The Destination Really IS the Thing
OK, I’m just going to put this out there. I’m not going to mince words. I’m not going to sugar coat it. Get ready. Here it comes.
I HATE FLYING!
I bet you hate it too.
That’s a tough thing for a travel blogger to admit, but it’s true. Anyone who says, ‘“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” hasn’t flown anywhere in this century.
The airlines treat us miserably and they make us pay for the abuse. The sad part is we let them get away with it. If you are younger than a baby boomer, you have no idea how far the airline industry has fallen. Gen X’ers may have had a small taste of the good life, but the rest of you just have no idea. Even if you are flying in first or business class, the experience is sad compared to the “glory days”.
I am expecting a grandson later this year. He will be a member of “Generation Alpha”. (Who thinks up these labels, anyway?) I expect he will fly standing up with a pocket full of coins just to use the loo.
You think that’s far fetched?
Check out this story. This airline is already removing seats.
Sure, the reason is “staffing shortages”… today.
What will it be tomorrow?
It Wasn’t Always Like This
My sister-in-law Sue was an airline stewardess. She worked for Continental Airlines (“CAL”) from 1969 until 1985. After our recent round trip flight from Portugal to the US, I reached out and asked her to share her employment history and thoughts of how she thinks the airlines have changed. She wrote me a long email and described a very different time in air travel.
Being a stewardess was Sue’s “dream job”. It took her eight different interviews and seven rejections before she got her job with Continental.
Every day was an adventure – working for CAL and meeting famous people, traveling the world – even on my days off. The pass benefits (trip allowances for employees) were the best in those days.
So many changes in the flight attendants’ uniform from classy, sexy, short skirts, wearing girdles and stockings, white gloves and hats to what you see today. The whole industry has changed, but not for the better unfortunately.
I long for the good old days of air travel when passengers respected the flight attendants and understood the main reason we were on board was for their safety, not just to be flying waitresses.
In the old days we served meals and cocktails on short flights, working every minute from takeoff to touchdown. Then we’d either do it again, on a flight to another city, or we’d have a short layover for 2 or 3 days.
Flying was still the best job I ever had and I’m so thankful for a safe career in the air and on the ground.
I remember those days. When the Boeing 747 debuted in the 1970’s, my Mama took me to Los Angeles, just so I could fly on that plane. We boarded the plane in our finest clothes and were treated with the utmost care – even in coach. There were linen tablecloths and napkins, china and flatware. As I remember the meal was fantastic and Mama got as much wine as she could hold. She probably smoked an entire pack of cigarettes. As Sue said, the service began at takeoff and lasted for four hours until we landed in LAX.
But while the passenger’s experience was great, it wasn’t all hunky dory for the stewardesses. They had mandatory weigh in’s. They couldn’t get pregnant. And there were those things called girdles.
But having said all that, I have to tell you about a couple of positive things that happened on the last leg of our recent trip.
Movin’ On Up
We flew overnight from Chicago and landed at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport about 6:00am. We got off the plane and walked what seemed like a mile to join a long line of tired travelers waiting to clear customs.
While we were waiting in the “All Other Passports” line, an agent noticed that we were carrying our Portuguese temporary residency cards along with our US passports. She said we didn’t have to wait – we could go through the shorter line with the other EU residents. Score! To the front of the line!
The Amsterdam airport is nice and it was hopping at 6:30 in the morning. There are lots of stores with things I like. Tulips, tulip bulbs, chocolate, and cheeses. The restaurants were bustling. But our next flight was scheduled to board within the hour, so I didn’t get to browse as much as I would have liked.
We got on board and found our seats. I was seated next to a delightful Dutch couple. They were chatty and, of course, they spoke English.
This flight was on KLM – Royal Dutch Airlines. I have to tell you – the flight crew surprised me. They started hustling as soon as the fasten seat belt sign was turned off.
A side note: Have you ever noticed that the seat belt sign stays off during a transatlantic or European flight no matter how bad the turbulence gets? I always find that strangely reassuring. No matter how rough the air, the flight attendants are up doing their work.
On the earlier flight, one of the overhead bins opened and a baby stroller fell out and hit a lady in the head. She did have her seat belt securely fastened, though.
Now, where was I? Oh yes. The carts start rolling, but I really don’t have high expectations. They offer the usual breakfast drinks, coffee, tea, juice, water etc. I figured that would be the end of service since the flight was ONLY two and a half hours long. But about 20 minutes later, here they come again.
It’s Just a Cheese Sandwich… Isn’t It?!
The flight attendant handed me a plastic bag labeled “Hand Crafted Sandwich – Vegetarian Selection”. I wasn’t very hungry, since it was the fifth meal I had been served in the last 24 hours. Out of boredom I tore into it. It was a cheese sandwich.
My initial thought was “This is just sad. After all, it’s almost brunch time.” But I soldiered on and took a bite. It turns out this was a great cheese sandwich. The Dutch had pulled out all the stops.
