Day 1 - A little stop-off in Amsterdam

Kim met me at the Seattle airport with her shirt turned inside out. "That's what kind of day it's been," she explains. I don't blame her. Getting ready for this trip has been a whirl-wind of emotions. But it's finally here... And we are setting off for Tanzania.. But first a little stop-off halfway in Amsterdam for some "rest".

Our flight to Amsterdam is nearly 11 hours. We left Seattle at 6 pm but since we fly over the pole, it never got dark during our entire flight (which made sleeping a real bugger)! We finally land in the Netherlands I am surprised at how beautiful the city is by air... I can't wait to explore it by land! After checking into our hotel Kim and I hop aboard a train a head for the city center. The lack of seats on the train means we'll have to stand for the 20 minute journey. Normally this would be not be an issue, but as I stepped onto the train it became overwhelmingly apparent that Europeans aren't particularly fond of deodorant! And the A/C didn't seem to be working. And the heat was rising...fast.  Nevertheless we survived the train ride and found a tour boat to take us on a short highlights canal tour of the city. Amsterdam is artistic, and cultural yet historic and so very beautiful. We ate rijsttafel, an Indonesian rice dish (yes, Amsterdam is famous for it), and of course toured the Anne Frank House. By the time we get back to our hotel it's 11pm and we are exhausted... Tomorrow, Africa!