From Amsterdam

This is an e-mail I sent to my mom and Daniel’s family…. just a quick update from Europe!

We got into town around 12:30 local time (+7 hrs from CST) Sunday and breezed through customs. They stamped our passports on our way to baggage claim, and after we retrieved our bags, we walked through a gate labeled “nothing to declare,” which basically dumped us into the public areas of the airport. Nobody was even watching “customs” — it was kind of a joke! I guess the Dutch don’t much care what you bring into their country… or, that they’re really trusting.

We had planned to take the train into Amsterdam proper from the airport, so we got our tickets for that (roughly $10 for both of us) and made our way downstairs to the platform. With our four suitcases, two backpacks, and one small overnight/toiletries bag, it was a struggle; we ended up using the elevator instead of trying to maneuver the escalator. The escalator wouldn’t have been so bad, except that to prevent people from taking the luggage trolleys (carts) downstairs to the platform, they had cement pillars erected every foot or so. It was really busy, and neither of us much wanted to try to get our bags between the pillars and then onto the escalator. So to the elevator we went.

Getting on the train with the bags was also rather challenging, as when you got onto the train, you were faced with the choice of going up or down. Either way there were roughly 5-6 steps and then a very narrow (roughly 1 1/2 – 2′ in width) plexiglass door presumably (we hoped) intended to keep air-conditioned air inside the up/down cabins. We decided to go up, so when we had to get off we could come down. Luggage is not meant for manuverability, though, and it was a real struggle to get everything into the train.

Bear in mind, at this point we’d had roughly 2 hrs sleep in nearly 24 hours time, and we were both feely greasy, grimy, hot, irritable, and hungry. We desperately wanted food, a shower, and some sleep. So by the time we got everything to the compartment and sat down, things (i.e., we) weren’t looking too good.

It was a short 15-minute (ish) ride to the Centraal Station, and we disembarked with all the grace and charm we had getting on. We got off the train right next to an up escalator, but saw a sign for an elevator and decided to go there instead. One-quarter down the platform, we found a broken cargo elevator clearly not meant for use. Daniel thought he saw another sign, and we ended up walking the entire distance of the platform (long enough for two trains end to end) before finally finding an elevator.

The Dutch like small elevators, too. The two of us and our luggage barely fit, and an elderly couple rode with us, making for a nice, intimate elevator ride.

At the top, we wandered outside into the Dutch afternoon. It was measurably cooler outside (I forgot to mention, the train was not air conditioned at all — ugh) and there was a nice light breeze. Even better, we quickly spotted our hotel … we knew it was roughly across the street from the Centraal Station, and sure enough, it was super close by. By now it was around 1:30 p.m. and we made our way to the hotel, hoping with every step they would let us check in early.

At the hotel, we found a total zoo of a lobby. There were people and luggage EVERYWHERE. Daniel got in line and I stood off to the side guarding the bags. Another 15-20 mins later, he came and asked if I wanted a smoking room right then, or a non-smoking room with a 1-hour wait. I told him I didn’t care, that I don’t like smoking rooms but that I was willing to take it for one night if it meant we could take a nap and shower. He came back with a key, and (after some looking) we found our room. It didn’t reek of smoke, but it was relatively small and unassuming, with two low-slung twin beds.

I immediately laid down and threw off my glasses; he went looking for our reservation confirmation from Expedia because we were supposed to have a king-sized bed. He took the confirmation downstairs to ask at the front desk, and I was very nearly asleep when he came back with a luggage dolly and said we were switching rooms. Back downstairs, we were told our room would be ready around 2:30-3:00ish, but that we could stow our luggage and go tour the city, get a drink, etc. I just groaned. We sat down on comfy leather chairs in the lobby and tried not to both fall asleep at the same time (so one of us could watch our backpacks). At 2:30 on the nose Daniel got back in line, and after a snafu with the room keys and some waiting on the porter to bring our bags up, we were finally in a cool, air conditioned, quite large room with a king-sized bed and very nice view. Hallelujah!

Things only went up from there — but really, how could they not? 😉 We took a 4-hour nap, which improved both our moods immensely, took long showers, which improved both our appearances and odors immensely… hehehe … and then went downstairs (by now it was nearly 8:30 p.m.) to find dinner. Our first meal of the day.

