Agylen

I’m in Amsterdam again this week, against all odds. I say this because the Alitalia workers canceled today’s strike at the last moment, otherwise I’m not sure my plane would have taken off at all. Borrowing a moniker from Ron from Xooglers, I might start to label these trips my commute from hell:

• Wake up at 4.15AM.
• Board a bus at 5.00.
• Check-in, security control, board plane.
• Take off at 6.55.
• Landing at around 8.40.
• Taxing on the runway for 20 minutes (yes, Schiphol is big).
• Board a train at around 9.20.
• Board the subway, three stops.
• Be at the customer’s at about 10.00.

Five hours from leaving to arrival is not that bad, actually.

The trip back is even worse, having to land at a different airport and with a margin of about 15 minutes to take the 9.10PM train home. Of course, if the plane is 20 minutes late like last week’s, I have to take the 10.25 train. Otherwise I can make it in just a but less than six hours. In order to maximize my chances of making it, I decided to travel with carry-on baggage only and cram everything that I need for five days inside there.

The real problem is that, given the semi-permanent state of conflict between Alitalia and its employees, no flight is really guaranteed. And I can’t find a KLM flight at decent times.

Luckily, this state of things is going to last until the end of February at most, so it’s not like Ron who commuted from hell for more than a year.

Moreover, the weather is nice and I was able to get some rest this last week-end, which makes the travel more acceptable. I plan to go skiing next week-end, however. I just hope I’m not going to die of exhaustion on the following Monday.