Day 1 UPDATE ... after some sleep

Day 1 – Sydney to Amsterdam UDATE after some sleep

Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong left pretty much on time and was full to the brim.  We had 3hrs in HK so after finally getting off the plane (we were in row 61) first task was to find some coffee.  I knew the HKD/AUD exchange rate was about 5:1 but I didn’t expect to be paying the equivalent of $13 for two mediocre coffees!

HK > AMS flight was also full to the brim but actually felt quicker than the previous one and we landed at Schiphol ahead of schedule at 5.30am local time.  We both got a few hours broken sleep on the plane but still felt pretty ordinary.  Immigration was super quick but a technical hitch held up our bags for over an hour.  Bags fnally collected and coats retrieved we went in search of coffee and a SIM card, only to discover that Vodaphone doesn’t have a stall/shop at the airport.

I’d been in touch with our B&B owners the night before we left Sydney and they had not had guests so we took up their offer of an early check-in and headed straight to the flat.  I’d been lent a couple of Amsterdam QV cards (same as our Opal cards) so after a little ‘hitch’ of not tapping on on the concourse level and a trip back up from the platform to do that we were on a sprinter train from the airport to Amsterdam Zuid.  It was lucky we did the trip back up to tap on properly because 2 min into the journey we were asked to present our ticket by a smiley little ticket checker who looked a lot like David Jason’s character Arkwright in ‘Open all Hours’ – first test passed!

Changing from train to bus at Amsterdam Zuid/World Trade Centre was easy and in under half an hour we were standing outside the front door to Zeilstraat 25.  I cant really describe the stairs up to our 4^th floor flat … so here’s a picture.  There are 67 in total and we both agreed that on the way down on Wednesday we’ll both break out the back-pack straps of our bags rather than try and carry them.

Deciding against a morning nap, we unpacked, got settled and with several additional layers of clothing we headed into town via the #5 tram which literally stops 10m from the front door of the building.  We found the Amsterdam tourist info shop and got directions to the Vodaphone store to get SIM cards.  Lovely young Dutch man did it all for us and for 20euro each we are good to go.  Its coming up to SInterklaus (6^th December when the good kidlets here get their pressies) and we were entertained by a little brass band.  Any Americans in town at the moment will have a head explosion because the guys were in blackface – but this is part of a long long tradition here in the Netherlands so – “bugger off and take your self-righteous offence with you”  is what I would say to them!

SIM cards in, activated and tested we wandered off down the street, not in any particular direction and ended up in Dam Square – meeting point for walking tours and home of a large population of the worlds fattest pigeons. 

We checked out some of the local architecture (the buildings here are gorgeous) and after a coffee and muffin stop headed back to the flat since our serious lack of sleep was now starting to catch up with us.

A couple of hours of shut-eye and we were ready for dinner.  We’re living in a residential rather than tourist neighbourhood but found a little Vietnamese place that was pretty full.  We got what I think may have been the last unreserved table and no wonder – the food was great. 

Back to the flat with grand plans of writing up the days adventures but the need for sleep overcame us and we crashed about 9pm only to wake a bit after 1am and then again just after 4am and finally about 6.30 am.  Feeling quite human again I started to write this entry up, and its now almost 8.30am, its daylight (although the cars going past on the street outside still have their lights on) and we’ve had breakfast (bought last night on our way home at the corner supermarket)

Today we’re meeting a fellow Trip Advisor (Amsterdam DE) and his partner for lunch and a ‘tour’ though central Amsterdam.