We asked at the bellstand and got a great map and restaurant recommendations from the guy there, and set off down Damrak, the street on which our hotel sits and a large touristy area, to look around. Damrak is described by the guidebooks as tacky and touristy, and both of those things it definitely is. There are lots of pizza shops, two McDonald’s and a KFC between our hotel and the main square, Dam Square, which is roughly 1/4-mile from us. We walked down to the Dam and gawked at things before heading back up Damrak. We were going to take one of the concierge’s recommendations, but instead went to this British restaurant called the Grasshopper. On the first floor was a cafe, second floor a bar, and third floor was the steak house/restaurant. We both ordered ribeyes, which came with a potato and a salad … and watched the sun set (mind you, this was around 10 p.m. — it definitely stays light longer here!) over dinner. They were excellent, and all things considered, that was probably the best $80 we’ve spent since we left. 😉

We walked down one street in the red-light district (the Grasshopper basically was at the beginning of that neighborhood) to circle back to our hotel. It creeped me out, so we made our way through briskly and Daniel agreed we could opt to see the red-light district in the daytime. I am easily spooked, what can I say? After getting back to our hotel, we flipped through the TV for a while (we’ve got a few english-language channels, particularly the BBC from England) and eventually went to sleep. Not bad for a first day, I’d say.

Today we were up by 8 or 8:30ish, and out the door before 10 a.m. We grabbed an egg mcmuffin from the neighboring McDonald’s (here, that’s made with bacon) and walked back towards the train station to go to the tourst information center. We bought two 48-hour “i Amsterdam” cards, which are tourist cards that basically entitle you to free entrance into museums, a canal tour, unlimited use of public transportation, and a few other perks. We immediately took the free 1-hour canal tour and then bought discount tickets to the “canal bus” — a hop-on, hop-off water-based tram, essentially, that was good for the entire day.

That took us to the Museum district, where we went to the Van Gogh Museum. Van Gogh spent some time in Holland early in his career, and the museum has 200 of his paintings, I think most of which were on display. We’d heard it can get crowded, and while there were always people around us, we didn’t have to wait for tickets, so that was good. From the Van Gogh Museum, we sent you a video message that you should have received by now. When you come out of the museum, they have these kiosks set up with video cameras, and you can record a short message and e-mail it to two people at once. We both thought that was ingenious, and we were thrilled.

After Van Gogh, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring central Amsterdam … we found this spectacular church built in 1417… it’s in the middle of a residential neighborhood now with stuff all around it, and no longer being used as a church. Can you imagine — nearly 600 years old? It’s crazy! We tried to go to the Dutch Resistance Museum chronicling Holland’s attempts to hold off the Nazi’s in 1940-41, but we got there 20 minutes before closing time and they told us it would be better to come back tomorrow, which we’ll do.

Tonight I think we’re just going to grab some dinner (we’ve managed, once again, not to eat much of anything today) and maybe walk around a bit more. Apart from the Dutch Resistance Museum and a daytime walk through the red-light district, we covered most of the ground we wanted to cover today, so we should have some leisure time tomorrow. We thought about taking the 1-hour train ride to The Hague and seeing the Peace Palace where the UN has its judicial hearings, but I don’t know if we’ll do that or not. I think it sounds cool, but since our iAmsterdam cards are good tomorrow and we spent a pretty penny on those, it probably makes most sense to stick around and make the most of our cards. When we’re back froom the cruise, we have a whole day in the city anyway, and that might be the best time to go to The Hague. By then, I can’t imagine we’ll want to do much more here than perhaps buy some souvenirs or something.

So, all in all, things are going well. Our hotel doesn’t have free Internet access anywhere (and in fact, the only place we’ve heard of that does have free Internet is the library, but you’re instructed to get online to find the nearest location — NICE!), but we decided to pay for 24-hour access in our room. So until roughly this time tomorrow, we’ll be able to get online from our hotel room. I get paid tomorrow and we wanted to check a few other things as well, so it seemed like a good idea.

We get on our ship Wednesday, and I don’t know about Daniel, but I’m really excited about that. Once we’re aboard, we’ve got that evening and all day Thursday to relax, eat on a more normal schedule, and gear up for our first two stops in Norway and Denmark. That will be nice.

One other thing I forgot to mention — at DFW, our big gray bag? The one that we weighed before we left home and finally brought weighing 50.2 lbs? At the American check-in counter, it registered at 50.0 lbs. I couldn’t stop laughing. The woman at the counter was utterly amazed. So was I!!!