After all that hype, I’m here in Rotterdam where I’ll be for the next two weeks. The flight was uneventful, except for the fact that a about 150 passengers didn’t make the flight due to weather in Atlanta. With the plane only half full, we got to spread out which made my nightmares about being squeezed in coach class non-existent. I had a very edible pasta dinner and watched the movie “Get Smart” on the entertaininment system, then tuned in some soothing Carribbean beach “spa sounds” and took a nap. The sun was shining in Amsterdam when we landed and even the car rental went smoothly – we got the car we needed to haul the computer equipment to Germany in.
Our hotel in Rotterdam is on the Erasmus river and I’ve got some shots from my hotel room for you in a minute. It’s taken me some time to get used to a European hotel room. You have to leave your key card in a slot by the door if you want to turn the lights on, for example. I wanted some ice last night, but they don’t have ice buckets – you just get a large plastic cup. And for some reason I don’t have any dresser drawers, although my coworker does.
I still haven’t quite decoded European eating habits yet, either. The restaurants don’t open until 2 or 3 pm, and we haven’t found a place to get breakfast yet. Tomorrow we’re going to find a bakery and stock up!
We did find a gigantic shopping center that started at one end with a huge flea market and as we walked to the other end of the street (about six blocks) we ended up in an outdoor mall complete with a Pearle Vision Center and Timberland store.
At the moment I must be suffering some sort of jet lag – I went to bed early since I was falling asleep in my knitting and woke up three hours later wide awake.
By the way, the Diet Coke formulation over here is really sweet. Makes me wish I’d packed a couple of 12 packs in my luggage. OK, here’s some pics
View from my hotel room - a canal next to the river
Looking out over the Erasmus River and Bridge
Another shot looking down the street and river
And a night time shot. The blue line in the pic is where the elevator shaft in the apartment building is. Two building next door each have red and yellow lit shafts. Very pretty!
