Tag Archives: opinion piece

Amsterdam:

Once was a great place to visit. Now, it’s pure garbage… literally. Ripped trash bags everywhere. Trash strewn about. Piles of trash on what seemed every corner. Trash floating in the canals. Trash, trash, trash. Has no one in this once great city heard of trash bins? Does no one in this city any longer give a damn about their image, or the impression given to their visitors?

And Schipol Airport? Don’t even get me started on that fiasco. Arrived over five hours early because of the security horror stories, and still almost missed our scheduled departure time by the time we got checked in (Hey, Aer Lingus, if you know there’s a problem then don’t start check-in only 144 minutes before departure) and made it through the world’s worst security (As bad as Barbados airport security is, they ain’t got nothin’ over these incompetent clowns). The security line snaked through, and even outside, the terminal for well over a mile, probably closer to two, with thousands, probably near 10,000 if not more, waiting to clear while unmanned security stations sat idle. Well over two full hours before we made it that far, only to find D gates were at least 16 minutes away, and our flight was about 20 minutes from scheduled departure. Time to start a brisk pace, weaving through the throngs of tired, weary, shellshocked, frustrated and angry travelers.

We needn’t have worried about “scheduled” departure, however. Only about three dozen of the 158 passengers for our flight had made it by that time, so Aer Lingus made the decision to delay the flight for more to get through security and complete the long trek. That delay stretched to about an hour and a half (thanks again for the ”timely” check-in opening, Aer Lingus). That in turn led Aer Lingus to delay overseas connections out of Dublin.

Total time on our feet waiting in lines at the primary airport serving this trash-strewn city: Over FIVE hours.

Suggestion: Skip Amsterdam. Stay in nearby charming, CLEAN Utrecht instead. But ONLY if you can escape the Netherlands from an airport other than that hellhole known as Schipol.