What I felt on the road at WPC 2023 (1)
I decided to go to Barcelona after hearing from Director Coney that the film he shot of me had been nominated for the Film Room at the World Parkinson’s Congress (WPC).
On my last transfer to the Netherlands, I encountered a storm with wind speeds up to 40 mph. I missed the screening on July 5, 2023, at 15:30 local time in Spain.
I will write about the people I met at Schiphol airport where I was stranded.
They are very normal, even with a walker
This was my experience at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. I was on my way to Barcelona, the site of the World Parkinson’s Congress (WPC for short), after connecting three flights.
On the morning of July 4, 2023, I was supposed to leave Japan and arrive in Barcelona at 10:45 p.m. on the same day, but due to a major storm with winds up to 40 mph coming in early on the morning of July 5, I missed my third flight connection and was stuck in Amsterdam for almost a day…
In Japan, public transportation generally departs on time and arrives on schedule.
When I was in Japan, I checked the weather in the Netherlands, but all the forecasts only said 100% rain, and I did not expect a heavy storm.
I was scheduled to answer questions during the Q&A session at the screening of Coney’s documentary on July 5 at 3:30 p.m. I was stunned that I would not be able to meet the WPC participants, so I followed the Assistance * team to the arrival hall at Schiphol Airport. I was stunned and followed the Assistance * person to the arrival hall at Schiphol Airport.
[Note: Assistance is up in the article. Click here for more information.
I was so shocked that I could not answer the immigration officer’s questions, so Assistance told the immigration officer what had happened. I was to go to the hotel, which the airline had arranged for me.
On the bus to our hotel
I was gradually recovering from my state of shock when the Assistance agent explained to me, “Take the bus for Hotel A that leaves from bus stop #14!”
Just after the assistance agent explained to me, another passenger said to the assistance agent, “The bus for Hotel A is coming!” I thanked the assistance staff and got on the bus.
When the bus driver saw me approaching with my walker in tow, he immediately got out of his seat and helped me put my walker on. The driver gestured for me to sit on the seat for the handicapped.
In Japan, there would be a scene of ordinary people sitting in the seat for the disabled, but in the Netherlands, there was usually a seat available.
Unlike in Japan, we https://pd-mizuki.com/pdnote/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/%E3%83%81%E3%82%A7%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AB%E3%82%A6%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC.jpgwere not treated specially, and there were scenes of people helping those who needed help in a very normal way, and we were able to move around comfortably without the strange tension and hesitation that we feel in Japan.
At first, I felt as if I was suddenly thrown out in a strange land, but the feeling of being nervous gradually disappeared, perhaps because I began to understand where to go for help.
Check out of the hotel and go to the airport again
I had information that check-in had begun for the flight departing at 8:25 p.m. on July 5, so I headed to Schiphol Airport before a major storm with wind speeds up to 40 mph arrived.
In Japan, we rarely experience winds up to 40 mph except in the fall during typhoon season.
For those of you who have never experienced a typhoon, let me explain that it is very dangerous to be out in the wind, with things flying and trees falling over.
On the way to the airport, the bus was shaking heavily due to the wind, and the driver looked relaxed while the sideways rain was beating down hard.
I arrived at the airport, but managed to get to the help desk thinking, “Where is the KLM help desk?”
This time, I was running out of medicine, and it was gradually getting harder and harder to stand leaning on my walker….
A concerned Dutch Airlines person directed me to where Assistance service was located. He told us that we could leave our walkers with Dutch Airlines and use the wheelchair we had borrowed from Assistance until we boarded the plane at the boarding gate.
At this point, it was 11:00 on July 5, and the chaos was gradually getting worse, with occasional vibrations from smartphones that picked up information about storm warnings, and a long line of people trying to rebook their airline tickets, and the Dutch Airlines people were directing traffic.
