4 AM Morning, snowless European winter and a flat-flat country

Caution: Long. Very long. But not uninteresting :)

Since last 4 months, visits to the Netherlands have become quite frequent - due to official necessity that keeps arising at expected and unexpected times. These visits start with a extremely early morning flight to Amsterdam, then a 1 hour cab ride to Utrecht at the client office.
Then, back the same way.

Waking up at 4 AM in the morning. Catching the cab at 4:45 AM. And getting my boarding pass at the Stuttgart airport. Ah, doesn't leave me in such a fresh mood at all. But yours truly too bizy dozing off....
Wait! is that cheese sandwich and orange juice on the flight? I'm awake.
And hungry.

Its winter. Its a snowless winter.


6:15 AM

Flight begins on time. Stuttgart airport is never congested. No buses. Direct down the alley into the aircraft door. There you have (sometimes) nice looking Dutch air-hostesses wishing you that your morning is good.
Well, it is.

The usual civilities of aircraft safety - spoken in assortment of German, Dutch and Englees. I am done with skimming through the in-flight magazine in few minutes. This month's issue has a feature on Hyderabad!
Good.

I am now trying to sleep again. Read: make believeing my eyes that I am asleep.


7:50 AM - Arrival in Dutch-land!

Windmills. Tulips. Cheese. Bicycles. Football. Sex.
(the last one was just to draw some attention, in case the reader is already dozing)

I look out of the small window beside and I find a flat landscape with criss crossed lines that are actually canals. I try looking through the other window on the opposite side as well, and the blonde sitting there assumes I am staring at her. Oops.
I turn back my gaze. Of course its the same view from there too!

Digression 1: Prologue to the Netherlands
Haven't seen a flatter country! Its at the sea coast and its so flat (also below the sea-level) that the high tides enter the land areas and flood them outright. For this reason, one can see canals all over Holland, just to keep the tide water in flow. These canals - objects of neccessity, give Holland a distinctive identity, that is even oh-so visible from the sky! And then there are dikes that prevent the sea-tides at the shores outright. For these tall countrymen, the war with the sea is a never ending one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_Netherlands

Quick fact: Canals of Venice are murky, dirty and close ended to the buildings. In Holland, they are more like rivers. Clean. Asthetic. Occassionally inhabitanted by gorgeous swans and bunches of noisy ducks!
Nice.

Digression 2: Prologue to Amsterdam (well, once I DO see the city properly, I might have more to add)
Its bad enough to miss seeing this city during summer. To top it, havent been able to experience the city in this winter as well! Yes it's beautiful in the summer months. Tulips that bloom, canals that meander through the heart of the city - cafes and bistros that are lined up on the sides, some good architectural visuals, and of course, the famous red light district.
(I happen to look up a map of Amsterdam while waiting at the airport, and voila, there I see an area marked specially as 'Red Light District' - a rarity for sure)
Well, the city is famous for that area ridden with so many caberets, massage parlors, sex shops, strip bars and of course the women (and men!) engaged in the 'trade' - full time. Holland isn't called the sex capital of Europe just like that!

Did someone mention sex? :P


8:15 AM
Sitting in the cab on the way to Utrecht.

Way out of airport driveway leads to the cross-road between Utrecht and Rotterdam.
Spotted a huge signboard of TCS visible from the airport driveway. Europe is getting faster on offshoring. Whats MY employer doing?
The soothing back-seat upholstry in the Mercedes Benz is a treat to the.... ahem... hinds. :)
Our cab guy is the extremely amiable Soerish. (loosely corrupted from 'Suresh' if you are curious) From an Indian family originating from Surinam, had been in Netherlands as far as he can remember. Indian roots are very much intact though - and bollywood music is one branch to cling to, passionately.
Surprise! Amsterdam and Utrecht have their own Hindi Radio channel! Its called 'Ujala Radio' and if you excuse the weird accent and half Dutch that accompanies the nattily written script of the RJ, it does manage to entertain. I mean, sitting there in the comfy back seat of the E-class, I am treated to numbers like 'Suhaani Raat dhal chuki...' (classic!), 'Aye Dile Nadaan...' and 'Khalbali'! Funny how after listening to an array of bollywood songs, I am tempted to sing aloud James Brown - 'Whoa-oa-oa! I feel good...!
Dammit! There's a Himesh track thrown as well!

Maybe I'll try that 'I feel good' song next morning in the hotel room shower. :)


9:15 AM
Arrived at the client office. From then, the 'I feel good' counter is backwards!
Meetings. email. Coffee. Meetings. Lunch. Conference call. Meetings.
Wishing it to get over soon.

6:30 PM
Time to go!
Reach hotel room. Check in. Check out the room. Go for dinner.

11 PM
Hit the bed.
Its been an early morning actu.......zzzz


Friday. Next day
Checked out of hotel. Reached office again.
Done with the regular stuff of knocking heads with clients.

5:30 PM
Time to go.
Rush hour. Long drive. Hasty arrival. Schumacher-ish driver.

7 PM: Amsterdam Schipol Airport
Long queue at security check mocks at us. "Hah!" I say.

Digression 3: Crazy EU flying rules
The new EU rules tell me that I am not allowed to carry liquids, and if any, they should be in less than 100 ml packaging (why?) and carried in a transparent plastic bag. Ah, I already know that from Stuttgart, but its much strictly enforced here.
I see an attractive blonde being held up for not complying. She shows her bag to the attendent. The overwhelming contents of the bag emptied on to the table. Voila! Out comes a complete survival kit of sorts! At least 40 items!
Lesson learnt: If you wanna see how one can survive on a stranded island with a smal bag full of stuff (Castaway?) - check out such a woman's purse.

Frustated by the snail-pace of my queue. I see that the queue next to mine is smaller. I apply my quick logic - so I decide to shift to that one. It seemed that the people at the security check were not amused, because from that moment on, my queue started getting slower and slower.

~~~~
Murphy's law of serpentine queues:
Amongst a number of queues at the same place, the queue that you choose will be the slowest!
Corollary to the law:
If in the middle, if you decide to shift to a queue adjoining that is moving fast, from that moment, your new queue will become the slowest of all.
~~~~

8:10 PM
Quick dinner at the food-lounge over. Waiting for boarding. Gate C 22 to 28 seem worse than a State transport bus stop in India. Only cleaner.

8:35 PM
On board. Bring on the sandwich and the juice!

10:30 PM
Home sweet home. Sleepy again.

PS: Did someone say Amsterdam is the.... .... capital.. ?
PS2: That blog post promised in the previous post below will come soon, of course.