My day in Amsterdam...continued.

15 years later...

I'm finally going to leave the airport!  First, I checked into my Yotel, dropped off my carry on and went to baggage claim to collect my other bag and meet up with Jill's friend Andre (with an accent above the e).  

The original plan when I booked this ticket was to hang out in AMS with Jill. Unfortunately she ended up leaving town so she hooked me up with a church member friend Andre.  He was kind enough to fetch me, take me to church an international church in Amsterdam Zuidoost, and then show me around Amsterdam. 

But first, what to do with my checked in bag?  Yotel's web site and customer service all said that I would be able to bring the bag through to my room, I just needed to show immigration that I had a Yotel reservation and confirmed departure flight.  Unfortunately no could say with 100% certainty so instead of taking any chances and wasting time, once I met up with Andre at the arrival gate, we dropped my bag in a storage locker and made our way to church via bus and subway.

An almost freezing breeze greeted my first step outside the airport.  Andre informed me in advance that it might snow and weather reports all showed near freezing temps so I was prepared with a couple layers under my jacket.  I considered bringing stockings to wear under my pants but didn't think it'd be so bad - I was wrong.  I definitely wished I had brought the stockings.  Temperature-wise Amsterdam wasn't too different from Seattle but the wind chill factor reminded me more of Korean winters - cold and freezing wind.  I was a little worried about the afternoon walk around town but was hoping the temperature would go up a little. 

I very much enjoyed the international church.  Many of the members are transplants from the Dutch Caribbean and Africa - very friendly people.  It is an international church so the service is translated from/to English/Dutch.  To my surprise I stayed awake better than I expected.  I dozed a few times during the sermon but otherwise, managed to stay awake. 

There was no potluck this weekend so afterwards, we headed into the central part of Amsterdam by subway while enjoying the vegetarian friendly sandwiches and juice boxes Andre prepared for us.

It was only once we started walking around the center of the city did it feel like the Amsterdam that I’ve always seen in photos, on TV and in the movies – endless canals, Dutch architecture, cobblestone streets, bicycles everywhere.  The temperature did warm up a little bit but it also drizzled and rained most of our walk around town – yay for Gore-Tex!  I saw (i.e. walked around) the Royal Palace, Dam Square, Damstraat (a main shopping street), Anne Frank House & Museum, Rijksmuseum, I AMsterdam sign, and several other places that I can’t remember.  Hopefully I’ll be able to go back again when the weather is nicer and I can actually hang out in the city.

I was feeling pretty tired after the walk so headed back to the Yotel, washed up, finished off my remaining bagels and Blue Jay oranges, walked around the terminals and then went to bed.