Up all night....

At last. When I say those words, I can’t help but think of the Etta James song…..

So Brandon and I are currently in Amsterdam, and it was a very uneventful flight. Getting to the terminal was more of a hassle. Needless to say, Brittany was so kind as to drive around like a crazy person trying to get us to where we thought we needed to go… turns out we thought wrong. We may have bought or tickets through Delta, but in small print, we are really flying with the international KLS Royal Dutch Airlines….. Luckily it wasn’t a big deal to take the tram to the correct terminal (the one we were at the first time), and we were able to get checked in with no problems after that.

I must say, the international part of the airport is not quite as interesting as the national. There are no shops to look through, only small kiosks that sells cigarettes, liqueur, and Guess pens and watches. Brandon and I entertained ourselves by simply walking the length of the terminal before we had to board.

Here is Brandon on our first plane talking with his Mom. We are finally on our way!

Anyway, it’s otherwise been a frightfully boring trip. According to Amsterdam time, it’s about 0800, but to Brandon and me, it’s 0300…. and we are sooo tired. We didn’t get any sleep on the plane from Chicago to the Netherlands. It was only about a 7 hour flight, so Brandon and I weren’t sure about taking any melatonin. The fact that we didn’t is a blessing and curse, I think. The 15 minutes I was able to sleep on the plane made my neck hurt terribly, because you sit pretty much upright, and there is no place to lean against.

The flight itself was very smooth. We only had a little bit of turbulence about a half an hour from Amsterdam, which made my head spin with paranoia. The flight attendants were great, and we also got two snacks, and dinner with dessert on the plane, as well as other opportunities for water. Brandon and I are still very thirsty, though. One of the best things about the flight was leaving Chicago in broad (albeit overcast) daylight, have the sun set behind you, and then rise again in front of you! All before we touched down. I feel tired as though it’s 0330, but looking around at everyone eating their airport café breakfasts makes me feel like I could treat this almost like any other morning. Unfortunately neither of us look it.

Here we are just off of our first plane, and looking exhausted.

It’s a pity that Brandon and I could not walk around the city. It looks like it is such a neat place to become acquainted with. We only have a 4 hour layover, and because we didn’t do any type of research about Amsterdam, we don’t want to be stranded…. Greece is our ultimate goal after all.

Instead, Brandon and I are going to spend our time becoming familiar with the airport… wait, not really. Brandon is sleeping, and I am going to type on a word document until I get internet to post.

As of now, I like the Amsterdam airport. It’s honestly not as loud as O’Hare, which makes it much more pleasant. If Brandon does wake up enough to walk around, there appear to be a lot of interesting shops. They sell a lot of flowers here, I noticed. Bulbs, seeds, fake plants, like plants, everything you could imagine. Tulips are the primary flower I see, but they have many others. They also have this green looking area with fake trees and logs to hang out in. A sort of lounge with couches. And even though the chairs are dreamily comfortable, they are better than hard benches… maybe... I don’t think my rear end would be able to tell the difference right now... I crave to walk, but that will have to wait an hour or two. I cannot sleep… which means I must not be tired enough.

 

Here are some of the fake flowers that were proliferant around the airport.

 

And here are some of the other fake plants around the airport... to make it more "homey"? We slept in the couches shown above... they weren't very comfortable.

This whole trip still has not quite sunk in yet. The airport still uses a lot of English, so Brandon and I have not had a problem getting around. We will see how it is in Greece. Oh, but Amsterdam is our first visa stamp! I can’t seem to take a picture of our proud stamp, so if you’re interested, well that might be weird to ask when we get back, “Wow, so glad you guys are back! Did you have fun? Can I see your Amsterdam visa?” Of course if you did ask, I would oblige.

Speaking of souvenirs, Brandon and I decided not to get anything from Amsterdam because we haven’t been able to get out of the airport. I think it would mean more if we could see some of the city, but because we cannot, anything we get would have no history and seems like expensive trifles. So I guess the most that I can bring back will be photos, which I hope will be enough for everyone else.

 

This might not be a souvenir, but this was our first official Europe food from the Amsterdam airport! (Also our first every purchase in euros.)

I want to shout out quickly to our families that we are safe and sound. And Brittany, the weather in Amsterdam right now is just like Chicago… slightly chilly (41 degrees) and overcast. It’s hard to believe it’s supposed to be perfect and beautiful a little south east.

And for everyone, if you would like, leave a comment with what you’re doing, because Brandon and I would love to hear from you!

See you all in GREECE!!!