Travel & Hotspots

THE HELL OF LOSING YOUR SUITCASE IS CALLED

There I was at Schiphol. Just a quick trip to the restroom for a touch-up (learned from my mother: always arrive neatly at the airport), because otherwise you just stand there twiddling your thumbs at the baggage carousel where nothing is moving, that's my motto. But when I walked up to belt 9, the suitcases were already swirling around. Our first one was in, but the other... I didn't see anywhere.

I waited, thought I recognized mine in every suitcase, scanned the other travelers to make sure they hadn't accidentally taken my suitcase and tried to entertain three kids in the meantime (lifting them up and swinging them around really becomes a task when they are 8, 7, and 4), because they all thought the vacation was fun and nice, but hanging around the baggage carousel isn't really their idea of a chill Saturday night. And not mine either.

So I tapped a nervously looking KLM stewardess on the shoulder who asked me what my suitcase looked like. Well, square and full, I tried to be a bit funny. And there's a leather tag from Gucci hanging on it... And, oh yes, also that cool tag from Chanel that I got three years ago on a press trip to Venice. And there was a priority label on it, because thanks to our Flying Blue status (and my frequent flying adventures) we get to check in business class. The stewardess said nothing, but I could see her looking. That wasn't particularly smart, of course. This suitcase screamed: pick me, there are a lot of nice things hidden in my belly.

I started to count (I had nothing better to do) what was in that suitcase. My Gucci reading glasses, my Fendi sunglasses. Bought in Rome and really nowhere else to be found. My Chanel bag. Why did I even take that? And stuffed it in my suitcase. Not very handy, I know. My super cute Ibiza dress. Oh no, the beautiful dress I bought at Rozemarijn de Witte (in the coolest hotel ever) and there are only three of them. And my Chanel espadrilles. Exactly as faded as I want them and also nowhere to buy. My Gucci sandals. Call me mega materialistic, but I really had to swallow a lump. Not only because of the value since everything is insured (I was secretly already looking at which new bag I would choose), but especially because of the memories. The bag I bought with Harriet Calo in Paris, the glasses my love picked out for me in our favorite city. That couldn't all be gone at once, could it?

The stewardess assured me that very, very, very few suitcases are stolen and that in 90% of the cases the suitcase is found again. After an hour of waiting and lingering by the carousel, we decided to go home. Hoping for the best, but to be honest, I had already given up hope and spent the whole evening thinking about what else was in my suitcase.

Until we suddenly received a text yesterday. ‘Your luggage has arrived and our delivery company will contact you.’ And yes, the next evening the suitcase was neatly delivered. My daughters pounced on the long-lost object (“Mom, your bag is back. Wasn't it more expensive than a hundred euros?”) and did a little dance. I had just finished the laundry from suitcase 1 and could now happily start on suitcase 2. If I hadn't been so worried, it would have actually been quite a perfect situation. Friends from KLM, can we maybe make this a habit?