Amsterdam 110806

Just when i thought everything was going downhill for me, this AMS trip lifted me from the dumps.

I reported for AMS still in a state of shock and ultra stressed up, for i know i'll ganna check this trip. I wondered what should i do in AMS cos i wasn't sure if anyone's going sight seeing, except for Eugene, a FO i flew with to BNE b4 but hardly know, and Cindy whom brought her mum along.

To add on to my misery, i caught a cold in the crew rest bunk, as usual. I was so pathetic on board, as i can hardly serve snacks and the 2nd meal without being interrupted with blowing my nose, away from pax's view of course. With more than 6 hours of running nose, my nose almost came off @ the end of the flight. Zzzzz...

I felt so down and sorry for myself, i just wanted to be left alone after flight, sink or disappear. Which they did. Hardly anyone, esp from my team, asked me anything, only Cindy, my LSS who advised me to send for doctor and Eugene, who noticed my miserable state, offered me some flu medication and his spare jacket. Thank god for those.

Caught about 4-5 hours of sleep b4 i joined Cindy, who's bringing her mum to the walking street. I should have slept all the way till dinner time but heck, i wouldn't want to waste my chances afterall i have Cindy and mum as company, and the running nose had ceased.

Their shopping district.

The weather was very chilly, i was shuddering all the time, coupled with the wind and rain !!! Grrrr.... We weren't prepared as Cindy told us it was very hot the last month she came. Thus we decided to hunt for some winter wear, but in the end only Cindy got a red Zara jacket, while i decided to save and make do with Eugene's charity jacket.

Those were the only 2, plus another 1 photo, i took b4 it rained. The sun was only out for 10 mins or so? I was thinking if it rains the next day too, it's really just my horrible luck.


Back to hotel to meet whoever's there for dinner. Headed for the old favourite crew joint Oceania Chinese Restaurant.
The display of mini planes at the entrance. Looks like the boss's a airline fanatic, afterall lots of aircrew from different airlines patronize there.



Amsterdam's famous Red Light District is next on our list after dinner.
It was an eye opener =) as i discover how the girls do 'business' there. Safer to go there with people, don't do it alone!

The Royal Palace @ Dam Square: the real one.



Plans for the next day actualised as the weather turned out to be lovely, as opposed to the rainy season forecast from yahoo weather. The sun provide warmth in the chill: perfect weather! Now i understand why the caucasians love the sun....

Thus we share the cost, rented a car and drove southwest for an hr + to another town, Den Haag, to visit Amsterdam's famous Madurodam aka "Xiao Ren Guo".

Everything is miniature and automated!



Windmills!





The reason y the tech crews didn't mind going to Madurodam again: the new airbus 380 model added to this museum.

Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. I think it's the second busiest airport after London's Heathrow. I think.

A miniature funfair. You can drop 10 cents euro to make all the roller-coaster and merry-go-round start moving...

Rijksmuseum. The real one is near our hotel. Haven been in there yet, am saving it for the next time when noone wants to go sight seeing. =/

Cool...



The Royal Palace @ Dam Square: the model.

A cheese factory.



The plane was moving around the track. Everything's magnetised.



Decided to drop by Rotterdam next, another city 20 mins away from Den Haag, where we noticed alot of the architecture are from.

On the Highway to Rotterdam.

And we found the original Insurance company ING building where we saw in Madurodam.

The model in Madurodam.

"Group pic" from the reflection of the model.





The Bridge 'Erasmusbrug' in Madurodam.

And the real one in Rotterdam.



By now, i was already feeling really happy (i'll just use a simple word, becos happy's the word). Enough for me to take away from this trip. Amsterdam, Den Haag and Rotterdam, plus seeing all the models in Madurodam and then getting a chance to visit some of the real ones in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.


But that's not the end, cos Windmills @ Zaandijk was next. Drove all the way back up north of Amsterdam.
The clogs 'factory' is there too! Yet another item conquered.

These clogs originated from Holland. This brief history i know is that Holland's mainly reclaimed land and they make clogs like these with big base to walk on the soft grounds in the past?

Now it has become more of an art.

Ice-skating and roller-blading clogs....... Diao*

The demo area for making the clogs in the house. And we were lucky to have caught a desmostration with the Italian tourists.

Clogs and more clogs!

And the few old windmills left around?






Back in Amsterdam city for Ribs dinner @ Cafe de kos or something? Holland potatoes ! Yummy!!!


City canal tour was last. The architecture of the houses in Netherlands is indeed very interesting. As we tour along the river, we managed to catch glimpse of the interior of many of the houses; most have very high ceilings, some with spiral staircase, and we noticed they love to showcase shelves of books by their window. We were wondering if they really read sooo much or just to make them look wise? LOL

The stuff i bought. Will be collecting fridge magnets =9
The baby clogs for Baby Kirsten.
Hoegaarden Beer for Batch 863's house gathering @ David's
Peanut butter and Jam for myself.



Just like Cindy has said, 'Lucky' was the word to describe me. Cos
1) She brought her mum along for touring;
2) 2 out of 4 tech crew are nice peeps;
3) the weather was lovely the clear day we had in AMS when it was forecast to be stormy (the next day when i left it was raining, Phewz!);
4) Nice Capt who volunteer to drive out for sight seeing;
5) We are the non-drinker, non-smoker and sight-seeing enthusiasts, thus they make great company to be with.

This is more than i can ask for =)
Learnt alot from these pple who have flown for sometime. I know such company are hard to come by, in fact quite rare. But i'll learn to be strong, even if i have to tour by myself. First, let me get my work right b4 i can enjoy with a peaceful mind.

This is exactly why i plunged into the airline.

To really see the world.