Saturday, September 14, 2024

Today we fly back to the Netherlands, home. We slept well in Resort Belvedere.
We get up early, we have to pack, have breakfast, pack the last leftovers and then check out.
Packing goes quickly, we don't have much luggage and we haven't bought much in the past week either. We still have enough time to have an extensive breakfast, and then we pack the last things. And then we check out before ten o'clock, we can leave the luggage at the reception until we leave for the airport.

We have until six o'clock, then we will be picked up and taken to the airport.
First we go looking for cigarettes for Taeng, they are hard to come by, and maybe we can buy some for her at the airport.
We also want to look at the center of Vrsar again, and now we walk up, no more train like the last time. It is a lot of climbing and steep, but we get to the top without any problems. It turns out there is some kind of party there tonight, and everything is being set up for it, too bad we can't experience that party. We also walk to a viewpoint, the Casanova Viewpoint, where we have a beautiful view of the coast and the sea.
We also walk down and then we go back to the hotel. Maybe we can go for a massage again, but there are different people working there now than at the first time, Pia doesn't like it so we don't do it.
We walk along the harbor again and go for a bite to eat at La Rose 1, it tastes very good and the girls who work there appear to be from Nepal.
We spend the rest of the afternoon sitting on one of the terraces of the hotel where we eat a pizza before going to the airport.

The transport to the airport is on time and despite the fact that the driver does not like to drive fast, we arrive at the airport on time.
Checking in and dropping off luggage is quick, the security check is also quick but a bit messy.
In the departure hall we ask again about cigarettes for Taeng, but cigarettes may only be sold for flights to destinations outside Europe.

On the information screens we see that our flight with Transavia is delayed by half an hour.
Then we, and not only us, get the idea that something is going on at the airport of Pula. Nothing has changed on the information screens for a while, and no one is allowed to go to any gate, and no information is given at all.
There are rumours that the plane has landed at another airport, these rumours mainly come from staff who work at the airport.
We have already told the pick-ups that they do not have to pick us up because we do not know if, where and when we will land.
At half past eleven, we should have already landed at Rotterdam The Hague Airport, it becomes clear that the plane has indeed landed somewhere else because there is a power failure at Pula Airport. We will probably take buses to another airport and from there we will fly to Schiphol, Rotterdam Airport is closed at night. Passengers on another flight from Pula to Scandinavia have a cancelled flight for the second consecutive night.
At twelve o'clock all passengers for the Netherlands walk to 5 large buses, we take the checked luggage with us. On the way people have to go to the toilet and the driver is almost forced to stop at a gas station. More than an hour later we are at the airport of Rijeka, where we quickly check in again, go through security and board.

We land at Schiphol at a quarter past three, disembarking and collecting luggage would take place with the highest priority, but it doesn't make much progress. Apparently there are buses ready to take the passengers to Rotterdam Airport, and our pick-ups are in bed in Apeldoorn. We decide to go home from Schiphol, there are taxis at Schiphol, and probably not at Rotterdam Airport because that airport is closed at night. Moreover, it saves time, we miss the bus ride to Rotterdam. We have a taxi with a calm, friendly driver.
At half past five we are at home in the kitchen, tired, very tired. And we are really pissed off.

Written on: 2024-09-16

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