April 25th: Goodbye Iceland, Hello Amsterdam!

Zach and I got up early, repacked our bags, and were on the shuttle to the airport by 7:30am. Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 11am, but we had read that there were going to be long lines at the airport that morning; Isavia workers were striking, so the baggage drop off and security lines wouldn't be open until 9am. We got to the airport around 8:30 and it was already packed. There were lines everywhere and it was only somewhat organized. Thankfully, the lines started moving shortly after 9am and we were able to drop our bags off and make our way upstairs to stand in an even longer line for security. Things were getting so backed up that some people were starting to almost miss their flights. It was pretty messy, and we were getting really close to our boarding time by the time we both made it through security. I sent Zach in search of some breakfast/lunch while I made a quick bathroom stop, then we met back up, went to our gate, and immediately got on the plane. It was a pretty crazy morning, and I'm glad we took the earlier airport shuttle...if we had taken the one we originally planned, there's no way we would have made our flight!

Mmm...salmon wrap for breakfast. It was pretty good for airport food.

We eventually taxied out and took off for Amsterdam.

Bye, Iceland!

We made it to Amsterdam just fine, waited a looooong time for our checked bags to pop out on the baggage carousel, and stopped so I could exchange some cash for Euros. (I also had a random 1000 Dominican peso note, which totally threw the lady behind the counter for a loop. I guess not too many people from the Netherlands take vacations in the Dominican Republic.) We had a few options to get to the hotel, but after spending most of the day being jostled around in long lines and dragging my bags all over the place I was not in the mood for a crowded train ride followed by a 15 minute walk through the city, dragging two bags the whole way. Taxi it was! We were at the front door of the hotel in less than 20 minutes; it was so nice. We checked in, dropped our bags off in the room, and headed out to find some food. We were starving!

Since we were staying in the hotel that I liked so much from the end of the trip last year that Mark and I took, we were also only a five minute walk from one of my favorite restaurants: the Pancake Bakery!! Dutch pancakes are amazing, so I knew what I wanted without even looking at the menu - a Caprese pancake and a beer. It was just as good as I remembered.  :)

After stuffing our bellies we wandered around a bit. The next day was King's Day, so here and there you could see people setting things up for the morning. We got a little lost, at some point stopped at a grocery store to pick up a six pack of Heineken, eventually figured out where we were, and walked back to the hotel.

I think one of my new favorite things to do in Amsterdam is sitting on the edge of a canal with a beer in my hand. The hotel sits right on a canal, so we hung out there for a while, watching the boats go by and talking while we sipped our beers. We weren't the only ones with that idea, either...there were quite a few people hanging out on the edge of the canal, dangling their feet over the water while they drank.

People were already wearing orange and starting their King's Day parties. We had fun people-watching; at one point a boat pulled up right next to us. One of the girls had a tiny puppy wearing a life jacket...I wish I had a picture! One of the guys hopped off the boat, went back to the pizza place behind us, ordered, then came back out, told the other people on the boat that it would be about twenty minutes, hopped back in the boat, and motored away. I wouldn't mind waiting for a pizza by boating through canals! We also saw a boat go by with what looked like the most awkward date ever (aside from the captain, the only people on the boat were a couple in fancy clothes having a fancy dinner...and not looking at each other or sitting very close together), and we watched a family of ducks with a LOT of babies make their way down the canal, nipping at the leaves that had fallen in the water. We eventually ran out of beer (and we were pretty wiped out), so we made our way back up to the room, I grabbed a quick shower, and we both passed out while a thunderstorm passed by outside. King's Day in the morning!