Flight #1 - To Amsterdam

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Amsterdam

I’ve arrived in Amsterdam. It’s a little disconcerting because all the signs at the airport are in English, but I’m actually hearing people speak Dutch. I only have an hour before I board, so I can’t “go Dutch” but I took photos of tulips and wooden shoes in the gift shop. My parents bought my sister and me wooden shoes when they went to Europe many years ago. Let me tell you, there aren’t many places a ten-year old boy can wear wooden shoes in New York, but I was the only kid on the block with wooden shoes! However, I do remember that my mother would always wear them when she was gardening (good for mud). But I digress…

I fly to Bahrain, which is an island country off the coast of Saudi Arabia. You then take a “causeway” which is a very long bridge to get to Saudi. I’ve read articles that in the summer it can take four or five hours to make the crossing and there are at least five checkpoints along the way. Why land in Bahrain? The airport is closer to Dhahran where the client is, then the airport in Riyadh (the capital of Saudi Arabia). No charge for the geography lesson.

This may not make sense. It’s 11:45 am here in Amsterdam, but 4:45 am in Minneapolis. I’m functioning on 3 hours of sleep at best. There are still a couple more time zones to go and I probably won’t get to the client location for about another 12 hours. I think the trick is to stay awake until then.

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Photos

Tulips
Question: What could be more Dutch than tulips?

Wooden Shoes
Answer: Wooden Shoes!

Here's What's Next
Going to Saudi Arabia via Bahrain.