Amsterdam

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” -Robert Louis Stevenson

I've arrived in Amsterdam after a nice flight on KLM. Schipol International Airport is large, but very nice. It should be considering I will be spending eight hours here. But there is nothing like an airport for people watching. This one happens to have good bird watching too as there is a nest in one of the speakers above me. I assume it is broken.

I have a limited amount of time, but what I can share now is the excitement of experiencing something different. I suppose if I were to sit in the international terminals in Chicago I would see just as many people from different countries, but there is a very important difference here-all of the annoucnements are in Dutch.

So lesson number one in Europe, in travel, and perhaps in life: Nothing is free. Perhaps, however, experience will bring greater benefits than recurring internet costs. For now I will wait for my next flight and enjoy everything I see.

Vaarwel!

(This has been posted late due to the cost of airport internet time and the lack of reliable internet in this particular Venetian hostel.)