DAY 1, 2, 3, & 4
Transit Days MAY 1 to the 4TH 2005
I arrived at the Seattle Airport at stupid o'clock in the morning. :) On the plane I had the whole row to myself. Nice. Since I had five hours before my dentist appointment, I explored the airport looking for my next gate departure and maybe a cheap bus transit to Redmond where my dentist office is located. I did find my gate but not cheap transit. I went out to the ground transportation area to find a taxi to Redmond. An Indian man with a turban convinced me (no need to twist my arm) that his transportation was the same as a taxi. I laughed at that, thinking 'Yeah, sure' and we discussed a price of $50.00 and viola I am on my way to the dentist via a lovely, long, black limo. What a way to start a vacation. Yes, desktop readers, so much for my frugality. He took a ten dollar tip, but I checked with a taxi and it is $47.00, so I am pretty HAPPY! Unfortunately I was much too tired to mess about with all the lovely gadgets they had in that limo. I did, however, arrive in Redmond with 4 hours to spare before my 10 am dental appointment as it only took 20 minutes to get here from the airport. So much for Seattle morning traffic. I do believe I will sit in Tully's and have some wonderful coffee and maybe a nice huge lunch at Claim Jumpers. You know all that limo riding can work up such a large appetite.:-)
Next time can I have a Ferrari?
Well, how fast plans change! My wonderful dentist office opens at 7:30 am and further more didn't mind me coming in early. I was done by 9 am. By the way, I would be pain free of my TMJ problem if I could just follow my dentist's instructions. Yes folks, it has long been known that I am my own worst enemy. This talented dentist I can truly trust, now if I could just follow his directions. After the appointment I took a taxi to Pikes Place Market and stopped by Le Pannier for a chocolate croissant, breakfast of champions, you know. :-) For lunch I had a salami sandwich at the airport. Claim Jumpers didn't open till 11 am and I had to be back to the airport by 12 pm. I waited for our run down plane that was delayed and hour due to repairs. We left after 1pm Seattle time. My seat didn't have audio, so I couldn't watch the in flight movie, however, the KLM stewardess was very accommodating to me and let me move seats. The only seat available was in a row of 4 and all 4 seats were empty. I hopped on that very quickly and laid full out for a nap. So far, both my flights have allowed me mucho room. My seat mate at the non-audio working seat was a nice man from Bombay who watched my purse for me while I situated myself into my new seating arrangement. Gosh, what a difference more room makes! I have been up straight for over 24 hours now. Soon I will reach Europe and a much needed rest.
Seattle, my favorite American city.
Well, it is now 11:59 pm Seattle time and I am at the Schiphol Airport. My flight went very smoothly. Their meals and snacks were even good. There was an announcement congratulating a couple who just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and another couple who just got married on Saturday. The whole plane clapped.
48 Hours later.
A word of advice for those who may do the same trip. KLM gets in at the E gates. As you exit the E gates go to your left and ignore Passport control for the moment. A ways down on your left you will find the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol. This tiny little museum is free and actually has really nice art. My boyfriend would appreciate this museum. Behind the museum I stumbled on a WI-FI zone. There are red tables with black chairs and labels on the table indicating the zone. It is not free.
I managed to cancel my Paris leg of the trip with no extra cost to me. I had a stab of happiness realizing I have finally reached my destination. Before I ever left Anchorage people were asking me if I was excited yet. It doesn't work like that for me. I knew what was in store for me, a 40 flight with lots and lots of heavy luggage. I only get short bursts of a feeling of excitement from time to time. I am not all the time flying off the walls, so to speak.
I successfully managed to cancel my Paris leg, now what about the luggage? My luggage is on an automated carousel and they say it will take three hours to pull it off. It is 8 am Amsterdam time. This actually works out quite well for me as I absolutely need to familiarize myself with this airport.
In retrospect, since I wasn't sure I wanted to go to Paris, but the ticket was $200 dollars cheaper than just the straight Amsterdam ticket, I should have let the ticket counter people in Anchorage tag my luggage for Amsterdam only. Then when I got here I could either re-tag it or pick it up. Paris is my favorite city, but expensive to tour in and then I would have had to buy a train ticket to Amsterdam, anyway. I could save $500.00 by skipping Paris and going straight to my final destination which happened to be my layover destination on the ticket to Paris. Hah! My frugality still lives!
The weather is fog, fog, fog and 52 degrees F. I couldn't even see the wings of our own plane when landing. Not good biking weather, in fact it is very chilly. I did not bring enough warm clothes, that is screamingly obvious to me now. Not good camping weather. I went to my baggage claim area and within ten minutes the bike came. It was damaged as you can see by the picture. There is a whole all the way through the case. My bike wheel doesn't look to good either. I will have to have a cycle shop take a look at things. I will need to file a damage report with KLM for insurance purposes. First day of the trip and already I need to file a claim with World Nomads. Well, we shall see how good of an insurance company they turn out to be. The case cost me $350.00 and is a hard sided case, but I am more worried about my bike.
A $350 dollar hard sided suitcase. Surprising.
Needles to say I waited for my second bag thinking it would also show up any minute. 4 hours later it did. Yes, I am now very familiar with Schiphol Airport, can you read the sarcasm?
They must have went through everything in that big hockey bag. I had a can of mace which they took out and duct taped. It was buried so deep I forgot I had that. Maybe that is what took so long? I just breezed out the entrance with no customs check, so they must have done it earlier.
All this luggage and I still find that I am woefully, inadequately dressed for this type of weather.
Think Juneau weather with a definite inescapable chill.
I called a taxi to take me to Haarlem and it ended up being a silver Mercedes. Man, that car had everything in it imaginable. Here is a picture of Schiphol Airport as I am speeding away.
Which airport was that, now?
I am staying at a B&B Rick Steves recommends, I showed up unannounced, but they still took me in. It will only be for tonight as the room is booked for the rest of the week.
My B&B. First night in Haarlem
Haarlem
By the way, I spent five solid hours in chilly rainy weather looking for a place to stay, a cycle shop, post office, bank, an internet cafe, and sightseeing around town. Only some of which I found. When I got back to my B&B I was drenched in sweat and my feet were throbbing. Jeez, vacationing is hard work. I guess it beats sitting at a desk for five hours guzzling sodas. So already my exercise plan is a success, albeit a painful one. I have been up 2 days solid now and I am very tired.
When I am walking in Paris there is always a feeling that I call "Pinch me I am in Paris now" and it is a special glowing happy feeling I get. I also get that vibe from Seattle, but Haarlem just doesn't generate that for me at all. Go figure. Tomorrow (Thursday) is some type of Holiday and all the shops are closed. There is supposed to be singing in the streets and what have you, maybe if I am not too exhausted I will join the party. By the way, my first two meals in Holland were Italian. :-)
Least favorite moment of the Day: Realizing the $60.00 room I paid for has no heat. Time to pull out the sleeping bag. Oh well, tomorrow I will be in a different hotel. I had plenty of heat later.
Favorite Moment of the Day: Finally taking a shower and washing the drenched cold sweat off my body. Besides that, it was when I was searching for a new place to bed down for a couple of days. I went to the new hotel called Hotel Caruso and a guy showed me the rooms. Minor confusion ensued when I asked for a room for two nights starting tomorrow. He translated that as a room for tonight. Two nights, not tonight. :-) He apologized for his poor English and I apologized for my poor Dutch, Then he apologized for his poor Dutch. It was then I realized he was Italian. :-)
End Day One, partly in pre-departure, Day two and three Transit days, and Day four I moved a day ahead.