Leg 1: Arrival "home" in the Netherlands

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Arrived in the Netherlands and as always was amazed how user-friendly an airport Schiphol is. Short lines at immigration and customs and no complex procedures. They must know who I am because only a glimpse at my passport was enough to let me in 😊 Karen and I were on different airlines so she could use miles. This meant however that she had been sitting at the coffeeshop across from customs for quite a while by the time I made it through customs.

The convenience of Schiphol Airport was confirmed by the very easy access to our train to The Hague; trains leave from right under the arrival hall area. The Hague is a mere 45 minute train ride.Once arrived we hailed a cab. Embarrased by the amount of luggage we had brought along (not exactly the "backpacking stage"of our Round the World experience..) it took finding a large stationwagon to haul all 70 kilos to our home in the Statenkwartier of the The Hague.

The apartment is on the van Boetzelaerlaan in The Hague in the popular Statenkwartier where many expats live due to the proximity of several international organizations (among which the Yugoslavia Tribunal) and the amenities offered. The neighborhood provides a nice blend of stately homes, friendly streets, excellent shopping on the "Fred" (short for Frederik Hendriklaan) and is very close to the harbor and the beaches of Scheveningen.

Upon arrival at our apartment we were welcomed by a beautiful bouquet of flowers; no lack of these for the next 10 weeks I promised Karen, flowers are a trademark of the Netherlands as would later learn in more detail when visiting the Flower Auction in Aalsmeer.

The first couple of days we spent relaxing and getting settled which included finding two good second hand bikes for our biketrip the day after we arrived, yeah! step one taken. By day 3 it was time to connect with the family and we travelled to de Bilt and Amersfoort to see my mother and father respectively. Since we had decided to travel exclusively by public transportation and/or bikes this took pretty much an entire day.

About the train system in the Netherlands: it is very well organized and also very expensive! We figured out quickly that purchasing a "korthingskaart" for 55 euro would be the best way to go. This card will give you, plus up to 3 people traveling with you, 40% discount on train tickets as long as you travel off-peak, which meant after 9AM on weekdays; not very hard when you are on vacation 😊 Still a roundtrip ticket The Hague-Utrecht costs 11 euro pp, which with the current exchange rate of 1.45 makes for a $30 roundtrip for a 40 minute train ride for two persons.

The train system is supplemented by an equally efficient bus and tram network making almost every corner of the entire country reachable by public transportation as long as you have time.

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