Travelog: Amsterdam 2009, Part III

Friday, September 04, 2009

Successfully awake at 6AM local time, I proceeded to snooze for a half hour, then showered and dressed. A breakfast buffet was included with my room, so I took advantage of that. All three mornings of my visit I indulged in croissants and jam. I do love Europe.

The next transportation adventure presented itself in getting to the office. This morning I took the tram. It’s quite easy to do – they leave from Centraal Station, and they have a conductor on board from which you can buy tickets (with cash, and bills, for that matter!). The ride was maybe ten minutes, then another 10 minute walk from the tram stop to the office. I was there before 8:30.

The day was full and hectic, as the new product set I’ve been managing had its general release. I worked late in order to stay synced with the US team for a little longer, but headed out shortly before 7 PM. Then came the challenge of dinner. Co-workers recommended a few places, one of which was a Thai take-away place in Chinatown, call Thai-Bird, which was not too far from my hotel. I decided to do it. But that night, it was pouring and windy. Five minutes into the walk, my jeans were soaked to the knees; my feet frozen. Did I mention I only brought open-toed shoes? Apparently, it’s already fall here, and I missed the memo. :)

I found the Thai place, but people were spilling out into the street, so I passed, and actually landed at a sushi place, Soytasty, not too far from there. It was deserted, save for one other solo woman. I ordered and waited for my food. It took a lifetime to appear. But in the meantime the hostess chatted with me. Just small talk, really, but it was another positive interaction with the Dutch folk!

I brought the sushi back to my room, braving the wind and rain once again. By this time, it was after 9 PM, so I broke into one of the Dutch beers in the mini bar. It was decent, but not exceptional. Once again, stayed up pretty late, but knew I had some leeway with the next day being Saturday. I sank into bed and curled under the down comforter and woke to my iPhone alarm this time without waking up every 2 hours throughout the night.