The story of my Journey to Netherlands

It started off this way – there is an important business meeting taking place where all the users of the product that we were developing would come, it would rather be a forum for all customers to meet and share their experiences, expectations and so on. This meeting is going to be held in a place called ‘Maastricht’ in Netherlands (also called Holland).

I had not taken up any official travels in the last few months, the simple reason being my little princess might miss me. However I felt I should go this time because it is only for 6 days. I started off with the travel planning – the first of it being getting the Visa ready. Netherlands is one of the Schengen states and therefore I considered that the processing of the Visa would be the same as for Germany. However I came to know that it is entirely different for Netherlands – there was a different yet big list of documents to be submitted. The processing of the visa requires an appointment date when the documents should be submitted and the passport would arrive 5-6 working days after that. This was something that I was unaware of, so I got a delayed appointment date, but finally managed to get things through. Thanks to our travel desk!
Next was the flight – by the time my Visa had arrived, all the flight rates had shot up aggressively. Also this was a different or rather unusual place to travel, which nobody had any experience so far. Maastricht lies in the southern part of Netherlands close to the border with Germany and Belgium. So there was an option to reach there from Frankfurt or Dusseldorf in Germany or from Brussels as well apart from Amsterdam.

The travel from Frankfurt to Maastricht involved 4 transfers (Frankfurt – Koln – Aachen – Heerlen – Maastricht ). Also if it was a Schengen Visa from Germany and I need to go to Netherlands, I had to halt a day in Germany before leaving to any other Schengen states.
Therefore I preferred the option to travel to Amsterdam and then to Maastricht. There was another reason for doing this way. On the way from Amsterdam to Maastricht is a place called ‘Utrecht’ – the junction for many trains in Holland – where I had a friend staying with his wife. On talking to him I came to know about this and that I could spend some time there roaming around Amsterdam as Utrecht is only 30 mins from Amsterdam airport by train. Else there was no option to go around places as I was travelling alone this time.

Thus my travel was planned and I was ready to leave. It was a flight to New Delhi and then a transfer to Amsterdam (KLM Airlines) Schiphol Airport.

On Saturday I got down at Schiphol Airport around 6 am in the morning. Once I came out of the airport there were shops where I could buy sim card. Again I had known from a friend that calling India would be cheaper with ‘Lyca’ mobile sim cards.

The train station is within the airport complex itself and the tickets can be got easily before taking the train. More details on the train travel in Netherlands can be found here.
I took the train to Utrecht as I was supposed to go with my friend to Keukonhof Tulip Gardens that day. It is the major attraction in Holland and it open during March to May every year. The tulips start blossoming during that time. To reach there take the bus 58 from the Schiphol bus stand. However since it was flower parade that day, we had to wait in the queue for long to take the bus.

Finally we took the bus 58 to Keukonhof – me, my friend, his wife, and another friend of theirs – 4 of us started off to the tulip gardens. It was nice to go for a trip in a group! However the roads leading to Keukonhof were blocked because of the important event supposed to happen that day. Therefore we were too hungry by the time we reached – and hence filled with a packet of ‘Lays’ that I had taken from India. All the way to Keukonhof was full of tulip ‘fields’. In the evening it was flower parade.

That day she made ‘Jeera rice’ with Sabji. The next day it was phulka, veg pulao and cabbage sabji – for someone in Netherlands, who is landing there with so much of anxiety (or fear), these are special welcomes I would say – and something sooo touching and soothing. It fills the heart much more than the tummy. I know I seem a little nostalgic here, but it is a fact that everyone travelling abroad, alone, should accept.

I should tell a special thanks to the friends (bhaiya and bhabhi) of Netherlands without whom my trip would have been a complete ‘purely official’ trip. They offered us a lot of ‘Athithi Satkar’ and that too in a country which is totally new to me. They turned my trip to something totally unexpected or undreamt of!

Men may come, men may go, but this trip will remain in my mind always and my new friends there would stay in my heart forever!

Did you ever remember them?

Ever since I wrote my last blog on "To my beloved Women at work", I have never written anything else. Therefore I have made up my mind to write further. If not it means that I myself have not followed what I wrote!

Ever since I had a child life has changed in its own way - my brain was being utilized more at home than at my office (inspite of the fact that I work in an IT company and spend most of the time in a day at office). Over the years I have learnt 2 big things - to take life as it comes, to be mentally and physically prepared to encounter all challenges. Because life after a marriage has not only the joy of getting married, but much more - a new family and responsibilities for ONE. And for a working woman it is even more - not to hear unpleasing comments from the boss as well from the family members - satisfying the people at both home and work - striving to become a super woman and finally the entity called ME and FRIENDS.

When people slowly get into the responsibilities of life, we try to prioritize various things in life: work, home, family, spouse, children, parents, in-laws and after this big list there is no space to accomodate the one 'Me'. Once there is space for 'me' then friends come into picture. Doesn't that word sound strange - we totally forget the friends that we made in school and college, those who helped us with the notes, who spent sleepless nights in the hostel when we were sick, those who sat with us the whole night when I had the interview next day, when we felt home-sick often staying at hostel. I feel we should spend atleast one day in a year to say a 'hi' gesture, atleast one small mail as a gesture of thanks or 'you were my friend once upon a time' or atleast that 'I'm there'! Come on - this is not the olden days where you say 'I lost his address', communications and information technology have gone a long way. You need not attend his wedding in a remote place about 1000 miles away from yours.

So after this blog first thing I do is send a mail to all my friends with a 'hi' note. Not only that I am going to revisit my college album and recollect the names with the faces :)

Next thing is to practically follow the steps to achieve physical and mental strength! For more watch out for my next blog (hopefully I write it soon).