I'll Tell Ya Another Thing Isael Takes Seriously...

Safety. From the random soldiers standing around with massive machines guns to the airport security that is a blessing and a massive pain in the ass at the same time. Israel's got it, and for good reason of course. But man, I developed a new hate for airports after my experience leaving the Tel Aviv airport when it was time to move on to Croatia. We got there early, and of course I hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before. Usually this is actually a good thing because it's so much easier to catch a nap on the plane when you're sleep-deprived, as almost anyone who can remotely stand being on planes know. I was too pissed off about the situation to write anything about it, so this is pouring out through memory, but it had to be mentioned here, because it sure was quite an experience.

We arrive at the airport and enter into a huge line. Wait about 20 minutes to be approached, and were questioned individually about our purpose in Israel, where we were going, what we were doing, our mother's name, underwear color, you name it. (Well not really but, it seemed like it at the time). Our bags were screened by a machine, then we needed to wait in another line where people went through our bags one by one (seriously, even through dirty underwear and unopened gifts) with a stick that had a cloth on the end, clearly checking for some kind of explosive material. Though, I asked what it was for and I was told I'm sorry but I can't tell you that. So, after an hour of explaining and searching, we were FINALLY able to check in to the airline. Really. We hadn't made it far at all. So we wait for 15 minutes and are told that our bags were overweight. Mine significantly more so than Beth. The smarty-pants had a backpack tucked into her suiitcase that gave her two bags to split the weight between, which apparently is OK to do. So, even though I don't personally have to pay for the overweight charges, I felt like I needed to take it upon myself to take out whatever "heavy" things I could stuff into my purse, which I did right in front of the airline people and the crowds. Sneakers, a belt, some electronics... I shoved it into my purse but it was a double pain in the ass to carry this around with me. Already, I was tired, and annoyed, and in the meantime, a girl from Austrian Airlines had harshly told me to get out of her line which made me almost cry. Much too emotional a morning for the airport. And then I choked back tears again when I told the manager that I needed to pay the overweight charges. I think she saw the tears in my eyes and cut them in half (but the charges were still ABSURD!) So after this lovely incident, I had to wait in line for another 45 minutes until I got back up to the counter to check in again. Beth had gone through about 1 hour and 15 minutes before I even got checked in, and she didn't have the option to wait for me anyways.

So, finally I meet up with Beth. We go through yet ANOTHER machine and private searching - (here come the dirty underwear, again...) because in between the time that myself and my bags were nearly strip-searched, someone dropping out of nowhere could have just possibly planted a bomb somewhere in my bags. I was sick of removing and replacing my computer, again, and again. So then we wait in line for another 20 minutes to go through customs, and before getting on the plane, we went through yet ANOTHER scanning of our items. It was by far the most tiring, frustrating day of the trip. As much as I appreciate my safety, it was a bit excessive. Thank goodness we had gotten there 3.5 hours before our scheduled flight; I never thought I would actually need to use all that time. No joke, and a very expensive one at that, I'm sure.