Tulipgirl leaves London

A friend of mine runs the following quote on his blog:

You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford. (Samuel Johnson)

I am by no means tired of life but I was beginning to get a bit tired of London. Maybe there is in London all that life can afford but the quote neglects to point out that you also need some serious money to afford it all. The cost of living here is just too high to do it for long.

I had been considering my options for leaving London for a while now, but suddenly things have picked up lightning speed. A few weeks back my boss made a startling announcement. He has accepted a major job at a very interesting organisation. That is of course great news for him. But it is also good news for me... it looks like I will be following him to the land of chocolate and mountains in a few months time, doing just the sort of work I have been working towards all these months! There are still a million blanks to fill in about the what, where, when and how much but it is a very exciting opportunity for me that I take with both hands.

For those of you back in the Netherlands who miss me a bit there is more good news. My boss' departure from London means that, from September onwards, there will be no real need for me to stay here either until the new job takes shape. With an internet connection and cheap flights I can be based basically anywhere and that includes Amsterdam. Yes people, I will be coming home soon! It may not be for very long since already I know I will be moving abroad again but pretty soon I will be setting up camp in my own apartment. See you there?

Heathrow hell

Aah, no better way to start the holidays then with a nice weekend break! I have just come back from a few wonderfully relaxing days in Switzerland (the one in Europe, not the Central Asian cousin just yet). It was beautiful. Fresh snow upon my arrival meant that we even got to spend a day enjoying the slopes, whereas yesterday I spent the whole day strolling around Zürich basking in the sun. That's the life! It was a great way of recharging the batteries before facing those long weeks of study ahead of me.

They say you have to take the bad with the good. The bad in this case then would definitely be Heathrow Terminal 2. I don't normally fly out of Heathrow, mainly because it doesn't get those bright orange planes. London Gatwick is my airport of choice. It is closest by and has plenty of affordable flights. Unfortunately the orange people have had some difficulty breaking into the Swiss market so a Swiss airlines flight out of Heathrow it had to be. I was stunned! Heathrow T2 was built in the '50s and by the looks of it, it hasn't so much as seen a paint brush since. There is also something really disturbing about the check-in hall. The ceiling is so low you get the impression they actually forgot to include this floor in the original design. Then when somebody finally noticed the omission they split one of the levels in half. Truely claustrophobic. Everything about that place feels so hopelessly outdated, improvised and just generally inefficient.

Going through security is your basic comtemporary airport nightmare. At Heathrow, security checks are done before entering the departure lounge so everybody has to join the same endlessly meandering queue. Clearing security itself has these days become a rather embarrassing experience, especially if you travel with carry-on luggage only. The transparent zip-lock bag for your liquids allows your fellow travellers to scrutinise exactly what brand of toothpaste you use and how many tubes of facial cream and war paint it takes to keep you looking presentable. As if you weren't feeling exposed enough not only do you have to remove the usual coats and jackets but they also make you take off your shoes. If only I had remembered to buy some new socks.... Then while your luggage is scanned for explosives and pointy objects, some big burly security woman gets to feel you up. By the time you reach the departure lounge you feel strangely violated.

Thankfully after all that humiliation I could put myself in the hands of the Swiss who reassure you in no less than 4 languages that all will be well and you should just sit back and eat your chocolate. The plane arrived right on time with proverbial Swiss precision. The airport looked smooth and spotless. Within minutes I was outside. Time to let the "Zwitserlevengevoel" begin!