What a Year!

Let me begin by stating that I look forward to writing for the Coastal Breeze News again, which I hope to continue every two weeks with my Travel News.

Spring this year began with a burst of travel around the world that was unprecedented. It seemed that people had been cooped up too long during Covid and finally decided that no matter what, they were going to travel. According to Forbes, Europe has seen a 55% increase in American visitors this summer despite much higher airfares. U.S. passport applications were up to 500,000 since last July and lengthy waits, to over six weeks for passport renewal, was the norm. Most recently, the process eased up a bit. Even mileage tickets in business class have increased from around 200,000 miles to over 600,000 miles on many overseas routes. However, travelers are continuing to pay the price and the travel industry was not ready for the crowds. Airlines did not have enough staff and consequently, flights were delayed and canceled. Airports like Amsterdam Schiphol used to be one of the most pleasant and organized airports in Europe located on what is reclaimed land from a former sea dammed in with the ingenuity the Dutch engineers are renowned for. The name means a “hole for ships” that sank here. The entire airport is eleven feet below sea level!

But the lively open-air atmosphere, the wide variety of shops, restaurants and facilities that even included a casino, have been overshadowed by the airport staff shortages creating endless lines, missed flights and lack of service over the last two years. 

This despite a little-known fact that Amsterdam Airport has six runways compared to two runways at London’s Heathrow Airport and four each in Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt in Germany.

The Dutch government in its endeavor to reduce pollution, and noise and offer better service is scheduling major reductions to the slots they offer airlines to fly in and out of Amsterdam. Obviously, not a welcome move for the national airline, KLM, as they cover 58% of the traffic at Schiphol Airport. But reducing the number of visitors is a major trend in many European countries. Let me add that just recently I flew again to Amsterdam and I must say they have come a long way since the summer with more staff and the organization the Dutch are so known for.

The city of Amsterdam started a campaign this past summer trying to steer tourists away from the capital. Venice, Italy now charges a tax to day visitors and cruise ships are no longer allowed to dock at the former Venice cruise port. Athens is restricting the number of visitors to the Acropolis and museums in major cities in France and Italy have created entry restrictions so that the venues aren’t so overcrowded that no one can enjoy the amazing works they have come to view.

France has a new law that if a domestic destination can be reached within two and a half hours by train, commercial flights are no longer allowed, although I have not heard that it has been enforced. 

Many European beaches now have restrictions, some ridiculous like “No Umbrellas Allowed,” discouraging overcrowding. It is going to take some time to balance tourism with the needs of the locals.

Personally, I began Spring with a cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines which we had booked solely for its Black Sea itinerary. In the end, it didn’t visit even one of the original ports. See one of my next travel columns. Santorini in Greece has been one of my absolute favorite destinations for many years, but even early this year it experienced a wave of increase in visitors. When I briefly considered returning during the high season next year to my favorite hotel, Agali Houses, the manager suggested I do myself a favor by staying away during the busiest season. This spectacular island of white-washed villages, highlighted by blue-domed Greek Orthodox churches clinging to the island caldera can be better experienced outside of high season. But there are still places at certain times of the year where one hardly encounters tourists. See one of my next stories about a visit to St. Croix last summer. No passport needed as it is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Once again Atlanta Airport ranked as the busiest in the world with an impressive last count of 93.7 million passengers for the year 2022. As an airport to transfer from one flight to the next, it undoubtedly is still the easiest airport in the world, but please don’t try to start your journey from Atlanta. Everywhere lines are horrendous unless you fly with Delta and sign up for their new biometric recognition system. I must admit I felt like a VIP “flying” through there, passing by the mile-long lines of frustrated passengers. 

Presently, only Detroit is offering a similar Delta service, but the airline is planning more availability probably by the beginning of 2024. In other digital news, Finland is the first country in the world to introduce digital passports one can keep on a mobile phone. 

One experience this Spring in Greece was most unusual and extremely discomforting. We flew with Sky Express, a Greek budget airline on one of their old ATR 42/72 propeller aircraft from Athens to Santorini. We were assigned the first two seats on the right. A flight attendant was sitting in a jump seat in the middle directly in front of us blocking the cockpit door. During the entire flight, he looked ill at ease, staring with piercing black eyes at my wife, fingering his prayer beads, and chanting barely audible phrases from a well-worn tiny book from behind a covid mask. After landing we contacted customer service, canceled our return flight, and asked for comments about this bizarre behavior. 

There was never any form of reply, but out of the blue about a month later the airline refunded our non-refundable tickets. There were no comments accompanying the payment as the airline probably did not want to acknowledge anything in writing.

In August we embarked on what could be called an epic adventure as we joined three other adults and six children, ages three to twelve, for a wilderness waterway canoeing and camping expedition. We were the only ones at a remote campground deep in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway near the Canadian border in Maine.

The six children were a delight but having to crawl out of a sleeping bag on the ground, unzip two layers of tent flaps, crawling out on hands and knees and stumble to the outhouse in the woods in the middle of a dark rainy night caused me to wonder what I was really doing there at my age.

In October we cruised on Viking Ocean for the first time. We had done river cruises with the company, but this was the first ocean experience on the brand-new Viking Saturn sailing from Chioggia, near Venice, along the Adriatic Coast and ending in Athens. The company did a tremendous job showcasing their supreme organization, but more about that in a future story. 

Since the Israeli conflict began, airlines have seen their first drop in passengers since Covid as many people decided to remain at home. My opinion is that if we stay home, we give in to planned terrorism and I refuse to do that. 

We might not go to the Middle East right now, but regretfully the chances of getting involved in a calamity are rather high even here at home. So why deny yourself the pleasure of a vacation or a visit to family and friends.

November found me in my home country now called The Netherlands instead of Holland. My flights were booked to Dusseldorf via Amsterdam as the fare was much less expensive. A crazy fact that occurs quite often. 

However, after multiple schedule changes out of Detroit and tires to be replaced there, our connecting flight from Amsterdam to Germany was canceled without a replacement. A non-refundable rental car and hotel on the Dutch/German border had to be replaced with a much more expensive car in The Netherlands and a long drive to our non-refundable hotel. Most travelers have stories to tell and memories to be shared. And writing about and photographing our world continues to be a wonderfully exciting vocation. 

I can assure you there are many more positive encounters and experiences than negative ones. Happy travels!