Adventure!

It has been coming on for some time – waking up in the middle of the night and needing an adventure.  Stuck in traffic trying to get to work and needing an adventure.  Sitting in front of my computer or TV and needing an adventure.

So it was a matter of selling and giving away the extraneous material possessions, packing up enough to get me through 3 months of travel, buying the tickets, making the reservations, and leaving.

LEAVING

Leaving was a bit of a problem.  As I was waiting for the big day, my son James was diagnosed with colon cancer and needed immediate surgery.  To compound the problem, my grandson Jimmy was scheduled for surgery to repair a chest cavity problem  at the same time and that surgery to take place in Norfolk could not be postponed.  Since Elaine could not be in both places at once and there were two little boys to consider, I opted to delay my flight by a couple of weeks and take care of James and Jack and Justin while Elaine handled Jimmy’s surgery in Norfolk.  Fortunately, James’ condition was detected early on, his cancer was confined to the tumor, and the tumor was successfully excised in the surgery.  He will probably need no additional treatment although that final decision will be in the hands of his oncologist.  Jimmy came through his surgery with flying colors and both guys were recuperating nicely by the time I left.  Elaine’s sister came in the day before I left so there was additional help for the family and I could leave -- comfortable in the knowledge that everyone was getting healthy and Elaine had some support as well.

ICELANDAIR

I decided to start my adventure with an unusual airline, and opted for Icelandair with a stop in Reykjavik.  The airline has a class called economy comfort with larger seats and additional leg space.  It’s more expensive than economy but is substantially less expensive than business class.  It allows for 2 free checked bags and 2 carry-on bags and gives free food, free drinks, free movies, and a pillow and blanket, all of which costs dearly in economy.  It also allows for early boarding and deplaning as well as access to the Icelandair lounges in each airport.  Because a flight earlier this year on another airline had left me feeling cramped, claustrophobic, and mightily uncomfortable, I opted for comfort and loved it.  Then I realized that comfort class was simply flying the way it used to be before the austerity measures moved in and airlines opted for profit over passenger comfort.

ICELAND.

There was a lot of cloud cover so I didn’t see much from the plane coming in nor did I see much at the airport itself. There was some clearing during the layover so I was able to get a small sense of the area as we departed.  It was a mysterious and fascinating blend of glaciers and turf and volcanoes and modern buildings and made me vow to change my ticket coming home so I can spend some time in the country before the final leg back to the states.  Oh, and when I arrived at the Reykjavik airport we had to go through security and customs again and I got my passport stamped!  In all my travels this is my first stamp.  None from France, Italy, Switzerland, or Belgium.  But I have a stamp now from Iceland!

THE TRAIN

Once I had collected my luggage and groaned that it was so bulky and unwieldy, I located the train station within Schiphol airport.  I used a kiosk, inserted my credit card, and received a ticket.  I couldn’t tell which of the six lines the train was on so I went to the seller of warm cokes and asked for help.  She looked at me as if I were a tragic case of not very bright and told me that the “ticket” was actually explaining that my credit card had been rejected.  She suggested going to the live ticket sellers across the way.  There the grumpy ticket seller impatiently rejected card after card insisting that he could only use one “with a chip”.  He also rejected my dollars and told me to go to the bank around the corner and get euros.  I had hoped to avoid getting euros in the states and at the airport because I remember getting a better exchange rate at ATMs outside the US and outside travel centers but the train ticket seller was pretty insistent so now I had to hope my credit cards without chips were going to work in that ATM.  Got the cash, got the ticket, was told to get on Train 3 in 10 minutes.  So I did.

NICE PEOPLE

The comforting thing was the sign at Schiphol told me the train was going to Leeuwarden and the announcer on the train speaking Dutch also mentioned Leeuwarden in every announcement.  The uncomfortable thing was that the list of stations at which we were to stop didn’t mention Leeuwarden.

The couple behind me took me in hand and explained that although I was on the correct train, I was  on the wrong portion of the train and this train was about to split in half with one section going to Groningen and one to Leeuwarden.  I was on the Groningen section.  They had watched me struggle in with my cumbersome luggage so they each grabbed a big bag and walked me through the rain and got me situated in a correct car.  It was a long wet walk and when I turned around to thank them, they were gone.  When I got to Leeuwarden, I was again struggling with the bags and a nice woman grabbed the 2 big bags and got them down the train steps and onto the platform for me.  She too disappeared into the crowd before I could get organized and thank her properly.

GOOD THOUGHTS

So for the three lovely people of the Netherlands who unselfishly helped a struggling stranger, please join me in thinking good thoughts for an unexpected and very happy event to occur in their lives.

THE HOTEL

The Eden Oranje Hotel is directly across the street from the train station, a stately old hotel with a pleasant outdoor café and rather nice rooms.  I’m going to try to work with the manager on a rate I can afford  throughout my visit here.  The room has a US style bathroom (yay), a flat screen TV, internet access, a good bed, and a balcony with table and chairs.  Not much of a view unfortunately but still a good place to drink coffee in the morning.

 Notice the white lines on the street (far left of the picture).  Those lines give absolute authority to pedestrians to step out on the street and walk across.  All cars will absolutely stop.  Not true for bicycles, however.  Bikes are the kings of the road and they will run you down.

FOOD

On my first night in the Netherlands, I pampered myself and went to the rather pricey hotel dining room.  I know better than to expect much of Dutch “cuisine” so I wasn’t disappointed, only amused, to find that the entrée selections were:  Fried hake, fried calves liver, pasta with deep fried cambazola (?) and roast pig.  I opted instead for a Caesar salad with a breast of chicken served with chips (French fries for dipping into mayonnaise) and hearty dark bread.  I was really hungry since I had only a croissant during a day of travel so the salad and chicken tasted especially good.

This morning I went downstairs for the breakfast buffet and was surprised to find scrambled eggs and bacon as well as a wonderful selection of breads and specialty croissants (including my favorite raisin croissants exactly the same as they sell at Whole foods), ham, cheese, roast beef and crusty rolls.  Lots of specialty coffees.  Loved my breakfast.

FIRST DAY

I’m going to stay quiet this morning.  I’m jet lagged and weary and my body needs some recuperation.   

I also stayed quiet for the afternoon.  And for the evening. I ventured out quickly for dinner in a new spot – menu full of fried fish with strange names and pasta with unknown ingredients.  Opted for an oriental salad with lots of good veggies and a nice stir-fried beef on top.  Then more sleep.

SECOND DAY

Started negotiations with my hotel for a long term stay.  Housing is very very tight here and my quick contacts with agencies did not go well.  The hotel on the other hand is eager to keep me here for the full term and I’m meeting with the manager and the sales manager tomorrow to see what we can work out.  In the meantime they’ve given me free internet and a complimentary breakfast.  The location is quite perfect.  All transportation units are directly across the street at the train station – intercity buses and local buses and taxis and trains and rental bicycles.  The hotel is in the heart of the city and there are dozens of restaurants and cafes and shops within walking distance.  The train station also has a couple of convenience shops for toothpaste and shampoo and cokes.  We’ll see what happens at the meeting tomorrow but I’m hopeful this will work out.

They are everywhere!!  This is the view at the train station.  The view is the same on all three sides.  Hundreds of bikes parked and awaiting their owners.
BICYCLES