We slept very well even though the bed was rather creaky. Breakfast was an apple pastry we'd bought the afternoon before, and we were out the door to walk the 5 minutes to the airport terminal. KLM Airways let us check in for the flight the day before but wouldn't email the boarding passes. It turned out that the flight was full and they were asking as many passengers as possible to put their baggage into the hold instead of as carry-on bags. However, the guy we got on the desk was absolutely wonderful - very cheerful and when he saw how small our bags were said we could just take them onto the plane and stow them under our seats. It meant we didn't have to wait at the baggage carousel at the end of the flight.
Proceeding through to security, again the guy ensuring everyone put their bags and jackets etc on the scanning belt was incredibly cheerful. It was very pleasant being 'processed' in such a friendly manner. In the end our flight left 20 minutes late but the overall flight time was only 1 hour 40 minutes instead of 2 hours.
We exited the plane as quickly as possible. Alastair and Sophie had flown in from Milan a few hours before us and had elected to wait at the airport for us rather than go ahead to our booked accommodation. We met up at the railway station in the terminal and it was fantastic to have those big hugs we have been hanging out for. It was pretty easy to then jump on a train to Amsterdam's central train station and then transfer for a quick link trip to Muiderpoort where we would be staying.
Our check-in was at 3pm, and we thought we might be able to get in at 2.30pm, but the lock on the door wasn't accepting our code. We wandered around a little looking for a cafe to sit down in briefly, but couldn't find anything. Because it was Whit-Monday, most of the shops were closed. We ended up back at our door at 3pm and, hey presto, the door opened for us.
The stairs were very step. Two flights up and with a near vertical handrail, it was a bit of a haul for A&S's bags (including heavy daypacks and a suit hanger).
Once we were inside we very soon reminded that we'd booked a one-bedroom apartment with a sofa-bed. I was thinking we'd booked a two-bedroom apartment. However, we remembered we'd opted for a great location rather than a 2-bed place further out in the city. The reviews for the apartment said the sofa-bed was very comfortable. It was no problem for A&S. They were super-tired after having just 3 hours sleep the night before (late night pre-wedding event plus a 5.30am start to get to the airport). They were quite sure they'd sleep very well on anything, for all three nights we are here.
We literally just dumped our bags and headed out for a wander to find some canals and a beer. We found the perfect combination - a beer right beside a canal. It was really nice to just sit down and have a decent chat. We had a lot of news to catch up on. The last time we'd seen them was when we visited San Francisco last September.
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| Some canal scenes |
After a beer and snacks we wandered around some more to get a bit of a feel for the place before sitting down at a small Indonesian restaurant only a few doors down from our apartment. The meal was just what we wanted. Good honest food and plenty of vegetables.
Home to a cup of tea and a major discussion about A&S potentially buying a place in Berkeley, the neighbourhood they currently rent in. They have spied half a duplex that very much appealed. However, with a great many factors to weigh up, it's not an easy decision. We didn't get to bed until 10pm, and I really don't know how the young ones managed to stay awake.
