The Netherlands on a Whim

In my travels over on this side of the pond, I feel, I have left countries outside the UK slide. This is the case partly because I have been very busy over here this past year, partly because I have jut not had the money or the motivation to do too much other than bicycle (or on rare occasions, drive) around my little corner of Europe.

That changed this weekend. I decided that before I left, I should really get to see at least one or two other countries; even if it was cursory at best. So this weekend, I started my horizon expansion with a quick trip to The Netherlands. The reason for the trip was only partly to expand my horizons. The other (and to be honest, the main) reason for the trip was to get air miles on my Northwest frequent flyer plan. (I'm just a stone's throw from being a premium gold status on my frequent flyer plan!)

I looked on the NWA website and found a number of good cheap flights I could take that would put some miles on my card so I started this weekend with Amsterdam. I've never been there before, but have some friends here who are from there. (Well, technically, they're from Maastricht, but when the whole country is the average post card, does that small difference really matter?)

Last night I arrived to a rainy evening in Amsterdam. Schiphol airport was backed-up because of the rain. My first impression of the Netherlands, (those of you who read my piece on Belgium back in January, will possibly notice a similarity here) was that it looked a lot like Minnesota. Not Minneapolis, but one of the more rural airports; say St. Cloud or even Alexandria. It is a sizable airport, but it is surrounded by land that looks given-over to agrarian use.

Due to bad information at the Amsterdam Central train station, I ended-up standing on the wrong platform watching my train to Zaandam leave from another platform. So, by the time I got to the hotel and checked-in, it was way too late to catch any of the museums or sites that I had planned on photographing. I got back to central Amsterdam around 21:00 and spent a few hours walking around, looking at the sights, visiting the shops, and trying to get a seat in a restaurant to have dinner.

The motion and the blinking neon of Amsterdam was more than my camera's auto-focus mechanism could handle. All the pictures I took are blurred beyond the point where they actually convey any information. The one that I think best, conveys the overall feeling of this whirlwind visit to The Netherlands is this one. It is (though you'd be had-pressed to tell) a picture of the Amsterdam Central Station. I took this from about half a kilometer away, standing in the main straad (street) leading up to the main station approach. Unfortunately, because of the fact that I was jostled just as the camera lens opened, I have nothing but confused light blurs to show for my composure, and metering... But then, this is probably how I will remember my first visit to Amsterdam.

By 23:30 I was on a bus back here to Zaandam. I have left a wake-up call for 05:15 made a car reservation for 06:00 to the train station and will be heading back to Schiphol on the 06:23 train. If I hadn't taken this trip specifically for the Air Miles, I'd be upset about how little I did whilst I was here. But then, I suppose next time (...and there will be a next time...) I'll schedule more time here. I guess I had best wrap this up, save it for publication back at the office on Monday morning.

I hope wherever you are today, you've enjoyed your life, even if it was at a whirlwind pace!

Don Bergquist - 28 October 2006 - Zaandam, The Netherlands