I arrived in Seattle, happy to be home and looking forward to seeing my sweetheart. One of the best parts about going away on vacation is coming home and seeing your everyday reality through refreshed eyes.