11:00 am, Schiphol Airport

I am sitting at the Schiphol airport and waiting for my flight to Dublin. I arrived at Schiphol at 9:00 am. This is so exciting- 3 months of Ireland… woooohooooo!

When I first landed, I was reminded of May 2000 when Appa sent me to tour Holland after finishing my 10th standard exams. I was reminded of the time that I bought my favourite Kipling bag and those Lindt melt-in-the-mouth chocolates for Amma, Toi, and Thatha and Patti. Back then, I had Appa’s money to spend. Now, things are a little different!

One of the first things I did was visit the airport museum- The Rijksmuseum. I hear that it is one of its kind. They are currently celebrating 400 years of Rembrandt and had a few of his works on display. The center of attraction was a piece titled – ‘The oriental.’

For a long time, people thought that this piece was painted by a local Dutch artist. Later, when a few researchers set out to study the 700 works of Rembrandt, they found that this painting actually belonged to Rembrandt. The artist’s signature and the non-detailed depiction of the beard led people to believe that this painting was not a Rembrandt creation.

Another very interesting art piece on display was that of ceramic tiles. About 180 tiles were put together by an artist, whose name I am unable to recall. He has painted ships at sea in traditional Dutch delft blue. Very intricate, I am sure that he hadn’t missed even a single sheet on any of those ships! Toi would have loved it!

When I was leaving the museum, Neha (also an ambassador to Dublin) reminded me that I didn’t have my over coat with me anymore! I had left it in the overhead bins and had forgotten about it! Rushed to the service desk and found it there! Such a relief! I am just so much more careful now, I am sure there aren’t going to be any more such incidents for the 3 months to come.

I also visited the Holland casino. Didn’t go in, but peeked in anyway! After that I got hot chocolate (with whipped cream) and then we headed towards our terminal. That is where I am now. It is almost time to board now. I will write again soon.

1:45 pm, On board EI 0605

I didn’t mention this earlier, but I got charged for excess baggage at the Hyderabad international airport! Rs. 2140. Didn’t have much of a choice, so I paid anyway! I will have to be more careful while coming back. I am just going to have to throw things out!

When I was boarding the aircraft, one airline official was checking our boarding passes and passports. He asked for mine, read my name and address and asked me – ‘ongaluku tamizh triyuma?’ After a brief conversation, he let me get ahead of the line!

Lunch was on board today. We had cold cheese-and-coleslaw sandwiches. It was their only vegetarian option. The air hostess on this flight was very friendly and helpful, unlike the ones on KLM. This is Aer Lingus, Ireland’s official airlines. They also just announced that the weather in overcast and it has been drizzling a little. Cold weather and warm people, I am looking forward to it!

There are so many Europeans on board. I’ve read about the EU passport, but this is the first time I am seeing it in action. It is incredible how it is now so easy for people to travel between countries. Maybe one day, it will be easier to travel all over the world! One won’t have to wait in lines or submit 300 pages of documentation for a visa.