Did they just use regular Gouda? No.
Did they choose to use squishy white bread? No. It was a dark brown, very dense and rich bread.
Did they brag about where everything was sourced? Yes. The bag had a two page story about the simple cheese sandwich. It turns out that this beauty of a sandwich was sourced from two different family farms. I was curious, so when we got home, I did some digging. Here’s what I learned.
The Rembrandt of Cheese
The cheese was from a Dutch company called Beemster (pronounced “Bamester”). igourmet describes the cheese this way:
Aged Gouda, one of the world’s most sought-after cheeses has been made in the Netherlands for over 800 years. Beemster makes theirs in North Holland, where the grazing land is pure and lush. Easy to distinguish, it is the dairy world’s equivalent of a Rembrandt or Van Gogh. This edible opus magnum has been matured for eighteen months, allowing its body to develop a muted caramel color, matched by an intense flavor with a sweet finish. The transformation that mild, somewhat ordinary Gouda undergoes during its aging process is simply amazing. Aged Gouda has many layers of nuanced flavor…
This Rembrandt of cheeses is made at the Beemster Polder, a UNESCO World Heritage site – the first tract of low land, common in the Netherlands, that was reclaimed from the sea. This lovely place is where the cows graze and the cheese is made.
You can get a feel for the place in this video:
Bonus Video!
I couldn’t resist including this video, too. If you’ve never seen cows play like puppies, click on this link: Beemster Cheese US – It’s Graskaas Season!
(Sorry, for some reason the video wouldn’t embed.)
The bread came from the Bakery Carl Siegert, which was started in 1891 in the town of Harmelen, about 25 km south of Amsterdam. Its history spans six generations of bakers.
Their website describes their process in this way:
We build on our family traditions and always innovate. Sustainability is a matter of course. The grain for our – mainly organic – bread specialties grows as much as possible in the Netherlands. It is ground on Dutch windmills.
This short video describes their history and traditions, their approach to sustainability (they are a world leader in utilizing solar energy), and their ties to their local communities.
(The narration is in Dutch, but you can click on the “CC” icon to turn on closed captions, then click on the gear to enable automatic translation.)
I’m A Believer
My seat mates smiled as they watched me enjoy a product from their homeland. They told me that the Dutch are lovers of great sandwiches and will eat them for both breakfast and lunch. With sandwiches this good, I could adopt the habit, too. It’s been a few years since we first visited Holland. It’s back on our short list of places in Europe to visit.
Sometimes you just have to let the airlines have a win – and win they did.
Do you have a travel story you like to tell? Horrific or humorous, we’ll take either kind. Tell your tale in the comments below or with a note in the Contact Us form. We’ll publish the best ones in a future post. (This could be your ticket to fame and fortune! Or not.)
Now who moved my cheese?! / Agora quem mudou meu queijo?!
Mary
The Cook
PS – If you’re a reader who is thinking about moving to Portugal, or anywhere else for that matter, you may be interested in the latest blog post from our friend Carol: Shipping your things to Portugal.
I recently flew with KLM and enjoyed the cheese sandwich provided on the 9:20 AM flight from Glasgow to Amsterdam. Since I’ve been back home in The States, I’ve eaten a cheese sandwich for breakfast everyday!
Hi Megan,
Thanks for your comment. Those cheese sandwiches are habit forming, aren’t they? I’d like one right now!
Mike
I’m Portuguese and I have been flying KLM to visit my boyfriend in the Netherlands for a few months. I fell in love for this sandwich as soon as I took the first bite. I’m glad I found this great story while I was googling about it! By the way, I am savoring the sandwich right now as I speak since I was able to bring one home with me lol
Oh, and make sure you visit the Netherlands! It is indeed a stunning country with very nice people! Thanks for sharing your story!
I just flew on KLM last week for the first time and I got one of these sandwiches.
I thought, “a cheese sandwich? Okay….”
I’m obsessed now. I want to figure out how to make the spread or where to find it! It was the best thing I’ve ever eaten on a plane.
Hi Jilayne,
Thanks for your comment. Your experience was so similar to ours – initially unimpressed, then wowed. Please let us know if you figure out a recipe.
All the best,
Mike
I flew a short haul on KLM 5-6 weeks ago and I, too, was treated to one of their delicious sandwiches. My thoughts when it was served were about the same as yours, too. Only mine was the best egg sandwich I’ve ever eaten. I have been trying to figure out the secret ingredient, but it isn’t chives…or if it is, I’m missing something else, too. If anyone else has eaten one of these sandwiches and knows what gives it the distinctive flavor, please post!
I flew for the first time in 1966 and enjoyed dressing up for the flight. But, after seeing a few shows on how to survive a plane crash, I ONLY wear natural fabrics and athletic shoes. Just thinking what a fire would do to pantyhose (what are they??) makes me cringe. If there is a crash and only one person survives, it’s gonna be me!
