So my trip maybe didn't get off to the best start. My flight was delayed, and although lounge access kept me happy until midnight, it closed, and when didn't end up leaving until 1:30am. The flight itself was fine, I slept. Are late-night flights usually rerun marathons? Seriously, they showed Big... Tom Hanks was young back then.

Since we were so delayed leaving, we were also quite delayed getting in. Which was problematic. I was supposed to meet a group of people from IICD in the Hague at 3pm, which would have made for a leisurely afternoon, according to my original schedule. Getting off the plane at 2:30pm instead of noon made this schedule a bit more hectic.

So I called to say I would be late (a feat in and of itself--I'm not good at phones in Europe, although I've gotten much better!) and head down to the Hague. EU customs is amazing... All the woman did who first took my passport was make sure I sort of looked like my picture, and then stamped it, no questions asked. Then, leaving the baggage claim area, they asked me where I was from (no need to show ID) and how long I was staying. I have a harder time getting back into Canada!

So anyway, then it was time to navigate the trains. After battling with a ticket machine, I decided to pay the extra 50 cents and buy a ticket from a person. After I finally got my ticket, I asked three different employees which train to take to get to Den Haag Centraal, and all three gave the same response. So I got on that train. And it stopped at Den Haag HS, so I got all ready to get off at the next stop. But the next stop never came--until I got to Rotterdam. It's only 10 minutes down the tracks, but by the time I got myself turned around and on the proper train, I was seriously late. Awesome way to start off a trip.

I eventually got there, and had a great meeting. And the Hague seems like a cool spot--but I was exhausted and needed to get to my hotel. Back in Amsterdam. Oh yay, more trains. Way less eventful this time, though.

My hotel is a great little spot. Just a small inn, something like 20 rooms, just off a canal, with a restaurant instead of a lobby, on a street filled with similar buildings. Nice bed, nice bathroom, mad stairs, but what can you do? Most places look like the stair situation is pretty similar (I'm on the top/fifth floor, so it's particularly bad with my heavy luggage.)

After I showered and got settled, I wandered around town. It's so great. Really. I had some falafel, watched a dance party in a plaza, wandered around some neato neighbourhoods, and bought some Fanta. Long live Fanta. Now, it's time to get to sleep. I'm exhausted.

Photo: everyone in the Netherlands rides bikes. Everyone.