I’m starting my first full day in Holland (a.k.a the Netherlands). Its rainy and cool this morning with a temperature around 60F (15C). I didn’t bring an umbrella so its fortunate I’ve got lots to do at the hotel this morning.
I got to Amsterdam around noon yesterday. The flight from London was around 40 minutes long. I enjoyed looking out the window at the English Channel, though it was mostly obscured by clouds.
Holland is one of the most laid-back countries I’ve visited. The immigration agent barely looked at my passport before stamping it and sending me on my way. Customs was simply walking through a door. What a refreshing difference from the Nazi police-state security we “enjoy” in America. I suppose the Dutch have been trading so long that nothing fazes them anymore.
Holland has superb train service, so getting around is relatively easy once you get the hang of it. While English is widely spoken here, all the signs at the train stations are in Dutch. Also there are few attendants at the stations to ask about directions. I spent a bit of time studying maps carefully before hopping on a train.
At the airport station, I met a man from California in town for a trade show. He’d been to Amsterdam before so he gave me some pointers about finding a hotel near Amsterdam as well as tips for the train. I got a suggestion for a hotel and hopped a train to find it. Though I only went one stop beyond the airport, I was surprised to find the area was not as urban as I expected. I walked around for 30 or 45 minutes looking for the hotel but never found it. One Crown Plaza hotel I did find had a rate of 285 euros a night, which I thought was a bit high. Later I found that this rate is typical. Sheesh.
I gave up on getting a hotel in Amsterdam for last night and hopped a train to Rotterdam. It took a little over an hour but I got here. There were no public phones near the train station so I used one at a local convenience store to call the hotel. Another 30 minutes later I was at the hotel. (I discovered a shortcut later which makes the walk only 15 minutes).
I somehow was stupid enough not to bring my ATM card with me. Stupid, stupid mistake. Once I got to Rotterdam I did not have enough cash to take the train back to Amsterdam. The banks were closed as well, leaving me few choices for dinner other than the hotel restaurant. I will wander out today to a bank to withdraw cash from my credit card, though I will miss the half day I could have spent looking around Amsterdam.
After dinner at the hotel I wandered back to my hotel room, where I checked email and did some reading. The jet lag caught up to me, however, and I crashed around 9:30 PM, sleeping until about 7 this morning.
Today I’ve got a test network to configure at the hotel for the training. Once that’s done I should be able to do more exploring. With any luck the sky will clear and I can get some walking in. I also hope to take some pictures as I’ve taken zero since arriving.