The first impression was of oppressive heat, insufficient air conditioning, and disrepair. Over half the escalators were being repaired. I did not notice it then, but thinking back on it, it was also the cleanest Airport I had ever been in. We walked the usual endless lines, and reached an area with bathrooms which caused the usual scatter of friends into male and female locations. When we gathered again we were told to fill out duty forms. I and some others grumbled why they were not available on the Plane, something we were used to in flights to and from Israel. In any case, there were round tables with slots for the papers we needed to fill out, no pencils, and no papers (except for a few that were gobbled up before I, Gaby, Ahuva or Pinchas could get to them). There was no one to help us so we went to the persons checking the papers and informed here of our situation. She pointed us back to the tables with the empty slots, and when informed of the empty slots just shrugged her shoulders. Not her problem! She checked the forms, but did not provide them.
At that point the tour guide who was traveling with us, said that upstairs, at the Polish checking there might be some of these papers. We trouped upstairs, and while there were not enough, there were enough to get started, and after questioning everyone in official looking clothes that passed by, we eventually found someone who knew where they were kept and provided enough for our bunch, but no more. I filled in my piece of paper, and then filled Gaby's, we were different since I was traveling with an American Passport, while Gaby was travelling with an Israeli passport. After we had finished filling out forms we stood in line. Ahuva cholse the "diplomatic line" and was ushered through it. I was chicken hearted but did the same. We all cleared this hurdle, found our bags and eventually exited the airport.
This is what the airport looks like from the outside. It is quite impressive, but not very large by American Standards (Dulles, Miami or Chicago look much bigger).
When we got out, we smelled smoke. I did not pay much attention since I assumed it must be a local fire in the vicinity. The air seemed more or less clear, the skies were overcast, and our Bus arrived a few minutes after we got there.
Here are some pictures of Gaby, Ahuva and Pinhas in the parking lot.
Ahuva - Gabi (in the background)
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