Back in the A-Dam

For some reason, it took me FOREVER to figure out which bus would get me to my airbnb (got in late afternoon, so no time for more sightseeing...it was dark by the time I got to the airbnb). I thought I had this town figured out, but apparently not. Went to get some pizza (recommended by my host, Gina), then came back and we watched some Netflix (her husband dropped in as well). They were both very cool. She is from Canada, and met her husband (who is Dutch) there, then they moved to Europe for his work, and eventually to Amsterdam. They rent out 2 rooms of their apartment. I felt kind of bad for her...she told me she is pretty lonely much of the time--she hasn't really made any friends here yet. They have a beautiful location, right on a canal.

Turns out, they had another person staying in the other room they rent out, and she had already scheduled a taxi to the airport the next morning, about an hour earlier than I needed to be there. She offered to let me ride with her, saving me some time and money. Score!

We got up very early, and the taxi arrived right on time. Got to the airport, and her airline wasn't even open yet. Turns out her flight was later than mine, but she's even more anal retentive than me and wanted to get there super early. Her name was Ursula and she was in the Netherlands on business, but decided to stay an extra couple of days in Amsterdam since she had never been there before. After making sure we knew where we were heading, we parted ways, and the waiting began for my flight.

Schiphol airport is very nice...it even has a museum! The Rijksmuseum loans a few pieces to them every so often. All airports should do this! Lots of comfy resting spots as well on your way to the gates...even playgrounds! I'm so ready to be home...but will definitely miss the places I visited while I was here :-(

Flight to Philly was over an hour late, so I started to worry I'd miss my connecting flight to Atlanta. Customs moves so much more quickly than it used to...you don't even have to fill out those little declaration cards anymore. You answer all the questions on an electronic machine when you land, then it prints you a sheet to take to the agent...and you're done. It seemed to me after several flights that the screening process was much more rigorous in Europe than in the States, which surprised me.

Got into Philly late, and despite the quick customs check in, I was RUSHING to catch my connecting flight. I made it, thankfully, and the good thing is we took off almost immediately after I got on board. One of the flight attendants recognized me from the Amsterdam flight and we laughed about how quickly we made it to the plane.

#amsterdam #canals #rijksmuseum #customs #schiphol