Hi Maxine,
Thanks for your comments. I’ll second your call for info on the egg sandwich. If someone finds our more, please let us know and we’ll post a recipe. It’s always interesting for me to observe what other people are wearing when they get on a plane. Very few folks get dressed up – including me. And on some flights, it seems like there’s a contest to see who can dress down the most!
Have a great day!
Mike
When given this sandwich by my flight attendant recently, I too, was unimpressed that was “just a cheese sandwich.” But that was the best food I’ve had on an airplane, hands down!
Hi Robin,
Thanks for your note. We’re happy you’ve joined the conversation. It really was a surprising sandwich, wasn’t it?
Have a great week!
Mike
Nice post, Mary! It’s so rare now to find anything enjoyable about flying – especially the food! On our trip from NYC to Lisbon last August, the flight attendant handed me “breakfast”. I asked her what it was. She said it was like an Egg McMuffin but worse. She was right.
Thanks also for the mention – appreciate it! – Carol
Boffo post and an epic sandwich…and omg!! Those cows!! 😂
Xoxo,
Nan
What a great story Mary! The cow video put a smile on my face! I remember flying as a child every 3 years to visit my paternal grandparents in Washington State. It was always a big deal and we dressed up! The food was great. For years, I wanted to be a flight attendant when I grew up! Now I fly all over the country for my job and cringe at the amount of carbon footprint I have due to that. I purchase carbon credits for my personal flights. I also stopped dressing up.
An interesting, but funny and scary incident happened on my flight shortly before take-off from Charlotte, NC bound for Mobile, AL last month.
I found my aisle seat, 17D, but a gentleman was already buckled into the seat, so I smiled and said, “I believe you’re in my seat, sir”. He smiled back and said, “ok, I’ll move over unless you’d rather have the window seat.” (There were just two seats on that side of the aisle). I rather like looking out the window on take-off and landing so happily I scooted past him and got comfortable in 17E. Two minutes later a young lady came along and said to me, “you must have the wrong seat”. I explained that I had seat D and had traded with the gentleman on the aisle. About that time the flight attendant came along and asked to see our boarding passes. Result: the gentleman produced a boarding pass identical to mine, name and all! (Well, the only difference was that on MY pass the gate number had been circled, and that’s because I’m a little old lady of 92 and the check-in attendant assumed I would forget the gate number and wouldn’t know where to look for it!)
Back to the story…The flight attendant examined the boarding passes and demanded angrily, “who is Joy?” I timidly raised my hand and the attendant looked at the gentleman and scoldingly asked, “how did you get a boarding pass with HER name on it?” His reply, “HOW IN THE HELL WOULD I KNOW!!” (Loud laughter erupted from nearby passengers.)
Well, the gentleman was escorted away, the lady with the 17E pass sat down in 17D, but 10 minutes later the gentleman was brought back to 17D and the young lady was escorted to 1st class. (That’s how close I came to my only flight ever in a first-class seat….it should’ve been me….he had MY seat!). Oh, well!
I will admit…I couldn’t relax and enjoy the trip because the thought was constantly on my mind that a terrorist had somehow fallen through the security cracks, was sitting right next to me and at any moment was going to attack.
Furthermore, I worried that somehow my identity had been stolen….am not sure why or how, but I arrived home with BOTH boarding passes in my possession. I think I’ll write the airline responsible for my anguish and maybe they’ll present me with free flights for the rest of my life since I’m so old!!
Hi Mary and Mike…thanks for sharing my story from the”Glory Day’s” of my flying career. So many great experiences not only as a working Flight Attendant but traveling the world on other airlines of the world. Traveling International, I always observe how the flight crews work on board, treat their passengers, and the food they serve from their country. I loved your Dutch “Cheese Sandwich” story. KLM has always been one of my favorite airlines and happy to hear they are still doing it right. So sad our grandkids will never get to experience the fun exciting days of Air Travel. I’m sure you will have more interesting experiences on your next flight home as you get to meet your new Grandson!! Love, hugs and Congratulations! Sue & Eddie
Love this story – the turbulence part is interesting as someone who’s been based in Europe, we get it quite a lot with larger jet flights crossing from the Atlantic and shorter haul, smaller jets crossing lower over the continent.
On our flight last week to Spain, we had turbulence on the way back, with seatbelts secured for 20 mins or so – but the crew continued to serve coffee and treats – and didn’t spill anything(!) It didn’t seem to bother anyone either.. most (like us) just continued drinking, eating and watching the Pyrenees pass outside the window.
One of the new routines introduced from Covid, but continued now which we do like is with a particular airline we use a lot (Jet2) they disembark row by row – with a cabin crew member walking down the aircraft, asking passengers row by row to stand up and get bags etc – instead of a mad rush of who can push who out of the way to run to a customs queue. A lot more civilised(!)
Absolutely loved this story and the video of the cows.
As a frequent flyer business traveler in the 80’s and 90’s I never experienced posh travel but I did benefit fro frequent flier perks. Sadly these too were curtailed over time.