Today I make my way back to the United States. I first fly to Amsterdam with an eight hour layover, then into Salt Lake City, and then Tucson.
I got up at 3:15 am this morning to be ready for my 7:15 am flight. Total time to get from the hotel and through security was 20 minutes.
The Nash Suites hotel was a nice option and it’s either a five minute walk or a three minute shuttle ride to the airport.
Got to Amsterdam with no issues. It’s 10 am and I am taking the train into Amsterdam Centraal. Found a baggage storage locker (€8 for 24 hours), so I don’t have to haul my bag around. The train will be going by the Sloterdijk station, where my adventure began in 2023. Yes, this time I have a train ticket! 😉
My flight boards at 4:00 pm, so I have about three hours to explore Amsterdam (three hours is not enough time to get in trouble, right?). 😀
Passport Control line was really long when I passed it, so I am going to make sure I get back with time to spare.
Decide to walk to Koffie ende Koeck, the vegan coffee shop that I always visit when in Amsterdam. It’s a nice out-of-the-tourist area to visit and it’s right next to the park when I took the bicycle photos.
After lunch, I continued on walking through the park, walked by the Train Lodge (stopped in and said hi), and then walked to the Sloterdijk station to catch the train back to the airport.
I could have explored something different, but because of time constraints, I don’t want to chance it.
Back at the airport at 1:00 pm. Went through security, then through passport control, and then find out that my bag is in a locker in a different area and have to go to passport control again. Once I get my bag, I’m going to have to go through passport control again. I could have prevented this by storing my bag closer to the gate, but the gate information wasn’t posted, yet.
Even though I’ve been to this airport before, I didn’t go from domestic to international before. This place is huge and the layout is very confusing. At least I’ve got two hours before boarding.
I have officially boarded and am in the very last row of this 777-200 (43G). Ready for my 10 hours flight to Salt Lake City.
Bonne soirée.
Welcome home, and thanks for letting us come along for the ride!
Thank Kathleen! No sleep on the flight, but I watched four movies!