Editor’s note: This is the first update from Stuart as he lands in Amsterdam, visits the flower auction, finds his hotel and relaxes by the canals. He will follow up with a “lessons learned” story when he returns. His technology preparations were highlighted in his first post.
Think “rock ‘n roll, 1968”
Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC
Didn’t get to bed last night
On the way the paper bag was on my knee
Man, I had a dreadful flight
We didn’t fly on BOAC (now part of British Airways); we didn’t fly in from Miami Beach, and we didn’t need the paper bag. And, unlike the Beatles, we weren’t “Back in the USSR.” But we did have a long travel day, however, from Boise, Idaho, to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Our first flight left at 6:40 a.m. local time. Three flights and 17-and-a-half travel hours later, we landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport to begin our four-week journey through Europe.
The natural temptation after that much travel is to find the closest bed – comfortable or not – and take a long nap. As someone who has done a lot on international travel, I can tell you from first-hand experience that is about the worst thing you can do. That arrival nap will make sure you never get your body time in sync with the local clocks.
So what did we do? My wife and I did get a few hours’ sleep on the overseas flight, and we drank a lot of water. Because we did not have any checked luggage (we each have a 21” carry-on and a backpack) we were able to get right through customs, and we headed to a restaurant in the airport for a nice strong coffee. We needed something to kick start our engines, and the Dutch coffee did that for us. We were now ready to get going.
Our first stop was to FloraHolland, labeled as “The largest flower auction in the world.” Some of you knowledgeable travelers might say, “What about Aalsmeer?” Well, Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer and FloraHolland merged into a single company in 2008. Our taxi driver wasn’t too sure about how to get there (and it’s only about 10 miles from the airport), but I had printed some maps some I helped him get find it. The location in Aalsmeer claims to be the biggest trade center in the world, and it would be hard to disagree. The place is massive, and as we walked through it on the mezzanine level, you could see hundreds of yards of carts of flowers of all types and color. In fact, their brochure states that they move millions of flowers and plants through that facility every day (Monday through Friday) of the year.
After our self-guided tour and the obligatory stroll through the gift shop (it’s amazing how they are always between you and the exit door), we went outside to catch a bus back to Schiphol Airport to reclaim the luggage we left in a locked locker. Just a few minutes later we managed to purchase tickets on the train to Amsterdam’s Central Station, about a twenty-five minute ride away.
Pulling our bags along the crowded streets of Amsterdam was a small bit of a challenge, especially as we had to dodge the piles of trash left from the previous day’s celebration of Queen’s Day. But we did manager to make our way from the Station up Spuistraat to the small angled-street of Kattengat to our hotel. The room wasn’t ready yet, so we sat around for a couple hours until we could get into our room, take our shoes off after about 26 straight hours, and took a short nap.
We were actually able to get back up, splash some water on our faces, and go back out for a small walk around the area. We found a place to grab some fish and chips, and then we sat along one of the canals and watch the tour boats travel by. The locals as well as the tourists like us were enjoying the sun and the nice weather by sitting outside and enjoying a beverage and some conversation.
We’d had a long day, but we were now in Europe and we were about to head back to our room for a great night’s sleep. That bed was going to feel good, but we’d managed to stay up for most of the day, and so we would be able to awaken the next day with our bodies pretty much aligned to the local time.
