We've all had these crappy crappy travel days... early starts, trouble with public transport... and then airports... all the well-laid plans to get where you need to be in time and fresh for work all go out the window from the first step that you take out the door!
Anyway, today was the first touring day for this particular job... the previous couple of days were just rehearsals in Amsterdam, which meant that I could go home to sleep each night... which is actually a very welcome luxury! Anyway, it also did mean that I got home pretty late last night, and still needed to pack... to be prepared to step right out the door in the wee hours of this morning. So, that always means that the suitcase is ready to go... messenger bag just needs to be filled with a laptop... and the correct instruments and case are waiting next to the suitcase. Basically, I just need to stumble out of bed, into the shower and grab things and go....
... of course, that didn't quite go as smoothly as possible from the very start.. as I stupidly forgot to leave my passport with my wallet. So, I spent a few precious minutes delayed in hurridly finding out where I had safely stashed my documents from the last trip!
Anyway, always leave a bit of a time buffer for travelling... so, I got to the first station on time... and there was no problem with the local train. Which got me to the main station... in time for a series of cancelled trains going to the airport! Q#%WYTYHSRT Y%#%$@%^@.... I hopped on one that got me one major station closer... in case I needed to take a taxi for the last stretch... and then by a bit of luck, got straight onto another one that got me to the airport.... all in all, an extra half hour travel on top of a hour long train ride. Happy for that extra buffer.... but it was starting to rapidly decrease!
The only thing is that the trains were completely packed due to the lower frequency of trains... and that means cranky commuters and very little space. Great when you are slinging a case on your back... people keep slamming into it.... little do they know that it is a really hard case... and their human bits are much softer!
Of course, the pre-check-in was completely borked... so it meant that we needed to do the check in at the airport... and of course, all the self service machines were also completely down. So, it was back to the old-fashioned way.... talking to a person! Anyway, that was relatively smooth... but then we hit the security line. Now, normally Schiphol has a pretty decent security routine... but this time it was over an hour long! Well... I hate to queue jump... so I just waited it out... I would still have time to make the boarding... it would just be arriving right on time.
Thankfully the flight was uneventful.... and after a 2 hour coach trip... the orchestra is now in place in the right city in the right country... and on time! These tours are always hectic... and any little thing can cause chaos... thankfully, despite indvidual difficulties... we are all here and ready to put on a concert later this evening...
... but first... a quick afternoon nap... it would be hilarious if I fell asleep on stage and crashed off my seat... but it wouldn't be a great thing for the reputation!
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