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Day 32 2/15/99: AmsterdamWe arrived at the Amsterdam's Schiphol airport ( http://www.schiphol.nl/ ) after a 10-hour flight. We actually arrived much earlier than scheduled.
The exchange rate is about $1 for 2 Dutch Guilders. On the Internet Schiphol taxi quoted a charge of 40 to 80 gliders. Schiphol taxi uses only Mercedes and Volvos! ( http://www.schipholtaxi.nl/ ) However, we took a van since we shared a ride with Anne. Notice the snow on the ground. It was a bite chilly. We stayed at Canal House ( http://www.canalhouse.nl/home.htm ). It was a very nice place. However, we liked our second room much better.
The highlight of the evening was having an Indonesian dinner with Liza and Lois at Long Pura. We had a great time chatting about our past travel stories and about our upcoming adventure.
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Here was the
breakfast room where we had breakfast the next morning.
Can
you guess what this is? The left is a light switch, and the right is the electrical
outlet.
We then spent
a few hours exploring Amsterdam, especially some shops around Dam square.
What's vacation without a little refreshment? Theresa had a cappuccino, and we split a
piece of Sacher torte at Victoria Hotel's coffee shop. The waiter was having a bad day and
complained when I asked for more hot water for my tea. Oh well. I guess it's not customery
to ask for more hot water in Europe. Afterwards jetlag hit Theresa and I liked a ton of
bricks. We returned to our hotel for a 3-hr nap and then a hot shower.
The
food was delicious and served piping hot because the dishes were served on top of a metal
warming tray. We had Ayam Base Bali (Balinese Chicken), Gule Kambing (lamb in curry and
coconut), and steamed rice.
Interesting decoration. The umbrellas was on top of the ceiling. 