I decided I would write a blog for these two days together because of having flights and being so busy! On April 17th my mother, Amy, drove Russell and me to O’hare Airport in Chicago, IL. After our goodbyes we checked in and quickly got through security. We decided that since we had about an hour and a half to kill before the flight, we would go get drinks at a bar. We found one close to our gate called Hub 51. We didn’t know that it would be THAT expensive to get drinks at an airport, but I paid $17 for mine. RIP OFF!
We boarded our flight a 3:45pm, and the flight took off at about 4:30 ish. Russell doesn’t like airplanes, so we had to try and keep him calm during take off. Our airline treated us to a delicious chicken dinner and we watched movies after that. I always find it so difficult to sleep on airplanes, so I think I got about 30 or so minutes of sleep.
Our flight landed at 7am on April 18th. We got through customs and got our luggage from the baggage claim. We then exchanged some currency, and purchased public transportation passes (for busses, trains, trams, etc). Of course by the time we figured out what train we needed and where to go, we had just missed the train. So we had to wait about 20 minutes until the next train came. When we got to Zaandam station, we were supposed to walk to the bus station to get us closer to our AirBnb. But we decided to walk because it was a beautiful morning.
BIG mistake in my opinion… it’s not the easiest to walk down a cobblestone street with a suitcase and two other bags.
After we got settled and showered at our Airbnb, Shawn and Russell took a walk to the grocery store to get some essentials. I laid down and tried to nap. When they got back we all decided we would take a nap, which felt so good! When we all woke up we decided to take a walk to the nearest Coffeeshop, called Coffeeshop Headlines. After a quick break there, we walked around and got a little lost just roaming and enjoying the weather. We sat for a while by a canal and just enjoyed some sunshine.
We were very hungry after that, so we walked back to a restaurant by our Airbnb. We sat outside and enjoyed sunshine and good food! The boys had Heinekens and I had water. I forgot that the guys had never been to The Netherlands before, so when they saw that my water came in a glass bottle they were so confused!
After a delicious meal, we decided to come back to the Airbnb and chill out on the back porch. We are now forcing ourselves to stay awake, so that we don’t feel super jet lagged tomorrow.
Here are some photos from our day flying to Amsterdam and exploring Zaandam!
Trip to the Fatherland 2019 