Jet Lag (again?) For No Reason

We are finally in Amsterdam as our first trip on our Winter Sportslov (winter break). Usually, the Swedish families and locals go skiing, to Las Palmas, or travel around. This is our time to travel around Europe.

I'm super excited to be in Amsterdam, as it is my favorite city in Europe! It was great to see the sun shining since we'd been in darkness, clouds, and rain in Gothenburg. However, today was a rough travel day. Here's why...

Our flight left Gothenburg at 6:15 am Saturday morning. This means we had to be at the airport earlier, around 4:00-5:00 am. However, we did not think that Ubers would be popular in Gothenburg at that time so we tried looking at public transit. We got scared when our Google Maps said that it wasn't running as much. Madilyne and I had 2 options. Leave at 11 pm Friday night to catch the tram or leave at 2 am to catch the tram. We chose to leave at 2:30. We caught the tram just in time! It was VERY crowded at 3 am... Like there were taxis everywhere, young people, etc. It was the loudest the tram had ever been since people are normally silent on them. It turns out we could've taken Uber. Oh well.

The tram took us to the stop where we walked to the Nils Erickson Terminal for buses.We waited there an hour for our Airport bus which we booked ahead of time. It was very quiet at the Terminal. It came right on time and we got a seat in the front since it was empty. As we headed to the airport, a lot more people got on it. The ETA for the bus to the airport was 4:47 which was pushing it close to our 5:45 boarding time. However, the airport was crowded for about 5am, but not too crowded that it would've held us back for a while or made us miss our flight. We saw that the Gothenburg Airport is much bigger than we had originally thought.

I slept on our 50 minute flight to Copenhagen. I was in the back of the plane, aisle seat. It was great! Then we had a 1 hour layover in Copenhagen. The flight was delayed by 30 minutes, so Madilyne and I laid down on a bench and napped for about 30 minutes (but enough to still be aware of our surroundings). It is much harder to hear the announcements when they aren't in English. We kept getting up to look at our gate and saw people standing, so we decided to get in line to board. I got the exit aisle, window seat! I was excited for extra space. However, I wasn't allowed to listen to headphones in the exit row in case of emergency. But at least I slept for the hour and a half flight!

So, basically we had to do what we did when we flew in early and stay awake all day with few hours of sleep, even though we flew about 2 hours away, not even changing time zones.

We were in an Air Nostrum plane, which is the smallest plane I've been on. I couldn't even stand up in the seating area since it was so low. The plane hit a lot of wind resistance landing since it was so windy today and the plane was so small. We de-planed via stairs again and I feel like a president or something every time I go on the stairs. Refer to the pictures in the gallery.

I remembered parts of the Amsterdam Schipol Airport from when I went back in the summer 2017. We eventually found the ticketing counter and asked the lady what she recommended for our travel pass. We got the 3 day all areas pass since our hotel is outside the city. Then, we stopped at Burger King while we waited for the train.

After getting out of Central Station, I showed Madilyne the city! She loves it! The architecture is so unique, as is the atmosphere. It's much more city-like, bustling, loud, and touristy compared to Gothenburg. I warned her about the bicyclists since they do not stop for pedestrians and they also ride along with the cars or have their own lanes. It is stressful crossing streets here.

Bicycle racks get filled to the brim with bicyles. We wonder if they actually belong to everyone around or if they just get left their over time. Plus, how do you remember where you parked your bicycle among the hundreds and thousands?

We wondered around, taking in the sightings. We passed the Anne Frank House which will we go to on Monday since we booked our tickets. I am also determined to find this plush bear toy I saw last time I was in Amsterdam. However, I doubt it will still be around.

Notice my new Netherland flag on my shirt for the country?! I almost blew away today, so Madilyne and Catherine both had to hold me so I didn't fall into the canal.

Good news is, we found the same pancake house I went to when I was here last! I really wanted to find it and give Madilyne the experience of a Dutch pancake. I knew the area, I just didn't remember the store. So, I kept peering into store fronts to see and we eventually found it. The Dutch pancakes are amazing!

We also met some other Americans at the table next to us. We overheard their accents and they sounded loud and American like we usually are. For the whole time Madilyne and I ate, we debated asking them where they're from. Then, we heard them talking about going into schools and having classes with elementary students. We got super excited that they were teachers too that we eventually started talking to them for a few minutes. They all graduated already and were from all over the states. Unlike us, they were in a teaching program in Spain, but they were traveling for a little on their time off.

Natural base with Nutella, strawberries, and powdered sugar

ALSO, the "I Amsterdam" sign is no longer in front of the Rijksmuseum! It was one of the most iconic signs and landmarks in Amsterdam. There was an ice skating rink in front of the museum now. I thought they moved the sign to put the rink in. But I looked it up and they took it out because it brought on too much tourism and not enough visitors to the museums surrounding the sign. They took it out in December, so we just missed it. It is such a let down since I wanted to get a better picture in front of it and show it to Madilyne. It is supposedly relocated to the Schipol airport, so we shall see when we leave if we can find it.

The hotel is outside of the city in an area called Zandaam. It is georgous! The houses are bright colored and look like they are out of a doll house or storybook. We walked around a lot with our backpacks on today and our backs hurt a lot, so we called it a day after checking in. We have a busy next 2 days, so I will check back in later!