Europe/Amsterdam - travelogue 1

It started at 10 am,  bus --> train --> train --> plane. Changeover in Madrid (7:50 am local time, so about 12:50pm central time)--that was crazy, and the timing was very tight. There was a 20-minute train between terminals and it was pretty unclear where my flight was going to be out of.  We had to go through customs, where I was chided for not filling out a declaring-things form and reminded that Holland is part of Europe. The implication being, I think, that as soon as you arrive in the EU, you declare stuff, which is a bit different than what happened last summer because I stopped over in London and then had to declare stuff in Copenhagen. After chiding me (in English), they stamped my passport and waved me on, where I had to get my bags re-scanned and was again chided (with a waved 'no-no' finger) by the guy there (in Spanish) about how I'm not allowed to bring bottles of juice on with me. I managed to convey that it was fine for him to take it, and I'm sorry about that, then ran across the remainder of the airport to get to my terminal. I boarded about 10 minutes later.

My friend met me at the airport, which is also a train station, and directed me how to get to his place (which I still managed to screw up; I blame jet lag). I discovered that standing around looking confused will not cause anyone to stop and help you, but people respond well to polite inquiry (in English).  I made it back to his place, got a shower and got back out -- to see the Rijksmuseum, which is a sort of history-by-artwork tour of the 'Golden Age' of Holland history (1600's to early 1800's). Beautiful. 'The Night Watch' is the really famous Rembrandt piece there, taking up a huuuge wall. In its original dimensions it measured approximately 13 by 16 ft,  but it feels much larger. My estimate on the postcard I wrote to my dad was 6m by 8m. 

In front of the Rijksmusem:

So far, Europe is awesome.  There are trams, trains, buses, subway/metro and bikes everywhere here. Plus these things that look like one-person smart-cars -- the width of a bicycle-lane in america -- that are actually allowed to drive in the bike lanes. Everyone speaks English, and I know no Dutch, so good for me. I think my hat is very distinctive here, but I'm still wearing it due to the rain, wind and cold. INTENSE wind. It made landing yesterday rather terrifying, actually.

On the docket for today is a trip to Albert Cuypmarkt (an outdoor market), a local cd store that takes up 5 storefronts or so, and the Fotomuseum. Perhaps a little walk around Rembrandtsplein.

Tot ziens!